Phase shifter using switch-based feeder power splitter

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to phase shifters using switch-based feeder power splitters. The RF power splitter is arranged so that an RF input signal is provided to and connected to a portion of a feeder line that connects an antenna element to a radio transmitter / receiver / transceiver, thereby implementing a feeder power splitter. The feeder power splitter described herein is provided with a switch that allows the point at which the RF input signal is fed to the feeder line to be changed, and the switch can be a semiconductor-based switch or a MEMS-based switch. The point at which the RF input signal is provided to the feeder line for diversion defines the electrical path length along which the RF energy propagates along the various paths of the feeder power splitter, which in turn changes the phase shift achieved on each path of the output of the feeder power splitter. Different antenna elements can be coupled to different outputs of the feeder power splitter.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application is related to PCT application number PCT / CN2019 / 093016, entitled “PHASE SHIFTER OF FEEDER POWER DIVIDER USING SERIES SWITCH”, filed on June 26, 2019, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to radio frequency (RF) systems, and more particularly to phase shifters used in such systems. Background Art

[0004] Radio systems are systems that send and receive signals in the form of electromagnetic waves in the RF range of approximately 3 kilohertz (kHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz). Radio systems are commonly used for wireless communications, with cellular / wireless mobile technology being a prominent example.

[0005] Phase shifters are RF network modules that provide a controllable phase shift of an RF signal. Phase shifters can be used in phased arrays, which in antenna theory usually refers to an electronically scanned array of antenna elements that produces a beam of radio waves that can be electronically directed in different directions without moving the antennas. In an array antenna, the RF current from the transmitter is fed to the individual antennas in the correct phase relationship so that the radio waves from the separate antennas add together to increase radiation in the desired direction and cancel to suppress radiation in undesired directions. In a phased array, the power from the transmitter is fed to the antennas through phase shifters controlled by a computer system, which can electronically change the phase and thus steer the radio beam in different directions.

[0006] Multiple factors affect the cost, quality, and durability of phase shifters included in an RF system. Physical limitations such as space / surface area, as well as restrictions that may be imposed by regulations, can further limit the requirements or specifications of the phase shifter, so trade-offs and ingenuity must be considered when designing a phase shifter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] To provide a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and its features and advantages, reference is made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts, and wherein:

[0008] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an antenna device with a phase shifter using a switch-based feedline splitter according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is provided;

[0009] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of phase shifting using a switch-based feeder power splitter according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is provided;

[0010] Figure 3A A schematic diagram of a power splitter with two phase shifters, each implemented as a switch-based feeder power splitter, is provided according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0011] Figure 3B and Figure 3C According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, Figure 3A Different views of an example printed circuit board (PCB) implementation of a power divider;

[0012] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a power splitter having two switch-based feeder power splitter phase shifters according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is provided, wherein the switches of the two phase shifters are arranged on a single die or implemented in a single package;

[0013] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a power splitter with three phase shifters, each implemented as a switch-based feeder power splitter, is provided according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0014] Figure 6 Schematic diagrams of two power splitters, each with a phase shifter implemented as a switch-based feeder power splitter and a pass-through path, are provided according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a phase shifter with a quarter wave impedance transformer to shift the mismatch of a power divider is provided according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0016] Figure 8 Provides an illustration of the quarter wave switching principle according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0017] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of a power splitter with two switch-based feed power splitter phase shifters having quarter-wave and switched-to-ground implementations is provided according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0018] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of a power splitter with two switch-based feeder power splitter phase shifters having a quarter-wave impedance transformer and no implementation switched to ground is provided according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0019] Fig.11 A schematic diagram of a phase shifter implemented as a switch-based feeder power splitter with quarter-wave tuning and switching to ground is provided according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0020] Fig.12A schematic diagram of a phase shifter implemented as a switch-based feeder power splitter having a quarter-wave and switched-to-ground implementation is provided according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] Fig.13 A schematic diagram of electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection with a shunt inductor according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is provided.

[0022] Fig.14 A schematic diagram of ESD protection with quarter-wave stubs according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is provided.

