JP7669262B2 - Phase shifter, portable device, and method of phase shifting - Google Patents

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to electronic systems, and more particularly to radio frequency (RF) electronic devices.

Phase shifters are used in RF communication systems to control the phase of an RF signal that is transmitted or received wirelessly via an antenna.

Examples of RF communication systems with one or more phase shifters include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, tablets, base stations, network access points, customer premises equipment (CPE), laptops, and wearable electronic devices. For example, wireless devices that communicate using cellular standards, wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, and/or any other suitable communication standards may use power amplifiers for RF signal amplification. The RF signal may have a frequency in the range of about 30 kHz to 300 GHz, such as in the range of about 410 MHz to about 7.125 GHz for fifth generation (5G) communications using Frequency Range 1 (FR1), or in the range of about 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz for 5G communications using Frequency Range 2 (FR2).

In certain embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a phase shifter. The phase shifter includes a first port, a second port, a first controllable reflective load including a first transmission line and a first plurality of shunt switches connected along the first transmission line, a second controllable reflective load, and a pair of coupled wires electromagnetically coupled to each other. The pair of coupled wires includes a first conductive wire connected between the first port and the first controllable reflective load, and a second conductive wire connected between the second controllable reflective load and the second port.

In some embodiments, the first controllable reflective load further includes a first ground conductor on a first side of the first transmission line and a second ground conductor on a second side of the first transmission line. According to a number of embodiments, the first plurality of shunt switches are each implemented as a pair of field effect transistors. The pair of field effect transistors includes a first field effect transistor connected between the first transmission line and the first ground conductor and a second field effect transistor connected between the first transmission line and the second ground conductor.

In some embodiments, one or more of the first plurality of shunt switches are closed based on a phase shift setting of the phase shifter.

In various embodiments, the first port receives a radio frequency input signal and the second port provides a phase-shifted radio frequency output signal.

In some embodiments, the second port receives a radio frequency input signal and the first port provides a phase-shifted radio frequency output signal.

In some embodiments, the first plurality of shunt switches are connected to the first transmission line at multiple points that are a fixed distance from each other.

In various embodiments, the first plurality of shunt switches are connected to the first transmission line at a plurality of points that are non-uniform distances from one another. According to a number of embodiments, the distance between adjacent pairs of the plurality of points gradually decreases along the length of the first transmission line.

In some embodiments, each of the first plurality of shunt switches has a common size.

In some embodiments, the first plurality of shunt switches each have a different size. According to a number of embodiments, the size of the first plurality of shunt transistors increases progressively along the length of the first transmission line.

According to various embodiments, the first transmission line includes a plurality of serpentine sections. According to some embodiments, at least one of the plurality of serpentine sections includes a loop.

In some embodiments, the second controllable reflective load includes a second transmission line and a second plurality of shunt switches connected along the second transmission line.

In some embodiments, the phase shifter further includes a hybrid coupler that includes a pair of coupled wires.

In certain embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a wireless device. The wireless device includes a transceiver and a front-end system coupled to the transceiver. The front-end system includes a phase shifter including a first port, a second port, a first controllable reflective load including a first transmission line and a first plurality of shunt switches connected along the first transmission line, a second controllable reflective load, and a pair of coupled wires electromagnetically coupled to each other. The pair of coupled wires includes a first conductive wire connected between the first port and the first controllable reflective load, and a second conductive wire connected between the second controllable reflective load and the second port.

In various embodiments, the first controllable reflective load further includes a first ground conductor on a first side of the first transmission line and a second ground conductor on a second side of the first transmission line. According to a number of embodiments, the first plurality of shunt switches are each implemented as a pair of field effect transistors. The pair of field effect transistors includes a first field effect transistor connected between the first transmission line and the first ground conductor and a second field effect transistor connected between the first transmission line and the second ground conductor.

In some embodiments, one or more of the first plurality of shunt switches are closed based on a phase shift setting of the phase shifter.

In some embodiments, the first port receives a radio frequency input signal and the second port provides a phase-shifted radio frequency output signal.

In various embodiments, the second port receives a radio frequency input signal and the first port provides a phase-shifted radio frequency output signal.

In some embodiments, the first plurality of shunt switches are connected to the first transmission line at multiple points that are a fixed distance from each other.

In some embodiments, the first plurality of shunt switches are connected to the first transmission line at a plurality of points that are non-uniform distances from one another. According to a number of embodiments, the distance between adjacent pairs of the plurality of points gradually decreases along the length of the first transmission line.

In various embodiments, each of the first plurality of shunt switches has a common size.

In some embodiments, the first plurality of shunt switches each have a different size. According to a number of embodiments, the size of the first plurality of shunt transistors increases progressively along the length of the first transmission line.

According to some embodiments, the first transmission line includes a plurality of serpentine sections. According to various embodiments, at least one of the plurality of serpentine sections includes a loop.

In some embodiments, the second controllable reflective load includes a second transmission line and a second plurality of shunt switches connected along the second transmission line.

In various embodiments, the phase shifter further includes a hybrid coupler that includes a pair of coupled wires.

In certain embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a method of phase shifting. The method includes receiving a radio frequency input signal at a first port. The method further includes controlling a first controllable reflective load and a second controllable reflective load to control a phase shift of a radio frequency output signal at a second port, the first controllable reflective load including a first transmission line and a first plurality of shunt switches connected along the first transmission line. The method further includes providing a coupling between a first conductive line and a second conductive line of a pair of coupled lines, the first conductive line being connected between the first port and the first controllable reflective load, and the second conductive line being connected between the second controllable reflective load and the second port.

In various embodiments, the first controllable reflective load further includes a first ground conductor on a first side of the first transmission line and a second ground conductor on a second side of the first transmission line. According to some embodiments, the first plurality of shunt switches are each implemented as a pair of field effect transistors. The pair of field effect transistors includes a first field effect transistor connected between the first transmission line and the first ground conductor and a second field effect transistor connected between the first transmission line and the second ground conductor.

In a number of embodiments, the method further includes closing one or more of the first plurality of shunt switches based on a phase shift setting of the phase shifter.

In some embodiments, the first plurality of shunt switches are connected to the first transmission line at multiple points that are a fixed distance from each other.

In various embodiments, the first plurality of shunt switches are connected to the first transmission line at a plurality of points that are non-uniform distances from one another. According to a number of embodiments, the distance between adjacent pairs of the plurality of points gradually decreases along the length of the first transmission line.

In some embodiments, each of the first plurality of shunt switches has a common size.

In some embodiments, each of the first plurality of shunt switches has a different size. According to various embodiments, the size of the first plurality of shunt transistors increases gradually along the length of the first transmission line.

In a number of embodiments, the first transmission line includes a plurality of serpentine sections. According to some embodiments, at least one of the plurality of serpentine sections includes a loop.

In some embodiments, the second controllable reflective load includes a second transmission line and a second plurality of shunt switches connected along the second transmission line.

In some embodiments, the phase shifter further includes a hybrid coupler that includes a pair of coupled wires.

In certain embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a phase shifter. The phase shifter includes a coupler including an input terminal, a through terminal, a first coupled wire connected between the input terminal and the through terminal, an isolation terminal, a coupled terminal, and a second coupled wire connected between the isolation terminal and the coupled terminal. The phase shifter further includes an input port connected to the input terminal of the coupler and configured to receive a radio frequency input signal, an output port connected to the coupled terminal of the coupler and configured to output a radio frequency output signal having a phase shift with respect to the radio frequency input signal, and a first controllable reflective load connected to the through terminal of the coupler. The first controllable reflective load includes a transmission line and a plurality of shunt switches each connected between a ground voltage and a different point on the transmission line, the plurality of shunt switches being selectable to control the phase shift.

