Multi-harmonic matching networks

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9979375-B2
Application number	US-201514978231-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 22, 2015
Priority date	Dec 22, 2015
Publication date	May 22, 2018
Grant date	May 22, 2018

Abstract

A communication matching network for multi-harmonic suppression includes a communication circuit configured to provide a signal. The communication matching network further includes a matching circuit configured to receive the signal from the communication circuit and suppress one or more harmonics of the received signal to generate a filtered signal, wherein the matching circuit includes a transformer comprising a first winding and a second winding, wherein the first winding includes a first inductance and the second winding includes a second inductance and wherein the matching network includes a harmonic trap including a third inductance such that the third inductance is located inside or within a physical layout of the first winding and/or the second winding. The communication matching network further includes a receiver circuit configured to receive the filtered signal from the matching circuit for further processing.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A communication matching network, comprising:
a communication circuit configured to provide a signal;
a matching network coupled between the communication circuit and an antenna port, and configured to provide an impedance matching between the communication circuit and the antenna port comprising:
an impedance matching circuit comprising at least a first inductance and a second inductance, the impedance matching circuit configured to receive the signal from the communication circuit and match an impedance between an output of the communication circuit and the antenna port; and
a harmonic filter configured to receive the signal from the impedance matching circuit and perform a harmonic filtering of the signal to remove undesired harmonics in the signal to generate a conditioned signal,
wherein the harmonic filter comprises a harmonic inductance as a third inductance that is physically located inside a layout of the first inductance, and is further configured to establish an inductive coupling between the first inductance and the harmonic inductance that is below a predetermined threshold based on a minimum distance between windings of the harmonic inductance and windings of at least one of the first or the second inductances being greater than a minimum distance between the windings of the first inductance and the second inductance; wherein the harmonic inductance of the harmonic filter is shaped as a substantially 8-shaped winding inside the layout of the first inductance; and and
the antenna port configured to receive the conditioned signal associated with the signal from the communication circuit.

2. The communication matching network of claim 1 , wherein the impedance matching circuit comprises a transformer comprising the first inductance as a first winding and the second inductance as a second winding, and wherein the first winding and the second winding are inductively coupled together.

3. The communication matching network of claim 2 , wherein the harmonic filter comprises a harmonic trap having the harmonic inductance as the third inductance, and wherein the third inductance is physically located inside a layout of the first inductance or the second inductance, or a combination of first and second inductance.

4. The communication matching network of claim 3 , wherein the harmonic trap comprises a harmonic capacitance and a second harmonic inductance as s fourth inductance, wherein the harmonic capacitance and the fourth inductance are connected in series with the third inductance, and wherein the harmonic trap is coupled in parallel with the second winding of the transformer.

5. The communication matching network of claim 3 , wherein the harmonic filter comprises a second harmonic trap connected in parallel with the harmonic trap, the second harmonic trap comprising a second harmonic capacitance connected in series with a second harmonic inductance as a fourth inductance, wherein the third inductance and the fourth inductance are physically located inside the layout of the first inductance.

6. The communication matching network of claim 3 , wherein the harmonic filter comprises a second harmonic trap arranged asymmetrically with respect to the harmonic trap to obtain a different transfer function upon a different selection of one of two outputs connected to ground.

7. The communication matching network of claim 2 , wherein the harmonic filter comprises an L-type matching network to facilitate a wideband network matching, wherein the L-type matching network comprises a first capacitance in parallel with the second winding of the transformer and a series combination of the third inductance and a second capacitance coupled in parallel with the first capacitance.

8. A communication matching network for multi-harmonic suppression, the communication matching network comprising:
a communication circuit configured to provide a signal;
a matching circuit configured to receive the signal from the communication circuit and suppress one or more harmonics of the received signal to generate a filtered signal,
wherein the matching circuit comprises a transformer comprising a first winding and a second winding, wherein the first winding comprises a first inductance and the second winding comprises a second inductance,
wherein the matching network comprises a harmonic trap comprising a third inductance to arrange the third inductance being physically located inside a layout of the first winding or the second winding, or both the first winding and the second winding, and configured to establish an inductive coupling between the third inductance and both the first inductance and the second inductance that is below a predetermined threshold, wherein a minimum distance between windings of the third inductance and windings of at least one of the first winding or the second winding is larger than a minimum distance between the windings of the first winding and the second winding; wherein the third inductance of the harmonic trap is shaped as a substantially 8-shaped winding inside the layout of the first inductance; and and
an antenna port configured to receive the filtered signal from the matching circuit for further processing or transmission.

9. The communication matching network of claim 8 , wherein the harmonic trap further comprises a capacitance, and wherein the capacitance and the third inductance form an LC filter.

10. The communication matching network of claim 9 , wherein the capacitance is a variable capacitor to tune the harmonic trap.

11. The communication matching network of claim 10 , wherein the variable capacitor is a continuously variable capacitor or a digitally variable capacitor.

12. The communication matching network of claim 8 , further comprising a fourth inductance that is mutually inductively coupled with the third inductance, wherein the third inductance and the fourth inductance are both physically located inside the layout of the first winding or the second winding, or both.

13. The communication matching network of claim 8 , wherein the transformer is an impedance matching transformer.

14. The communication matching network of claim 8 , wherein the harmonic trap is disposed inside the first winding and the second winding of the transformer.

15. The communication matching network of claim 8 , wherein the communication circuit comprises an amplifier, or a mixer, or an oscillator.

16. The communication matching network of claim 8 , wherein the harmonic trap is tuned to suppress a desired frequency, wherein the harmonic trap is tuned by varying the third inductance, or varying the capacitance, or varying both the inductance and the capacitance.

17. A method to suppress multiple harmonics in a signal in a communication system, the method comprising:
providing, by a communication circuit, the signal;
receiving, by a matching circuit, the signal;
suppressing, by the matching circuit, one or more harmonics of the received signal to generate a filtered signal,
wherein the matching circuit comprises:
an impedance matching circuit having a first inductance and a second inductance, and configured to receive the signal from the communication circuit and match an impedance between an output of the communication circuit and an antenna port; and
a harmonic filter configured to receive the signal from the impedance matching circuit and perform a harmonic filtering of the signal to suppress harmonics in the signal, to generate the filtered signal, wherein the harmonic filter comprises a harmonic inductance as a third inductance that is physically locat

Assignees

• Intel Ip Corp

Inventors

• Leuschner Stephan
• Moreira Jose Pedro Diogo Faisca

Classifications

• H10W44/501

  Inductive arrangements (H10W44/20 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01F27/2804

  Printed windings · CPC title

• H03H7/38 Primary

  Impedance-matching networks · CPC title

• H04B1/0458

  Arrangements for matching and coupling between power amplifier and antenna or between amplifying stages (matching circuits in general H03H) · CPC title

• H01L23/645

  Electricity · mapped topic