[0023] Fig.15 A schematic diagram of a stub band-stop filter according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is provided.

[0024] Fig.16 A schematic diagram of a stub bandpass filter according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is provided.

[0025] Fig.17 A block diagram is provided illustrating an example data processing system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure that may be configured to implement or control at least a portion of phase shifting using a switch-based feeder power splitter. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] Overview

[0027] The systems, methods, and devices of the present disclosure each have several innovative aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for all of the desirable attributes disclosed herein.The details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in this specification are set forth in the following description and the accompanying drawings.

[0028] In order to explain the phase shifter using switch-based feeder power splitter in RF system proposed in this paper, it may be useful to first understand the phenomena that may be at work in such system. The following basic information can be considered as the basis for properly explaining the present disclosure. This information is provided for the purpose of explanation only and, therefore, should not be interpreted in any way as limiting the broad scope of the present disclosure and its potential applications.

[0029] In the context of radio systems, an antenna is a device that acts as an interface between radio waves propagating wirelessly through space and electric currents moving in a metallic conductor used with a transmitter or receiver. During transmission, a radio transmitter may provide an electric current to the antenna's terminals, and the antenna may radiate the energy of the electric current as radio waves. During reception, the antenna may intercept some of the power of the radio waves in order to produce an electric current at its terminals, which may then be amplified by the receiver. Antennas are an essential component of all radio equipment and are used in radio broadcasting, broadcast television, two-way radio, communications receivers, radar, cell phones, satellite communications, and other equipment.

[0030] An antenna with a single antenna element will typically broadcast a radiation pattern that radiates equally in all directions on a spherical wavefront. A phased antenna array (also often referred to as a "phased array") generally refers to a collection of antennas (where the individual antennas are often referred to as "antenna elements") that are used to focus electromagnetic energy in a specific direction, thereby producing a main beam. Phased arrays have many advantages over single antenna systems, such as high gain, the ability to perform directional control, and simultaneous communications. As a result, phased arrays are used in a wide variety of different applications, such as in mobile technology, cellular phones and data, Wi-Fi technology, automotive radar, and aircraft radar.

[0031] Each individual antenna element of a phased array can radiate in a spherical pattern, but, in aggregate, multiple such antenna elements can produce a wavefront in a specific direction (such a wavefront is often referred to as a "main beam") through constructive and destructive interference. That is, by carefully controlling the phase of the signals radiated by different antenna elements, the radiation patterns of the different antenna elements can constructively interfere in a desired direction, thereby producing a main beam in that direction, while simultaneously causing destructive interference in several other directions outside the main beam direction. Therefore, a phased array typically includes a phase shifting module (also often referred to as a "phase shifter") that is configured to control the phase of the signals radiated by the different antenna elements.

[0032] In some conventional embodiments, phase shifting is accomplished in a transceiver, where the term "transceiver" may refer to all circuitry leading to an antenna element and may include up / down conversion (UDC) circuitry (e.g., a mixer configured to perform up-conversion to an RF signal for wireless transmission in a transmit (TX) path and / or a mixer configured to perform down-conversion of a received RF signal in a receive (RX) path), amplifiers (e.g., a power amplifier (PA) that may be included in the TX path and / or a low noise amplifier (LNA) included in the RX path). The term "transceiver" may also refer to other circuitry such as filters, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), digital-to-analog converters (DACs), transformers, and other circuit elements typically associated with the UDC circuitry, amplifiers, and RX / TX paths of an antenna device. When phase shifting is accomplished in a transceiver, typically a single transceiver is driving a single antenna element of an antenna array (e.g., 64 transceivers may be used to drive 64 antenna elements). While such an implementation can achieve phase shifting very effectively, using so many transceivers may be prohibitively expensive for some applications in terms of component cost, die area, and power consumption.