In various embodiments, the first controllable reflective load further includes a first ground conductor on a first side of the transmission line and a second ground conductor on a second side of the transmission line. According to a number of embodiments, the plurality of shunt switches are each implemented as a pair of field effect transistors. The pair of field effect transistors includes a first field effect transistor connected between the first transmission line and the first ground conductor and a second field effect transistor connected between the first transmission line and the second ground conductor.

In some embodiments, the shunt switches are connected to the transmission line at non-uniformly spaced points. According to a number of embodiments, the distance between adjacent pairs of the points gradually decreases along the length of the transmission line.

In various embodiments, each of the plurality of shunt switches has a different size. According to a number of embodiments, the size of the plurality of shunt transistors increases gradually along the length of the first transmission line.

In some embodiments, the transmission line includes a plurality of serpentine sections. According to some embodiments, at least one of the plurality of serpentine sections includes a loop.

In a number of embodiments, the phase shifter further includes a second controllable reflective load connected to the isolation terminal of the coupler.

In certain embodiments, the disclosure relates to a wireless device. The wireless device includes a transceiver and a front-end system coupled to the transceiver. The front-end system includes a phase shifter, the phase shifter including a coupler including an input terminal configured to receive a radio frequency input signal, a through terminal, a first coupled wire connected between the input terminal and the through terminal, an isolation terminal, a coupled terminal configured to output a radio frequency output signal having a phase shift with respect to the radio frequency input signal, and a second coupled wire connected between the isolation terminal and the coupled terminal. The phase shifter further includes a first controllable reflective load connected to the through terminal of the coupler, the first controllable reflective load including a transmission line and a plurality of shunt switches each connected between a ground voltage and a different point along the transmission line, the plurality of shunt switches being selectable to control the phase shift.

In some embodiments, the first controllable reflective load further includes a first ground conductor on a first side of the transmission line and a second ground conductor on a second side of the transmission line. According to a number of embodiments, the plurality of shunt switches are each implemented as a pair of field effect transistors. The pair of field effect transistors includes a first field effect transistor connected between the first transmission line and the first ground conductor and a second field effect transistor connected between the first transmission line and the second ground conductor.

In various embodiments, the shunt switches are connected to the transmission line at non-uniformly spaced points. According to some embodiments, the distance between adjacent pairs of the points gradually decreases along the length of the transmission line.

In some embodiments, the multiple shunt switches each have a different size. According to a number of embodiments, the size of the multiple shunt transistors increases progressively along the length of the first transmission line.

In some embodiments, the portable device further includes a second controllable reflective load connected to the isolation terminal of the coupler.

In certain embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a method of phase shifting. The method includes receiving a radio frequency input signal at an input terminal of a coupler. The method further includes providing a coupling from a first coupled wire of the coupler to a second coupled wire of the coupler, the first coupled wire being connected between the input terminal of the coupler and a through terminal of the coupler, and the second coupled wire being connected between an isolation terminal of the coupler and a coupling terminal of the coupler. The method further includes providing a radio frequency output signal from the coupling terminal of the coupler, the radio frequency output signal having a phase shift relative to the radio frequency input signal. The method further includes controlling the phase shift using a first controllable reflective load connected to the through terminal of the coupler, which includes selecting one or more of a plurality of shunt switches of the first controllable reflective load, each of the plurality of shunt switches being connected between a ground voltage and a different point along the transmission line of the first controllable reflective load.

In some embodiments, the method further includes controlling a second controllable reflective load connected to the isolation terminal of the coupler.

In certain embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a phase shifter. The phase shifter includes a first port, a second port, a first controllable reflective load, and a second controllable reflective load, the second controllable reflective load including a first transmission line and a first plurality of shunt switches connected along the first transmission line. The phase shifter further includes a pair of coupled wires that are electromagnetically coupled to each other. The pair of coupled wires includes a first conductive wire connected between the first port and the first controllable reflective load, and a second conductive wire connected between the second controllable reflective load and the second port.

In various embodiments, the second controllable reflective load further includes a first ground conductor on a first side of the first transmission line and a second ground conductor on a second side of the first transmission line. According to some embodiments, the first plurality of shunt switches are each implemented as a pair of field effect transistors. The pair of field effect transistors includes a first field effect transistor connected between the first transmission line and the first ground conductor and a second field effect transistor connected between the first transmission line and the second ground conductor.

In a number of embodiments, one or more of the first plurality of shunt switches are closed based on a phase shift setting of the phase shifter.

In some embodiments, the first port receives a radio frequency input signal and the second port provides a phase-shifted radio frequency output signal.

In some embodiments, the second port receives a radio frequency input signal and the first port provides a phase-shifted radio frequency output signal.

In various embodiments, the first plurality of shunt switches are connected to the first transmission line at multiple points that are a fixed distance from each other.

In some embodiments, the first plurality of shunt switches are connected to the first transmission line at a plurality of points that are non-uniform distances from one another. According to a number of embodiments, the distance between adjacent pairs of the plurality of points gradually decreases along the length of the first transmission line.

In some embodiments, each of the first plurality of shunt switches has a common size.

In a number of embodiments, the first plurality of shunt switches each have a different size. According to some embodiments, the size of the first plurality of shunt transistors increases progressively along the length of the first transmission line.

According to various embodiments, the first transmission line includes a plurality of serpentine sections. According to a number of embodiments, at least one of the plurality of serpentine sections includes a loop.

In some embodiments, the first controllable reflective load includes a second transmission line and a second plurality of shunt switches connected along the second transmission line.

In some embodiments, the phase shifter further includes a hybrid coupler that includes a pair of coupled wires.

In certain embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a wireless device. The wireless device includes a transceiver and a front-end system coupled to the transceiver. The front-end system includes a phase shifter including a first port, a second port, a first controllable reflective load, a second controllable reflective load including a first transmission line, and a first plurality of shunt switches connected along the first transmission line. The phase shifter further includes a pair of coupled wires that are electromagnetically coupled to each other. The pair of coupled wires includes a first conductive wire connected between the first port and the first controllable reflective load, and a second conductive wire connected between the second controllable reflective load and the second port.

In various embodiments, the second controllable reflective load further includes a first ground conductor on a first side of the first transmission line and a second ground conductor on a second side of the first transmission line. According to a number of embodiments, the first plurality of shunt switches are each implemented as a pair of field effect transistors. The pair of field effect transistors includes a first field effect transistor connected between the first transmission line and the first ground conductor and a second field effect transistor connected between the first transmission line and the second ground conductor.

In some embodiments, one or more of the first plurality of shunt switches are closed based on a phase shift setting of the phase shifter.

In various embodiments, the first port receives a radio frequency input signal and the second port provides a phase-shifted radio frequency output signal.

In some embodiments, the second port receives a radio frequency input signal and the first port provides a phase-shifted radio frequency output signal.

In a number of embodiments, the first plurality of shunt switches are connected to the first transmission line at a number of points that are a fixed distance from each other.

