Techniques for low-loss multi-band multiplexing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10469122-B2
Application number	US-201815872695-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 16, 2018
Priority date	Jan 17, 2017
Publication date	Nov 5, 2019
Grant date	Nov 5, 2019

Abstract

Various aspects described herein relate to low-loss multi-band multiplexing schemes for a wireless communications system, for example, a 5th Generation (5G) New Radio (NR) system. In an aspect, a multiplexer for multi-band wireless communications comprises at least one tuning component configured to transmit or receive at least one signal within a frequency band that is selected from a plurality of frequency bands. The multiplexer further comprises at least one combining component, communicatively coupled with the at least one tuning component, configured to transmit or receive the at least one signal within the selected frequency band. In an aspect, the at least one tuning component is integrated on a chip and the at least one combining component is not integrated on the chip.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A multiplexer for multi-band wireless communications, comprising:
at least one tuning component configured to transmit or receive at least one signal within a frequency band that is selected from a plurality of frequency bands; and
at least one combining component, communicatively coupled with the at least one tuning component, configured to transmit or receive the at least one signal within the selected frequency band and comprising impedance transformation circuits configured to transform impedances of a non-operational signal path of the multiplexer to present a load to an operational signal path of the multiplexer,
wherein the at least one tuning component is integrated on a chip and the at least one combining component is not integrated on the chip.

2. The multiplexer of claim 1 , wherein the impedance transformation circuits are on at least a module substrate or a printed circuit board (PCB).

3. The multiplexer of claim 2 , wherein the load is a reactive load.

4. The multiplexer of claim 1 , wherein the at least one combining component comprises two or more combining components configured to combine or split the at least one signal, wherein each of the two or more combining components is associated with a respective signal of the at least one signal.

5. The multiplexer of claim 1 , wherein the at least one tuning component comprises one or more shunt-based switches and one or more band-select components used for adjusting to transmit or receive the at least one signal within the frequency band.

6. The multiplexer of claim 5 , wherein the one or more band-select components comprises a tunable reactance.

7. The multiplexer of claim 5 , wherein the at least one tuning component comprises at least two sets of tuning components, wherein each set of tuning components comprises at least two shunt-based switches and at least a band-select component, and wherein each set of tuning components is configured in a transmission mode or a reception mode.

8. The multiplexer of claim 7 , wherein each of the at least one combining component is associated with a respective set of tuning components of the at least two sets of tuning components.

9. The multiplexer of claim 5 , wherein at least two of the shunt-based switches forms a single-pole double-throw (SPDT) switch or a single-pole N-throw (SPNT) switch.

10. The multiplexer of claim 1 , wherein the multiplexer is configured to transmit or receive millimeter-wave signals.

11. The multiplexer of claim 1 , wherein the multiplexer is configured to operate in a time-division duplexing (TDD) mode.

12. The multiplexer of claim 1 , wherein the multiplexer is communicatively coupled with at least one antenna, a transceiver, a radio frequency (RF) module, or an RF cable.

13. The multiplexer of claim 12 , wherein the transceiver is communicatively coupled with multiple antennas simultaneously.

14. The multiplexer of claim 1 , wherein the multiplexer is communicatively coupled with one or more wideband amplifiers including at least a low-noise amplifier (LNA) or a power amplifier (PA).

15. The multiplexer of claim 14 , wherein the at least one tuning component is incorporated into at least a matching network or circuit of the one or more wideband amplifiers.

16. A method of multi-band wireless communications, comprising:
selecting a frequency band from a plurality of frequency bands;
adjusting at least one tuning component to transmit or receive at least one signal within the selected frequency band;
transmitting or receiving the at least one signal within the selected frequency band using at least one combining component; and
transforming impedances of a non-operational signal path of a multiplexer to present a load to an operational signal path of the multiplexer using impedance transformation circuits,
wherein the multiplexer comprises the at least one tuning component and the at least one combining component and wherein the at least one tuning component is integrated on a chip and the at least one combining component is not integrated on the chip.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the impedance transformation circuits are on at least a module substrate or a printed circuit board (PCB).

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the at least one tuning component comprises at least two shunt-based switches, and wherein the adjusting comprises using the at least two shunt-based switches to form a single-pole double-throw (SPDT) switch or a single-pole N-throw (SPNT) switch and switch paths for the at least one signal.

19. The method of claim 16 , wherein the adjusting comprises adjusting at least a tunable reactance of the at least one tuning component.

20. The method of claim 16 , wherein the adjusting comprises switching the at least one signal between two different frequency bands of the plurality of frequency bands.

21. The method of claim 16 , wherein the adjusting comprises switching between signal transmission and reception.

22. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
communicating with one or more wideband amplifiers; and
incorporating the at least one tuning component into at least a matching network or circuit of the one or more wideband amplifiers.

23. A multiplexer for multi-band wireless communications, comprising:
means for selecting a frequency band from a plurality of frequency bands;
means for adjusting at least one tuning component to transmit or receive at least one signal within the selected frequency band;
means for transmitting or receiving the at least one signal within the selected frequency band using at least one combining component; and
means for transforming impedances of a non-operational signal path of a multiplexer to present a load to an operational signal path of the multiplexer using impedance transformation circuits,
wherein the multiplexer comprises the at least one tuning component and the at least one combining component and wherein the at least one tuning component is integrated on a chip and the at least one combining component is not integrated on the chip.

24. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer code executable by a processor for multi-band wireless communications, comprising:
code for selecting a frequency band from a plurality of frequency bands;
code for adjusting at least one tuning component to transmit or receive at least one signal within the selected frequency band;
code for transmitting or receiving the at least one signal within the selected frequency band using at least one combining component; and
code for transforming impedances of a non-operational signal path of a multiplexer to present a load to an operational signal path of the multiplexer using impedance transformation circuits,
wherein the multiplexer comprises the at least one tuning component and the at least one combining component and wherein the at least one tuning component is integrated on a chip and the at least one combining component is not integrated on the chip.

25. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 24 , wherein the at least one tuning component comprises at least two shunt-based switches, and wherein the code for adjusting comprises code for using the at least two shunt-based switches to form a single-pole double-throw (SPDT) switch or a single-pole N-throw (SPNT) switch and switch paths for the at least one signal.

26. The non-transitory computer-readable medi

Assignees

• Qualcomm Inc

Inventors

• Patel Chirag Dipak
• Leung Lai Kan
• Jin Zhang
• Mishra Chinmaya
• Sridhara Ravi
• Yoon Youngchang

Classifications

• H03F2200/387

  A circuit being added at the output of an amplifier to adapt the output impedance of the amplifier · CPC title

• H03F3/245

  with semiconductor devices only · CPC title

• H03F1/486

  with IC amplifier blocks · CPC title

• H03F2200/451

  the amplifier being a radio frequency amplifier · CPC title

• H03F2200/421

  Multiple switches coupled in the output circuit of an amplifier are controlled by a circuit · CPC title