[0033] In other conventional implementations, phase shifting is performed closer to the antenna elements than is performed using mechanical phase shifters in a transceiver. Such mechanical phase shifters typically include arms or some other mechanical component for coupling the RF input signal to various electrical paths to achieve the phase shift. Typically, such mechanical phase shifters are too large, can be unreliable, and are difficult to manufacture and customize for a given application. As antenna systems move toward massive multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) architectures, more and more antenna elements and more electronics become a valuable space in antenna devices, and large mechanical components (such as mechanical phase shifters) utilize a lot of this valuable space. In addition, mechanical phase shifters can be slow in achieving the desired phase shift.

[0034] Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide systems and methods designed to ameliorate one or more of the challenges described above to achieve phase shifting in antenna arrays, such as but not limited to phased antenna arrays for fifth generation cellular (5G) or millimeter wave technologies.

[0035] In one aspect of the present disclosure, an exemplary phase shifter (also referred to herein as a "phase shift module") includes an RF power splitter, wherein the term "RF power splitter" refers to a transmission component that distributes the power of an RF input signal (RFin) between two or more output ports. The RF power splitter is arranged so that the RF input signal is provided through a first feeder line and is split into RF signals in two or more other feeder lines, thereby realizing a "feeder power splitter". As used herein, the term "feeder line" (sometimes also referred to as "Feedline" or "Feeder") can refer to any portion of a cable or other transmission line that couples an antenna element with a radio transmitter, a radio receiver, or a transceiver (e.g., a wired communication medium / line through which an RF signal can be sent to or from an antenna element). During transmission (or in different wording in TX mode), an RF input signal (e.g., RF current) can be transmitted from a transmitter (or from a TX path of a transceiver) to at least one antenna element using a given feeder line, where the RF signal is radiated as a radio wave (i.e., wirelessly transmitted). During reception of RF waves (or in RX mode with different wording), the RF signal (e.g., RF voltage) induced in the antenna element by the received radio wave can be transmitted to the receiver (or to the RX path of the transceiver) using a given feed line. In order to effectively transmit the RF signal, the feed line can be made of a specialized type of cable generally referred to as a "transmission line", where some examples of transmission lines can include coaxial cable, twin lead, ladder line, and microwave frequency waveguide (e.g., coplanar waveguide).

[0036] An exemplary phase shifter may include a switch device configured to electrically couple a first feed line to a coupling point between two opposite ends of a second feed line, such that the power of an RF signal transmitted on the first feed line includes (e.g., is) the sum of the power of an RF signal transmitted on a first portion of the second feed line and the power of an RF signal transmitted on a second portion of the second feed line. The first portion is a portion between the coupling point of the second feed line and the first end of the second feed line (wherein, in operation, the first antenna element is coupled to the first end of the second feed line). The second portion is a portion between the coupling point of the second feed line and the second end of the second feed line (wherein, in operation, the second antenna element is coupled to the second end of the second feed line). The switch device may include a plurality of switches such that the switch device may be operated / in one of a plurality of different states depending on each state of each of the plurality of switches, wherein when the switch device is in its first state, the coupling point may be located at a first position of a plurality of different predetermined positions between the two opposite ends of the second feed line, and when the switch device is in a second state of the plurality of states, the coupling point is located at a second position of the plurality of positions. Thus, the switch arrangement may allow the position of the coupling point to be changed depending on the configuration of the plurality of switches (e.g., depending on which switches are open and which switches are closed). In other words, the position of the coupling point is based on the state that the switch arrangement is in, which state depends on the configuration of the plurality of switches. Changing the position of the coupling point advantageously allows changing the phase shift that the RF signal experiences when transmitting on a given portion of the second feeder. In some embodiments, a plurality of such phase shifters may be included in a single antenna arrangement.