In some embodiments, the first plurality of shunt switches are connected to the first transmission line at a plurality of points that are non-uniform distances from one another. According to a number of embodiments, the distance between adjacent pairs of the plurality of points gradually decreases along the length of the first transmission line.

In various embodiments, each of the first plurality of shunt switches has a common size.

In some embodiments, the first plurality of shunt switches each have a different size. According to some embodiments, the size of the first plurality of shunt transistors increases progressively along the length of the first transmission line.

In a number of embodiments, the first transmission line includes a plurality of serpentine sections. According to various embodiments, at least one of the plurality of serpentine sections includes a loop.

In some embodiments, the first controllable reflective load includes a second transmission line and a second plurality of shunt switches connected along the second transmission line.

In some embodiments, the phase shifter further includes a hybrid coupler that includes a pair of coupled wires.

In certain embodiments, a method of phase shifting is provided. The method includes receiving a radio frequency input signal at a first port. The method further includes controlling a first controllable reflective load and a second controllable reflective load to control a phase shift of a radio frequency output signal at a second port, the first controllable reflective load including a first transmission line and a first plurality of shunt switches connected along the first transmission line. The method further includes providing a coupling between a first conductive line and a second conductive line of a pair of coupled lines, the first conductive line being connected between the first port and the first controllable reflective load, and the second conductive line being connected between the second controllable reflective load and the second port.

In some embodiments, the second controllable reflective load further includes a first ground conductor on a first side of the first transmission line and a second ground conductor on a second side of the first transmission line. According to some embodiments, the first plurality of shunt switches are each implemented as a pair of field effect transistors. The pair of field effect transistors includes a first field effect transistor connected between the first transmission line and the first ground conductor and a second field effect transistor connected between the first transmission line and the second ground conductor.

In a number of embodiments, the method further includes closing one or more of the first plurality of shunt switches based on a phase shift setting of the phase shifter.

In various embodiments, the first plurality of shunt switches are connected to the first transmission line at multiple points that are a fixed distance from each other.

In some embodiments, the first plurality of shunt switches are connected to the first transmission line at a plurality of points that are non-uniform distances from one another. According to a number of embodiments, the distance between adjacent pairs of the plurality of points gradually decreases along the length of the first transmission line.

In various embodiments, each of the first plurality of shunt switches has a common size.

In some embodiments, the first plurality of shunt switches each have a different size. According to a number of embodiments, the size of the first plurality of shunt transistors increases progressively along the length of the first transmission line.

In some embodiments, the transmission line includes a plurality of serpentine sections. According to a number of embodiments, at least one of the plurality of serpentine sections includes a loop.

In various embodiments, the first controllable reflective load includes a second transmission line and a second plurality of shunt switches connected along the second transmission line.

In some embodiments, the phase shifter further includes a hybrid coupler that includes a pair of coupled wires.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are described below by way of non-limiting examples with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example of a communications network. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a communication system operating with beamforming. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of beamforming to provide a transmit beam. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of beamforming to provide receive beams. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a phase shifter according to an embodiment; FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a switched transmission line according to an embodiment. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a switched transmission line according to another embodiment. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a switched transmission line according to another embodiment. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a switched transmission line according to another embodiment. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a switched transmission line according to another embodiment. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a switched transmission line according to another embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a mobile device. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an RF channel according to an embodiment. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of an RF channel according to another embodiment. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a module that operates with beamforming. 10B is a cross-section of the module of FIG. 10A taken along line 10B-10B.

The following detailed description of certain embodiments presents various descriptions of specific embodiments. However, the innovations described herein may be embodied in numerous different ways, as defined and covered by, for example, the claims. Reference is made herein to the drawings, in which like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements. It is understood that the elements depicted in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. It is further understood that certain embodiments may include more elements than are shown in the drawings, and/or a subset of the elements depicted in the drawings. Additionally, some embodiments may include any suitable combination of features from two or more drawings.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) responsible for global issues relating to information and communications technology, including the global sharing of radio spectrum.

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is a collaborative project between a group of telecommunications standards organizations around the world, such as the Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB), Telecommunications Technology Committee (TTC), China Communications Standards Association (CCSA), Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS), Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA), European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), and Telecommunications Standards Development Institute of India (TSDSI).

3GPP, within the ITU, develops and maintains technical specifications for various mobile communications technologies, including, for example, second generation (2G) technologies (e.g., Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)® and Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE)), third generation (3G) technologies (e.g., Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) and High Speed Packet Access (HSPA)), and fourth generation (4G) technologies (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced).

Technical specifications maintained by 3GPP can be expanded and revised through specification releases, which may span multiple years and specify a wide range of new features and evolutions.

In one example, 3GPP introduced Carrier Aggregation (CA) for LTE in Release 10. 3GPP initially introduced two downlink carriers, but expanded it to include up to five downlink carriers and up to three uplink carriers in Release 14. Other examples of new features and advancements provided by 3GPP releases include, but are not limited to, Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), enhanced LAA (eLAA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IOT), Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), and High Power User Equipment (HPUE).

3GPP introduced Phase 1 of fifth-generation (5G) technology in Release 15 and Phase 2 of 5G technology in Release 16. Subsequent 3GPP releases will further evolve and enhance 5G technology. 5G technology is also referred to herein as 5G New Radio (NR).

5G NR supports or will support various features such as communication over millimeter wave spectrum, beamforming capabilities, high spectral efficiency waveforms, low latency communication, multiple radio numerology, and/or non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA). Although such RF capabilities provide flexibility to the network and improve user data rates, there are a number of technical challenges to support such features.

The teachings herein are applicable to a wide variety of communication systems, including but not limited to communication systems that use advanced cellular technologies such as LTE-Advanced, LTE-Advanced Pro, and/or 5G NR.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an example of a communications network 10. The communications network 10 includes a macrocell base station 1, a small cell base station 3, and various examples of user equipment (UE). The user equipment (UE) includes a first portable device 2a, a wirelessly connected car 2b, a laptop 2c, a stationary wireless device 2d, a wirelessly connected train 2e, a second portable device 2f, and a third portable device 2g.

Although specific examples of base stations and user equipment are shown in FIG. 1, a communications network may include a wide variety of types and/or numbers of base stations and user equipment.

For example, in the illustrated example, the communication network 10 includes a macrocell base station 1 and a small cell base station 3. The small cell base station 3 may operate at a relatively lower power, shorter distance, and/or fewer concurrent users compared to the macrocell base station 1. The small cell base station 3 may also be referred to as a femtocell, picocell, or microcell. Although the communication network 10 is shown to include two base stations, the communication network 10 may be implemented to include more or fewer base stations and/or other types of base stations.

Although various examples of user equipment are shown, the teachings herein are applicable to a wide variety of user equipment, including, but not limited to, mobile phones, tablets, laptops, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, wearable electronics, customer premises equipment (CPE), wirelessly connected vehicles, wireless relays, and/or a wide variety of other communication devices. Furthermore, user equipment includes not only currently available communication devices that operate in cellular networks, but also subsequently developed communication devices that can be readily implemented in the systems, processes, methods and devices of the present invention described and claimed herein.

The example communication network 10 of FIG. 1 supports communication using various cellular technologies, including, for example, 4G LTE and 5G NR. In certain implementations, the communication network 10 is further adapted to provide a wireless local area network (WLAN), such as WiFi. Although various examples of communication technologies have been provided, the communication network 10 may be adapted to support a wide variety of communication technologies.