[0037] In particular, the phase shifters described herein are based on several insights. One is that a respective (i.e., different) antenna element may be coupled to each end of two or more separate portions of a feed line. Another is that the phase shifter may be provided with a switching arrangement comprising a plurality of switches (hence, such phase shifters may be referred to as "switch-based") that allow for changing the position of a point referred to herein as a "coupling point" at which an RF signal in a first feed line is split into two RF signals transmitted on respective portions of a second feed line. The location of the coupling points defines the electrical path length for the RF energy to propagate down each respective portion of the second feed line, which in turn changes the phase shift achieved at the output of that portion (thus, the switch-based feed splitters described herein may be used to implement phase shifters. In various embodiments, the various switches of the switch devices described herein may be implemented as semiconductor-based switches (e.g., transistors, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) devices, PIN diodes, or other semiconductor-based switching elements) or micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS)-based switches, or any mechanical switching element, such as an electromagnetic relay. Another realization underlying the phase shifters described herein is that the switch devices and the coupling points along the second feed line may be arranged so that the phase shifts achieved at the outputs of the two opposite ends of the second feed line may be complementary or differential to each other. For example, an RF signal transmitted on a first portion of the second feed line may experience a phase shift of θ, while an RF signal transmitted on a second portion of the second feed line may experience a phase shift of -θ. For example, the phase shift achieved by the first portion of the second feed line may be 35 degrees (°), while the phase shift achieved by the second portion of the second feed line may be -35°.

[0038] Using a phase shifter based on a switch feed splitter as described herein can provide various advantages. For example, coupling different antenna elements to different outputs of a feed splitter advantageously allows a single transceiver to be used to operate two or more antenna elements (e.g., as many antenna elements as output paths on which the RF input signal is split). In another example, using a switching device to couple the RF input signal to the feed splitter advantageously allows changing the point at which the RF input signal is split into two or more paths, which in turn, can change the phase shift of the feed splitter output coupled to the different antenna elements. In this way, fewer transceivers can be used to operate (e.g., operate in a transmission mode) a given number of antenna elements, as compared to the conventional implementation of phase shifting performed in the transceiver described above. For example, if a feed line splitter splits the RF input signal into 2 paths, and on each path includes a switch arrangement that couples the split portion of the RF input signal to a corresponding feed line (thus, further performing RF splitting), then the RF input signal of a single transceiver can be used to provide the phase shifted RF signal portion to 4 different antenna elements (because each feed line has 2 ends / outputs, each end is coupled to a different antenna element, and there are 2 paths providing respective feed lines and corresponding switches). Therefore, in such an example, only 16 transceivers can be used to drive 64 antenna elements (because each transceiver can drive 4 antenna elements, and 4*16=64). Therefore, various embodiments of phase shifters using switch-based feed line splitters described herein can provide significant improvements in component cost, die area, and power consumption compared to conventional implementations of phase shifting in transceivers. On the other hand, various embodiments of phase shifters using switch-based feed line splitters described herein can also provide significant improvements over the above-mentioned mechanical phase shifters, such as in size, time to achieve a desired phase shift, and ease of manufacturing.

[0039] It should be noted that some descriptions of phase shifters using switch-based feed splitters are provided with respect to the TX path, or in the TX operating mode of the transceiver and antenna elements. When the phase shifter operates in the TX mode, an RF input signal RFin is provided from the transceiver to the first feed line and is subsequently divided into two or more split portions in the second feed line, and a portion of the RF signal RFin is provided as a signal provided at multiple output terminals of the phase shifter to the corresponding antenna elements for wireless transmission. However, these descriptions are equally applicable to the case where such a phase shifter operates in the RX path or in the RX operating mode of the transceiver and antenna elements. When the phase shifter operates in the RX mode, the antenna element receives the wireless RF signal and provides it as an electrical signal on two or more portions of the second feed line to be combined into a single RF signal at the point where the second feed line is coupled to the first feed line. In this case, the phase shift achieved by the different portions of the second feed line is similar to the phase shift of the TX mode.

[0040] In some embodiments, phase shifters as described herein can be used to perform phased array calibration to achieve phase synchronization between different UDC circuits used in a 5G phased array (e.g., to compensate, reduce, or eliminate phase mismatches). In various embodiments, the term "UDC circuit" may be used to include such frequency conversion circuits (e.g., mixers configured to up-convert RF signals for wireless transmission, mixers configured to down-convert received RF signals, or both) and any other components that may be included in the broad meaning of this term, such as filters, ADCs, DACs, transformers, and other circuit elements typically used in conjunction with mixers. In all of these variations, the term "UDC circuit" covers embodiments in which the UDC circuit includes only circuit elements associated with the TX path (e.g., only up-conversion mixers, but no down-conversion mixers; in such embodiments, the UDC circuit can be used as / in an RF transmitter / for generating RF signals for transmission, for example, the UDC circuit can enable a calibration probe or an antenna element of an antenna array connected to the UDC circuit to function, or be used as a transmitter), embodiments in which the UDC circuit includes only circuit elements associated with the RX path (e.g., only down-conversion mixers, but no up .... In embodiments, the UDC circuit may be used as / in an RF receiver to down-convert a received RF signal, for example, the UDC circuit may enable a calibration probe or antenna elements of an antenna array connected to the UDC circuit to function, or to function as a receiver), and embodiments in which the UDC circuit includes both circuit elements of a TX path and circuit elements of an RX path (for example, an up-conversion mixer and a down-conversion mixer; in such embodiments, the UDC circuit may be used as / in an RF transceiver, for example, the UDC circuit may enable a calibration probe or antenna elements of an antenna array connected to the UDC circuit to function or function as a transceiver.).

[0041] As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, aspects of the present disclosure, and in particular aspects of phase shifters using switch-based feeder power splitters as described herein, may be embodied in various ways—for example, as a method, a system, a computer program product, or a computer-readable storage medium. Thus, aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, microcode), or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects, which are generally referred to herein as "circuits," "modules," or "systems." The functions described in the present disclosure may be implemented as algorithms executed by one or more hardware processing units, such as one or more microprocessors, of one or more computers. In various embodiments, different steps and portions of steps of any method described herein may be performed by different processing units. In addition, aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer-readable media, preferably non-transitory, having stored thereon, for example, embedded computer-readable program code. In various embodiments, such a computer program may be downloaded (updated) to existing devices and systems (e.g., downloaded to existing wireless communication transmitters, receivers, transceivers, phase shifters and / or controllers thereof, etc.) or stored when these devices and systems are manufactured, for example.

[0042] The following detailed description gives various descriptions of certain embodiments. However, the innovations described herein may be embodied in a variety of different ways, for example, as defined and covered by the claims or selected examples. In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which similar reference numerals may indicate identical or functionally similar elements. It will be understood that the elements shown in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. In addition, it will be understood that some embodiments may include more elements than shown in the figures and / or a subset of the elements shown in the figures. In addition, some embodiments may combine any suitable combination of features from two or more of the accompanying drawings.

[0043] The description may use the phrase "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment", which may refer to one or more of the same or different embodiments, respectively. Unless otherwise specified, the use of ordinal adjectives "first", "second", and "third", etc. to describe a common object only indicates that different instances of the same object are being referenced, and does not mean that the objects described in this way must be in a given order in time, space, level, or any other manner. The various aspects of the illustrative embodiments are described using terms commonly used by those skilled in the art to convey the essence of their work to other technicians in the field. The terms "substantially", "approximately", "roughly", etc. can be used to generally refer to the context of specific values ​​described herein or known in the art, within the range of + / -20% of the target value. For the purposes of this disclosure, the phrase "A and / or B" or the symbol "A / B" means (A), (B), or (A and B). For the purposes of this disclosure, the phrase "A, B, and / or C" means (A), (B), (C), (A and B), (A and C), (B and C), or (A, B and C). When used with reference to a measurement range, the term "between..." includes the ends of the measurement range. As used herein, the notation "A / B / C" means (A, B, and / or C).