Various communication links of the communication network 10 are depicted in FIG. 1. The communication links can be duplexed in a variety of different ways, including, for example, using frequency division duplexing (FDD) and/or time division duplexing (TDD). FDD is a type of radio frequency communication that uses different frequencies for transmitting and receiving signals. FDD can provide a number of advantages, such as high data rates and low latency. In contrast, TDD is a type of radio frequency communication that uses approximately the same frequency for transmitting and receiving signals, with transmit and receive communications alternating in time. TDD can provide a number of advantages, such as efficient use of spectrum and variable allocation of throughput between transmit and receive directions.

In certain implementations, user equipment may communicate with base stations using one or more of 4G LTE, 5G NR, and WiFi technologies. In certain implementations, enhanced licensed assisted access (eLAA) is used to aggregate one or more licensed frequency carriers (e.g., licensed 4G LTE and/or 5G NR frequencies) with one or more unlicensed carriers (e.g., unlicensed WiFi frequencies).

As shown in FIG. 1, the communication links include not only communication links between UEs and base stations, but also UE-to-UE and base station-to-base station communications. For example, communication network 10 may be implemented to support self-fronthaul and/or self-backhaul (e.g., between mobile device 412g and mobile device 412f).

The communication link may operate over a wide variety of frequencies. In certain implementations, communications are supported over one or more frequency bands below 6 gigahertz (GHz) and/or over one or more frequency bands above 6 GHz using 5G NR technology. For example, the communication link may provide Frequency Range 1 (FR1), Frequency Range 2 (FR2), or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, one or more of the mobile devices support the HPUE power class specification.

In certain implementations, the base station and/or user equipment communicate using beamforming. For example, beamforming can be used to converge signal strength to overcome path losses, such as high losses associated with communication over high signal frequencies. In certain embodiments, one or more user equipment, such as mobile phones, communicate using beamforming in the millimeter wave frequency band ranging from 30 GHz to 300 GHz and/or in the upper centimeter wave frequencies ranging from 6 GHz to 30 GHz, particularly 24 GHz to 30 GHz.

Different users of the communication network 10 can share available network resources, such as the available frequency spectrum, in a wide variety of ways.

In one example, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) is used to divide a frequency band into multiple frequency carriers, with one or more carriers assigned to a particular user. Examples of FDMA include, but are not limited to, Single Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) and Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA). OFDMA is a multi-carrier technology that divides the available bandwidth into multiple mutually orthogonal narrowband subcarriers that can be assigned separately to different users.

Other examples of shared access include, but are not limited to, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), where users are assigned specific time slots to use the frequency resources; Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), where frequency resources are shared among different users by assigning each user a unique code; Spatial Division Multiple Access (SDMA), where beamforming is used to provide shared access through spatial division; and Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA), where power domains are used for multiple access purposes. For example, NOMA can be used to serve multiple users with the same frequency, time and/or code but different power levels.

Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) refers to technologies that increase the system capacity of LTE networks. For example, eMBB may refer to communications with peak data rates of at least 10 Gbps and a minimum of 100 Mbps for each user. Ultra-reliable low latency communications (uRLLC) refers to technologies for very low latency communications, e.g., less than 2 milliseconds. uRLLC can be used for mission-critical communications, such as for autonomous driving and/or remote surgery applications. Massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC) refers to low-cost, low data rate communications associated with wireless connections to everyday objects, e.g., communications associated with Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

The communications network 10 of FIG. 1 can be used to support a wide variety of advanced communications functions, including but not limited to eMBB, uRLLC, and/or mMTC.

2A is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a communication system 110 operating with beamforming. The communication system 110 includes a transceiver 105, signal conditioning circuits 104a1, 104a2...104an, 104b1, 104b2...104bn, 104m1, 104m2...104mn, and an antenna array 102. The antenna array 102 includes antenna elements 103a1, 103a2...103an, 103b1, 103b2...103bn, 103m1, 103m2...103mn.

Communication systems that communicate using millimeter wave carriers, centimeter wave carriers, and/or other frequency carriers can use antenna arrays such as antenna array 102 to provide beamforming and directionality for the transmission and/or reception of signals.

For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the communication system 110 includes an array 102 of m by n antenna elements, each of which is coupled to a separate signal conditioning circuit in this embodiment. As indicated by the ellipsis, the communication system 110 may implement any suitable number of antenna elements and signal conditioning circuits.

For signal transmission, the signal conditioning circuits 104a1, 104a2...104an, 104b1, 104b2...104bn, 104m1, 104m2...104mn can provide transmit signals to the antenna array 102 such that signals radiated from the antenna elements combine using constructive and destructive interference to produce an aggregate transmit signal that exhibits a beam-like quality having strong signal strength propagating in a given direction away from the antenna array 102.

In the context of signal reception, the signal conditioning circuits 104a1, 104a2...104an, 104b1, 104b2...104bn, 104m1, 104m2...104mn process the received signal (e.g., by separately controlling the received signal phase) so that more signal energy is received when the signal arrives at the antenna array 102 from a particular direction. Thus, the communication system 110 also provides directionality for the reception of signals.

The relative concentration of signal energy that falls into the transmit or receive beam can be increased by increasing the size of the array. For example, with more signal energy focused into the transmit beam, the signal can propagate a longer range while still providing sufficient signal level for RF communications. For example, a signal with a large proportion of signal energy focused into the transmit beam may exhibit a high effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP).

In the illustrated embodiment, the transceiver 105 transmits signals to the signal conditioning circuits 104a1, 104a2...104an, 104b1, 104b2...104bn, 104m1, 104m2...104mn, and processes signals received from the signal conditioning circuits.

2A, the transceiver 105 generates control signals for the signal conditioning circuits 104a1, 104a2...104an, 104b1, 104b2...104bn, 104m1, 104m2...104mn. The control signals can be used for various functions, such as controlling the gain and phase of the transmit and/or receive signals to control beamforming. For example, the signal conditioning circuits 104a1, 104a2...104an, 104b1, 104b2...104bn, 104m1, 104m2...104mn can each include a phase shifter implemented in accordance with the teachings herein.

Figure 2B is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of beamforming to provide a transmit beam. Figure 2B shows a portion of a communication system including a first signal conditioning circuit 114a, a second signal conditioning circuit 114b, a first antenna element 113a, and a second antenna element 113b.

Although shown as including two antenna elements and two signal conditioning circuits, the communication system may include additional antenna elements and/or signal conditioning circuits. For example, FIG. 2B illustrates one embodiment of a portion of the communication system 110 of FIG. 2A.

The first signal conditioning circuit 114a includes a first phase shifter 130a, a first power amplifier 131a, a first low noise amplifier (LNA) 132a, and a switch that controls the selection of the power amplifier 131a or the LNA 132a. In addition, the second signal conditioning circuit 114b includes a second phase shifter 130b, a second power amplifier 131b, a second LNA 132b, and a switch that controls the selection of the power amplifier 131b or the LNA 132b. The first phase shifter 130a and the second phase shifter 130b can be implemented according to any of the embodiments herein.

Although one embodiment of a signal conditioning circuit is shown, other implementations of the signal conditioning circuit are possible. For example, in one example, the signal conditioning circuit includes one or more bandpass filters, duplexers, diplexers, and/or other components.