[0044] Various aspects of the illustrative embodiments are described using terms that are commonly used by those skilled in the art to convey the essence of their work to other persons skilled in the art. For example, the term "connection" refers to a direct electrical connection between connected objects without any intermediate devices / components, while the term "coupling" refers to a direct electrical connection between connected objects, or an indirect electrical connection through one or more passive or active intermediate devices / components. In another example, the term "circuit" refers to one or more passive and / or active components that are arranged to cooperate with each other to provide a desired function. Sometimes, in this specification, the term "circuit" may be omitted (for example, a phase shifter circuit may be referred to as a "phase shifter", etc.). If used, the terms "substantially", "approximately", "roughly", etc. may be used to generally refer to within + / -20% of a target value based on the context of a specific value described herein or known in the art, for example, within + / -10% of a target.

[0045] Example antenna device with phase shifter using switch-based feeder power splitter

[0046] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an antenna device 100, such as a phased array system / device, is provided according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 1 As shown, the system 100 may include an antenna array including a plurality of antenna elements 110 , a plurality of transceivers 120 , and a plurality of phase shifters 130 .

[0047] Each phase shifter 130 may include a Figure 1Components for one phase shifter 130 (the one labeled with reference numeral "130") are shown within the dashed outline. Any of the phase shifters 130 may be a switch-based feeder splitter as described herein, details of which are provided below, for example with reference to Figure 2 In some embodiments, two or more such phase shifters 130 may be combined in a power divider 140, such as Figure 1 As shown, there are a plurality of power dividers 140, each of which includes two phase shifters 130 (however, generally, the power divider 140 may include any one of the plurality of phase shifters 130). Each power divider 140 may include a Figure 1 Components of one of the power dividers 140 (the one labeled with reference numeral "140") are shown in dashed outline.

[0048] exist Figure 1 In the drawings, only one of the antenna elements 110, one of the transceivers 120, one of the phase shifters 130 and one of the power dividers 140 are labeled with reference numerals in order to make the drawing less cluttered. Figure 1 The example shown in FIG. 1 shows 64 antenna elements 110. In some embodiments, such antenna elements 110 may be arranged in columns, for example, with each antenna column corresponding to a different one of the transceivers 120. Thus, in some embodiments, due to Figure 1 The illustrated example shows 16 transceivers 120, so the 64 antenna elements 110 may be arranged in 16 columns. There may be 2 phase shifters 130 per column or per transceiver 120, so there are 32 phase shifters 130 in total.

[0049] Unless otherwise stated, Figure 1 A certain number of components may be shown in the following figures, but this number should be understood as an example of a particular embodiment, and in other embodiments, more components or fewer components than shown may be used, all of which are within the scope of the present disclosure. Figure 1 An example of 64 antenna elements 110, 16 transceivers 120, 32 phase shifters 130, and 16 power dividers 140 is shown, but in other embodiments, more than 100 antenna elements 110 may be used in the antenna device 100. Figure 1 The components shown may be greater or less than the components shown.

[0050] Typically, each antenna element 110 may include one or more radiating elements or passive elements (where Figure 1The example shows 3 such elements within each antenna element 110, as indicated by the crosses, but in other embodiments, any one or more such elements may be included within each antenna element 110). For example, the antenna element 110 may include a dipole, an open waveguide, a slotted waveguide, a microstrip antenna, a patch antenna, etc. In some embodiments, the antenna element 110 may include any suitable element configured to wirelessly transmit and / or receive RF signals. Although some embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings show a certain number of antenna elements 110, it should be understood that these embodiments may be implemented using arrays of any number of two or more antenna elements. In addition, although the present disclosure may discuss certain embodiments as one type of antenna array, it should be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented using different types of antenna arrays, such as time domain beamformers, frequency domain beamformers, dynamic antenna arrays, antenna arrays, passive antenna arrays, and the like.

[0051] Each transceiver 120 may include a package Figure 1 Components for one transceiver 120 (the one labeled with reference numeral "120") are shown within the dashed outline. Figure 1 As shown, the transceiver 120 may include a switch 122 to switch a path from the corresponding phase shifter 130 to the RX path or the TX path of the transceiver 120. Figure 1 , a switch (ie, switch 122) switching between the RX path and the TX path is shown. In other embodiments of the transceiver 120, other components may be used instead of the switch 122, such as a duplexer. Figure 1 As shown, the TX path of the transceiver 120 may include a filter 124-1, an amplifier (eg, PA) 126-1, and a TX circuit 128-1 configured to provide a signal to be amplified by the PA 126-1. Figure 1 As shown, the RX path of the transceiver 120 may include a filter 124 - 2 , an amplifier (eg, LNA) 126 - 2 , and an RX circuit 128 - 2 configured to receive a signal from the LNA 126 - 2 .