In the illustrated embodiment, the first antenna element 113a and the second antenna element 113b are separated by a distance d. Additionally, FIG. 2B is annotated with an angle θ. In this example, θ has a value of approximately 90° when the transmit beam direction is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the antenna array, and a value of approximately 0° when the transmit beam direction is substantially parallel to the plane of the antenna array.

By controlling the relative phase of the transmit signals provided to the antenna elements 113a, 113b, a desired transmit beam angle θ can be achieved. For example, the first phase shifter 130a may have a reference value of 0° and the second phase shifter 130b may be controlled to provide a phase shift of approximately -2πf(d/ν) cos θ radians, where f is the fundamental frequency of the transmit signal, d is the distance between the antenna elements, ν is the speed of the radiated wave, and π is the mathematical constant pi.

In one implementation, the distance d is implemented to be approximately 1/2λ, where λ is the wavelength of the fundamental component of the transmit signal. In such an implementation, the second phase shifter 130b can be controlled to provide a phase shift of approximately -π cos θ radians to achieve the transmit beam angle θ.

The relative phase of the phase shifters 130a, 130b can thus be controlled to provide transmit beamforming. In certain implementations, a transceiver (e.g., transceiver 105 of FIG. 2A) controls one or more phase shifter phase values to control beamforming.

Figure 2C is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of beamforming to provide a receive beam. Figure 2C is similar to Figure 2B, except that Figure 2C illustrates beamforming in the context of a receive beam rather than a transmit beam.

As shown in FIG. 2C, the relative phase difference between the first phase shifter 130a and the second phase shifter 130b can be selected to be approximately equal to -2πf(d/ν) cos θ radians to achieve a desired receive beam angle θ. In an implementation where the distance d corresponds to approximately λ/2, the phase difference can be selected to be approximately equal to -π cos θ radians to achieve a receive beam angle θ.

Although various formulas have been given for phase values that provide beamforming, other phase selection values are possible, such as phase values selected based on the antenna array implementation, the signal conditioning circuit implementation, and/or the radio environment.

Phase shifter with switched transmission line load

Phase shifters are used in radio frequency (RF) systems to provide controllable phase adjustment to RF signals.

A phase shifter with a switched transmission line load is provided herein. In certain embodiments, the phase shifter includes a first port, a first controllable reflective load, a second port, a second controllable reflective load, and a pair of coupled wires electromagnetically coupled to each other. The pair of coupled wires includes a first conductive line between the first port and the first controllable reflective load, and a second conductive line between the second controllable reflective load and the second port. At least one of the first controllable reflective load or the second controllable reflective load includes a switched transmission line load.

Implementing the phase shifter in this manner enables high frequency performance (e.g., operation at FR2 in the range of 24 GHz to 30 GHz). Furthermore, good return loss can be achieved and/or the return loss can be relatively constant over the range of phase settings of the phase shifter. Furthermore, the group delay of the phase shifter has little variation with frequency and therefore does not distort the wideband signal.

The first and second controllable reflective loads are controlled based on the selected phase settings of the phase shifter. In certain implementations, each controllable reflective load is implemented using a switched transmission line load. Such a switched transmission line load may include a transmission line and a shunt switch (e.g., a field effect transistor or FET) connected between the transmission line and a reference voltage such as ground. By selecting the combination of switches that are turned on, the effective electrical length of the transmission line can be controlled. As the effective electrical length changes, the amount of phase shift through the phase shifter also changes.

The even-mode impedance, odd-mode impedance, and length of the pair of coupled lines can be adjusted during design to achieve desired performance characteristics. In one implementation, the pair of coupled lines is implemented as a coupler, such as a 3 dB 90° coupler (also referred to herein as a hybrid coupler). The hybrid coupler works in combination with a controllable reflective load to achieve the desired performance.

The phase shifters herein can be used in a wide variety of applications, including but not limited to providing phase shifts in RF signal conditioning circuits for beamforming applications.

In the particular implementation example herein, the phase shifter is configured to impart a phase shift to an RF signal in 5G Frequency Range 2 (FR2), such as 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. However, the phase shifter herein can handle other RF signal frequencies as well.

3 is a schematic diagram of a phase shifter 210 according to one embodiment. The phase shifter 210 includes a pair of coupled wires 200 (corresponding to a hybrid coupler in this embodiment), a first controllable reflective load 201 (also referred to herein as a variable reflective load), a second controllable reflective load 202, an input port IN, and an output port OUT. The coupled wires 200 include a first conductive wire 203 and a second conductive wire 204 that are electromagnetically coupled to each other.

In the illustrated embodiment, the first end 207a of the first conductive line 203 is connected to the input port IN, and the second end 207b of the first conductive line 203 is connected to the first controllable reflective load 201. In addition, the first end 208a of the second conductive line 204 is connected to the second controllable reflective load 202, and the second end 208b of the second conductive line 204 is connected to the output port OUT. The first end 207a of the first conductive line 203 and the first end 208a of the second conductive line 204 are on a first side of the coupled line 200, while the second end 207b of the first conductive line 203 and the second end 208b of the second conductive line 204 are on a second or opposite side of the coupled line 200.

In this embodiment, the pair of coupled wires 200 is implemented as a hybrid coupler. In addition, the first end 207a corresponds to the input terminal (IN) of the coupler, the second end 207b corresponds to the through terminal (0°) of the coupler, the first end 208a corresponds to the isolation terminal (ISO) of the coupler, and the second end 208b corresponds to the coupling terminal (90°) of the coupler.

At least one of the first controllable reflective load 201 or the second controllable reflective load 202 is implemented using a switched transmission line according to the teachings herein.

By implementing phase shifter 210 in this manner, high frequency performance, good return loss, and/or constant return loss can be achieved across multiple phase settings. Furthermore, the group delay of phase shifter 210 has little variation with frequency and therefore does not distort wideband signals.

In a given implementation, the first controllable reflective load 201 and the second controllable reflective load 202 are controlled based on the selected phase setting of the phase shifter 210, so that the electrical lengths of the transmission lines of these reflective loads change. For example, the first controllable reflective load 201 and the second controllable reflective load 202 may each be implemented as a switched transmission line controlled by a common control signal.

The even mode impedance, odd mode impedance, and length of the coupled wire 200 can be adjusted during design to achieve desired performance characteristics. The coupled wire 200 works in combination with the controllable reflective load 201/202 to achieve the desired performance.

4A is a schematic diagram of a switched transmission line 230 according to one embodiment. The switched transmission line 230 includes a transmission line 221, an RF input RF _IN to the transmission line 221, shunt switches 222a, 222b, 222c, ... 222n, and a control circuit 223. That is, n shunt switches are included, where n is an integer equal to or greater than 2, and is preferably equal to or greater than 4.

The switched transmission line 230 in FIG. 4A illustrates one embodiment of a controllable reflective load implemented in accordance with the teachings herein.

In the illustrated embodiment, the control circuit 223 opens or closes the shunt switches 222a, 222b, 222c, ... 222n based on the selected phase shift setting φ. The shunt switches 222a, 222b, 222c, ... 222n are connected at different locations along the transmission line 221. The shunt switches 222a, 222b, 222c, ... 222n selectively connect the transmission line 221 to ground.

By changing which of the shunt switches 222a, 222b, 222c, ... 222n are turned on and which are turned off, the electrical length of the transmission line 221 is changed. This then affects the overall phase shift of the reflective type phase shifter in which the switched transmission line 230 is incorporated.

In certain implementations, the control circuit 223 turns on all of the switches (or at least the shunt switch 222a closest to RF _IN ) to provide the shortest electrical length of the transmission line 221. If all of the shunt switches start with a closed state, the shunt switches can be sequentially opened (off) starting with the switch 222a closest to RF _IN to provide progressively longer electrical lengths.

Figure 4B is a schematic diagram of a switched transmission line 230' according to another embodiment.

The switched transmission line 230' of FIG. 4B is similar to the switched transmission line 230 of FIG. 4A, except that the switched transmission line 230' of FIG. 4B includes a control circuit 223' that includes a thermometer decoder 224.

In certain embodiments herein, the switched transmission line includes a shunt switch that is controlled using thermometer decoding.

FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram of a switch-type transmission line 240 according to another embodiment. The switch-type transmission line 240 includes a transmission line 231, a first ground conductor 233a, a second ground conductor 233b, and multiple pairs of FET switches 232a1/232a2, 232b1/232b2, 232c1/232c2, ... 232n1/232n2. That is, n pairs of shunt switches are included. Here, n is an integer equal to or greater than 2, and is preferably equal to or greater than 4.

Compared to the switched transmission line 230 of FIG. 4A, the switched transmission line 240 of FIG. 5A implements each shunt switch using a pair of FET switches. Additionally, each pair of FET switches includes one FET switch (e.g., FET switch 232a1) connected between the transmission line 231 and the first ground conductor 233a, and another FET switch (e.g., FET switch 232a2) connected between the transmission line 231 and the second ground conductor 233b. In a given implementation, the FET switches of each pair are commonly controlled by a corresponding control signal (e.g., n control signals generated by a control circuit such as the control circuit 223 of FIG. 4A, one for each pair).

By implementing a shunt switch using a FET in the manner depicted, improved performance is achieved, especially at high frequencies.

FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram of a switch-type transmission line 250 according to another embodiment. The switch-type transmission line 250 includes a transmission line 231, a first ground conductor 233a, a second ground conductor 233b, and multiple pairs of FET switches 242a1/242a2, 242b1/242b2, 242c1/242c2, ... 242n1/242n2.

The switched transmission line 250 of FIG. 5B is similar to the switched transmission line 240 of FIG. 5A, except that the switched transmission line 250 of FIG. 5B includes multiple shunt switches having different sizes (i.e., varying on-state resistances and off-state capacitances) and different distances or separations from one another.

Implementing a switched transmission line 250 in this manner provides a number of advantages.

For example, the on-state resistance (Ron) of the shunt switches can be individually selected to maintain a substantially constant reflection coefficient (|Γ _L |) across multiple switch states (corresponding to multiple phase shift settings). In a given implementation, Ron decreases as the phase shift increases, so that switches closer to the RF input of the transmission line have a smaller on-state resistance than switches further from the RF input (which have a higher on-state resistance).

In another example, the length (d ₁ , d ₂ , . . . d _n ) of the transmission line 231 between the switches is controlled to control the amount of phase step between adjacent phase settings.

By appropriately selecting the switch distance, for example, a phase step of 11.25 degrees can be achieved at a center frequency of 27 GHz.

When implementing the switched transmission line 250, the off-state capacitance (Coff) is considered in terms of its effect on the characteristic impedance and propagation constant of the transmission line 231. For example, the switch and the transmission line can be designed simultaneously and iteratively.

6 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of a switched transmission line 260. The switched transmission line 260 includes a transmission line 251, an RF input RF _IN to the transmission line 251, shunt switches 222a, 222b, 222c, . . . 222n, and a control circuit 223.

The switched transmission line 260 of FIG. 6 is similar to the switched transmission line 230 of FIG. 4A, except that the transmission line 251 shown in FIG. 6 includes serpentine sections 255a, 255b, ... 255n to achieve a desired phase and/or amplitude response while maintaining a compact layout.

Snakes in transmission lines are also applicable to configurations using pairs of FET switches coupled to a pair of ground lines. For example, the transmission line 231 in the embodiment of Figures 5A and 5B may be snaked in accordance with the teachings herein.

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a switched transmission line 310 according to another embodiment. The switched transmission line 310 includes a transmission line 301, a first ground conductor 302a, a second ground conductor 302b, a first pair of switches 304a-304b, and a second pair of switches 305a-305b. Additional pairs of switches may be included, as indicated by the ellipsis.

In the example of FIG. 7, the transmission line 301 includes a first section 305a that meanders with a small loop and a second section 305b that meanders without a loop. The embodiment of FIG. 7 also illustrates other example meanders that achieve a desired phase and/or amplitude response while maintaining a compact layout.

A wide variety of performance results can be achieved using reflective type phase shifters implemented in accordance with the teachings herein.

Table 1 below shows an example of the results of a phase shifter using switched transmission line loads according to one implementation of FIG. 5B.

Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a mobile device 800. The mobile device 800 includes a baseband system 801, a transceiver 802, a front-end system 803, an antenna 804, a power management system 805, a memory 806, a user interface 807, and a battery 808.

The mobile device 800 can be used to communicate using a wide variety of communication technologies, including but not limited to 2G, 3G, 4G (LTE, LTE Advanced, and LTE Advanced Pro), 5G NR, WLAN (e.g., Wi-Fi), WPAN (e.g., Bluetooth® and ZigBee®), WMAN (e.g., WiMax), and/or GPS technologies.

The transceiver 802 generates RF signals for transmission and processes incoming RF signals received from the antenna 804. It will be appreciated that various functions associated with transmitting and receiving RF signals may be accomplished by one or more components collectively represented in FIG. 8 as the transceiver 802. In one example, separate components (e.g., separate circuits or dies) may be provided to handle certain types of RF signals.

The front-end system 803 assists in conditioning signals transmitted to and/or received from the antenna 804. In the illustrated embodiment, the front-end system 803 includes a power amplifier (PA) 811, a low noise amplifier (LNA) 812, a filter 813, a switch 814, and a duplexer 815.

The phase shifter 810 may be implemented according to any of the embodiments herein. However, the phase shifters disclosed herein may also be used in electronic systems of other configurations.

The front-end system 803 may provide a number of functions, including, but not limited to, amplification of transmit signals, amplification of receive signals, filtering of signals, switching between different bands, switching between different power modes, switching between transmit and receive modes, duplexing of signals, multiplexing of signals (e.g., diplexing or triplexing), or any combination thereof.

The mobile device 800 operates with beamforming. For example, the front-end system 803 includes a phase shifter 810 that is variably phase controlled by the transceiver 802. In certain implementations, the transceiver 802 controls the phase of the phase shifter 810 based on data received from the processor 801.

The phase shifter 810 is controlled to provide beam forming and directivity for the transmission and/or reception of signals using the antenna 804. For example, in the context of signal transmission, the phase of the transmit signals provided to the antenna array used for transmission is controlled such that the radiated signals combine using constructive and destructive interference to produce an aggregate transmit signal that exhibits a beam-like quality having strong signal strength propagating in a given direction. In the context of signal reception, the phase is controlled such that more signal energy is received when the signal arrives at the antenna array from a particular direction.

In certain implementations, the mobile device 800 supports carrier aggregation, providing flexibility to increase peak data rates. Carrier aggregation can be used for both frequency division duplexing (FDD) and time division duplexing (TDD), and may be used to aggregate multiple carriers or channels. Carrier aggregation includes contiguous aggregation, where contiguous carriers are aggregated within the same operating frequency band. Carrier aggregation may be non-contiguous and include frequency separated carriers within a common band or different bands.

Antenna 804 may include antennas used for a wide variety of types of communications. For example, antenna 804 may include antennas for transmitting and/or receiving signals associated with a wide variety of frequencies and communication standards.

In certain implementations, antennas 804 support MIMO and/or switched diversity communications. For example, MIMO communications uses multiple antennas to communicate multiple data streams over a single radio frequency channel. MIMO communications benefit from high signal-to-noise ratios, improved coding, and/or reduced signal interference due to spatial multiplexing of the wireless environment. Switched diversity refers to communications in which a particular antenna is selected to operate at a particular time. For example, a switch can be used to select a particular antenna from a group of antennas based on various factors such as an observed bit error rate and/or a signal strength indicator.

In certain implementations, antenna 804 includes one or more arrays of antenna elements to enhance beamforming.

The baseband system 801 is coupled to a user interface 807 that facilitates various user input/output (I/O) such as processing of voice and data. The baseband system 801 provides a digital representation of a transmit signal to the transceiver 802, which processes the digital representation to generate an RF signal for transmission. The baseband system 801 also processes a digital representation of a receive signal provided by the transceiver 802. As shown in FIG. 8, the baseband system 801 is coupled to a memory 806 to facilitate operation of the mobile device 800.

Memory 806 can be used for a wide variety of purposes, such as storing data and/or instructions to facilitate operation of mobile device 800 and/or provide storage of user information.

The power management system 805 provides a number of power management functions for the portable device 800. In certain implementations, the power management system 805 includes a PA supply control circuit that controls the supply voltages of the multiple power amplifiers 811. For example, the power management system 805 may be configured to vary the supply voltage provided to one or more of the multiple power amplifiers 811 to improve efficiency, such as power added efficiency (PAE).

As shown in FIG. 8, the power management system 805 receives a battery voltage from a battery 808. The battery 808 may be any suitable battery for use in the portable device 800, including, for example, a lithium ion battery.

9A is a schematic diagram of an RF channel 910 according to one embodiment. The RF channel 910 includes an RF splitter/combiner 901, phase shifters 902a, 902b, ... 902z, a first set of transmit/receive (T/R) switches 903a, 903b, ... 903z, power amplifiers 904a, 904b, ... 904z, low noise amplifiers (LNAs) 905a, 905b, ... 905z, a second set of T/R switches 906a, 906b, ... 906z, and antennas 907a, 907b, ... 907z.

In the illustrated embodiment, the T/R switch is used to select the power amplifier for transmit or the LNA for receive; that is, the RF channel 910 is suitable for time division duplexing (TDD). Additionally, the RF splitter/combiner 901 is shared between the transmit and receive directions, thereby reducing RF signal routing.

Although one embodiment of an RF channel is depicted, the teachings herein are applicable to RF channels implemented in a wide variety of ways. Thus, other implementations are possible.

Figure 9B is a schematic diagram of an RF channel 920 according to another embodiment. The RF channel 920 includes an RF splitter 911a, an RF combiner 911b, a first group of phase shifters 912a, 912b, ... 912z, a second group of phase shifters 913a, 913b, ... 913z, power amplifiers 904a, 904b, ... 904z, LNAs 905a, 905b, ... 905z, T/R switches 906a, 906b, ... 906z, and antennas 907a, 907b, ... 907z.

RF channel 920 illustrates an RF channel of another embodiment. However, the teachings herein are applicable to RF channels implemented in a wide variety of ways. Thus, other implementations are possible.

FIG. 10A is a perspective view of one embodiment of a module 1140 that operates with beamforming. FIG. 10B is a cross-section of the module 1140 of FIG. 10A taken along line 10B-10B.

Module 1140 includes laminate substrate or laminate 1141, semiconductor die or IC 1142 (not visible in FIG. 10A), surface mounted device (SMD) 1143 (not visible in FIG. 10A), and antenna array. The antenna array includes antenna elements 1151a1, 1151a2, 1151a3...1151an, 1151b1, 1151b2, 1151b3...1151bn, 1151c1, 1151c2, 1151c3...1151cn, 1151m1, 1151m2, 1151m3...1151mn.

Although one embodiment of a module is shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the teachings herein are applicable to modules implemented in a wide variety of manners. For example, a module may include different arrangements and/or numbers of antenna elements, dies, and/or surface mount devices. Additionally, module 1140 may include additional structures and components, including, but not limited to, encapsulation structures, shielding structures, and/or wire bonds.

Antenna elements Antenna elements 1151a1, 1151a2, 1151a3...1151an, 1151b1, 1151b2, 1151b3...1151bn, 1151c1, 1151c2, 1151c3...1151cn, 1151m1, 1151m2, 1151m3...1151mn are formed on a first surface of the laminate 1141 and may be used to receive and/or transmit signals depending on the implementation. Although a 4x4 array of antenna elements is shown, more or less antenna elements are possible, as indicated by the ellipsis. Additionally, the antenna elements may be arrayed in other patterns or configurations, including, for example, arrays using non-uniform arrangements of antenna elements. Additionally, multiple antenna arrays are provided in other embodiments. These antenna arrays may include, for example, separate antenna arrays for transmission and reception and/or for different communication bands.

In the illustrated embodiment, IC 1142 is present on a second surface of laminate 1141 opposite the first surface. However, other implementations are possible. In one example, IC 1142 is integrated within laminate 1141.

In certain implementations, IC 142 includes signal conditioning circuitry associated with antenna elements 1151a1, 1151a2, 1151a3...1151an, 1151b1, 1151b2, 1151b3...1151bn, 1151c1, 1151c2, 1151c3...1151cn, 1151m1, 1151m2, 1151m3...1151mn. Such signal conditioning circuitry may include one or more phase shifters 1145 implemented in accordance with the teachings herein.

In one embodiment, IC 1142 includes a serial interface, such as a Mobile Industry Processor Interface Radio Frequency Front End (MIPI RFFE) bus and/or an Inter-Integrated Circuit Communication (I2C) bus, to receive data that controls the signal conditioning circuitry, such as the amount of phase shift that phase shifter 1145 provides. In another embodiment, IC 142 further includes an integrated transceiver.

Laminate 1141 may include various structures including, for example, conductive layers, dielectric layers, and/or solder masks. The number of layers, layer thicknesses, and materials used to form the layers may be selected based on a wide variety of factors and may vary by application and/or implementation. Laminate 1141 may include vias that provide electrical connection to the signal and/or ground feeds of the antenna elements. For example, in a given implementation, the vias help provide electrical connection between the signal conditioning circuitry of IC 1142 and the corresponding antenna elements.

Antenna elements 1151a1, 1151a2, 1151a3...1151an, 1151b1, 1151b2, 1151b3...1151bn, 1151c1, 1151c2, 1151c3...1151cn, 1151m1, 1151m2, 1151m3...1151mn may correspond to antenna elements implemented in a wide variety of ways. In one example, the array of antenna elements includes a patch antenna element formed from a patterned conductive layer on a first side of the laminate 1141, with a ground plane formed using a conductive layer on the opposite side of the laminate 1141 or within the laminate 1141. Other examples of antenna elements include, but are not limited to, dipole antenna elements, ceramic resonators, stamped metal antennas, and/or laser directly structured antennas.

The module 1140 may be included in a communication system such as a mobile phone or a base station. In one example, the module 1140 is mounted on a phone board of a mobile phone.

application

The principles and advantages of the embodiments described herein can be used for a wide variety of applications.

For example, the phase shifter may be included in a variety of electronic devices, including, but not limited to, consumer electronic products, components of consumer electronic products, electronic test equipment, and the like. Examples of electronic devices include, but are not limited to, base stations, wireless network access points, mobile phones (e.g., smartphones), tablets, televisions, computer monitors, computers, handheld computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), microwave ovens, refrigerators, automobiles, stereo systems, disc players, digital cameras, portable memory chips, washers, dryers, copiers, facsimile machines, scanners, multifunction peripheral devices, watches, clocks, and the like. Additionally, electronic devices may include unfinished products.

summary

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the specification and claims, terms such as "comprises," "comprises," and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense, i.e., "including, but not limited to," as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense. The term "coupled," as generally used herein, refers to two or more elements being either directly connected or connected via one or more intermediate elements. Similarly, the term "connected," as generally used herein, refers to two or more elements being either directly connected or connected via one or more intermediate elements. In addition, when used in this application, the terms "herein," "above," "below," and terms of similar import shall refer to this application as a whole, and not to any particular portion of this application. Where the context permits, terms in the above detailed description using singular or plural numbers may also include the plural or singular number, respectively. The terms "or" and "or" referring to a list of two or more items cover all of the following interpretations of that term: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the items in the list.

Additionally, unless specifically stated or understood otherwise within the context in which it is used, conditional language used herein, such as, among others, "can," "may," "may," "for example," "such as," and the like, is generally intended to indicate that certain embodiments include certain features, elements, and/or conditions while other embodiments do not. That is, such conditional language is generally not intended to imply that features, elements, and/or conditions are present in any manner required in one or more embodiments, or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic that determines, with or without authorial input or prompting, whether or not those features, elements, and/or conditions are included or should be performed in any particular embodiment.

The above description of embodiments of the invention is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed above. Although specific embodiments and examples of the invention have been described above for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will recognize that various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention. For example, while processes or blocks are presented in a given order, alternative embodiments may perform routines or use systems having blocks with steps in different orders, and some processes or blocks may be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified. Each of these processes or blocks may be implemented in a variety of different ways. Also, while processes or blocks may be shown to be performed in serial, these processes or blocks may instead be performed in parallel or may be performed at different times.

The teachings of the invention provided herein may be applied to other systems, not necessarily those described above. Elements and acts of the various embodiments described above may be combined to provide further embodiments.

While certain embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Indeed, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms, and further, various omissions, substitutions, and modifications of the forms of the methods and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. The appended claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as fall within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.

Claims (20)

A phase shifter comprising:
a coupler including an input terminal, a through terminal, a first coupling line connected between the input terminal and the through terminal, an isolation terminal, a coupling terminal, and a second coupling line connected between the isolation terminal and the coupling terminal;
an input port connected to an input terminal of the coupler and configured to receive a radio frequency input signal;
an output port connected to a coupling terminal of the coupler and configured to output a radio frequency output signal having a phase shift with respect to the radio frequency input signal;
a first controllable reflective load connected to the through terminal of the coupler;
the first controllable reflective load includes a transmission line and a plurality of shunt switches, each shunt switch being connected between a ground voltage and a different point along the transmission line;
the plurality of shunt switches are selectable to control the phase shift;
The plurality of shunt switches are connected to the transmission line at a plurality of non-uniformly spaced points . The phase shifter of claim 1 , wherein the first controllable reflective load further comprises a first ground conductor on a first side of the transmission line and a second ground conductor on a second side of the transmission line. each of the shunt switches is implemented as a pair of field effect transistors;
3. The phase shifter of claim 2 , wherein the pair of field effect transistors includes a first field effect transistor connected between the transmission line and the first ground conductor, and a second field effect transistor connected between the transmission line and the second ground conductor. 2. The phase shifter of claim 1 , wherein the distance between adjacent pairs of the plurality of points gradually decreases along the length of the transmission line. The phase shifter of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of shunt switches has a different size. The phase shifter of claim 5 , wherein the sizes of the plurality of shunt switches increase gradually along the length of the transmission line. The phase shifter of claim 1 , wherein the transmission line includes a plurality of serpentine sections. The phase shifter of claim 7 , wherein at least one of the plurality of serpentine sections includes a loop. 2. The phase shifter of claim 1 , further comprising a second controllable reflective load connected to the isolation terminal of the coupler. 1. A mobile device comprising:
A transmitter/receiver;
a front-end system coupled to the transceiver;
the front-end system includes a phase shifter;
the phase shifter includes a combiner;
the coupler has an input terminal configured to receive a radio frequency input signal, a through terminal, a first coupled wire connected between the input terminal and the through terminal, an isolation terminal, a coupled terminal configured to output a radio frequency output signal having a phase shift with respect to the radio frequency input signal, and a second coupled wire connected between the isolation terminal and the coupled terminal;
The phase shifter further includes a first controllable reflective load connected to a through terminal of the coupler;
the first controllable reflective load includes a transmission line and a plurality of shunt switches, each shunt switch being connected between a ground voltage and a different point along the transmission line;
the plurality of shunt switches are selectable to control the phase shift;
A portable device , wherein the plurality of shunt switches are connected to the transmission line at a plurality of non-uniformly spaced points . The portable device of claim 10 , wherein the first controllable reflective load further comprises a first ground conductor on a first side of the transmission line and a second ground conductor on a second side of the transmission line. each of the shunt switches is implemented as a pair of field effect transistors;
12. The portable device of claim 11 , wherein the pair of field effect transistors includes a first field effect transistor connected between the transmission line and the first ground conductor, and a second field effect transistor connected between the transmission line and the second ground conductor. The portable device of claim 10 , wherein the distance between adjacent pairs of the plurality of points gradually decreases along the length of the transmission line. The hand-held device of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of shunt switches each have a different size. The portable device of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of shunt switches increase in size gradually along the length of the transmission line. The hand-held device of claim 10 , wherein the phase shifter further comprises a second controllable reflective load connected to an isolation terminal of the coupler. A method of phase shifting comprising the steps of:
receiving a radio frequency input signal at an input terminal of a coupler;
providing a coupling from a first coupled wire of the coupler to a second coupled wire of the coupler, the first coupled wire being connected between an input terminal of the coupler and a through terminal of the coupler, and the second coupled wire being connected between an isolation terminal of the coupler and a coupling terminal of the coupler;
providing a radio frequency output signal from a coupling terminal of the coupler, the radio frequency output signal having a phase shift relative to the radio frequency input signal;
controlling the phase shift using a first controllable reflective load connected to a through terminal of the coupler, the controllable reflective load including selecting one or more of a plurality of shunt switches of the first controllable reflective load;
each of the plurality of shunt switches is connected between a ground voltage and a different point along a transmission line of the first controllable reflective load ;
The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of shunt switches are connected to the transmission line at a plurality of non-uniformly spaced points . The method of claim 17 , further comprising controlling a second controllable reflective load connected to an isolation terminal of the coupler. 20. The method of claim 17, wherein the distance between adjacent pairs of the plurality of points gradually decreases along the length of the transmission line. 20. The method of claim 17, wherein the plurality of shunt switches each have a different size, and the size of the plurality of shunt switches increases progressively along the length of the transmission line.