[0052] In various embodiments, the TX and RX circuits 128-1, 128-2 (which may be collectively referred to as TX / RX circuits 128) may include upconverter and / or downconverter circuits. In particular, the TX circuit 128-1 may include an upconverter circuit, and the RX circuit 128-2 may include a downconverter circuit, which together may form a UDC circuit.

[0053] The upconverter circuit of the TX circuit 128-1 may include a mixer (which may be referred to as an "upconverter mixer") that may have at least two inputs and one output. The two inputs of the upconverter mixer may include an input signal indicative of (e.g., may include or may be) a local oscillator (LO) signal, and a lower frequency TX signal, such as an intermediate frequency (IF) TX signal. The output of the upconverter mixer may be coupled to the PA 126-1. The upconverter mixer may be configured to receive an IF TX signal (i.e., a lower frequency, such as IF, signal transmitted by the antenna array) at its first input and an LO signal at its second input, and mix the two signals to upconvert the IF TX signal to a desired RF frequency, generating an upconverted RF TX signal to be provided to the PA 126-1. The PA 126-1 is configured to amplify the upconverted RF TX signal provided thereto and provide it to one or more antenna elements 110 via a phase shifter 130, possibly filtered by an optional filter 124-1.

[0054] The downconverter circuit of the RX circuit 128-2 may include a mixer (which may be referred to as a "downconversion mixer"), which may have at least two inputs and one output. The downconversion mixer may have at least two inputs and one output. The two inputs of the downconversion mixer may include an input from the LNA 126-2 and an input signal indicating the LO signal. The output of the downconversion mixer may be a downconverted signal, which may be an IF signal, for example. The downconversion mixer may be configured to receive an RF RX signal from the RX path of the transceiver 120 at its first input after having been amplified by the LNA 126-2, and receive the LO signal at its second input, and mix the two signals to downconvert the RF RX signal to a lower frequency, thereby generating a downconverted RX signal, for example, an RX signal at the IF.

[0055] As is known in communications and electronic engineering, an IF is a frequency to which a carrier wave can be moved as an intermediate step in transmission or reception. An IF signal can be created by mixing a carrier signal with an LO signal in a process called heterodyning, resulting in a difference or beat frequency signal. Converting to an IF can be useful for a number of reasons. One reason is that when several stages of filters are used, they can all be set to a fixed frequency, which makes them easier to build and adjust. Another reason is that low frequency transistors generally have higher gain, so fewer stages may be needed. Yet another reason is to improve frequency selectivity, since it is easier to make a sharp, selective filter at a lower fixed frequency.

[0056] It should also be noted that although some of the descriptions provided herein refer to some signals as IF signals, these descriptions are equally applicable to embodiments where these signals are baseband signals. In such embodiments, the frequency mixing of the up-conversion and down-conversion mixers may be zero-IF mixing (also referred to as "zero-IF conversion"), where the center frequency of the LO signal used to perform the mixing may be within the RF RX / TX frequency range.

[0057] Although not in Figure 1 , but in other embodiments, the transceiver 120 may further include a balancer in each of the TX and RX paths, the balancer being configured to mitigate in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) signal imbalances due to mismatches. Figure 1 1, but in other embodiments, the antenna device 100 may include other instances of a combination of the antenna element 110, the transceiver 120, and the phase shifter 130 as described herein. In some such embodiments, the phase shifter 130 may be used to perform phase synchronization / matching between different TX / RX circuits 128 of the antenna device 100.

[0058] The antenna device 100 can direct the electromagnetic radiation pattern of the antenna array including the antenna element 110 in a particular direction, so that the antenna array can generate a main beam in that direction and side lobes in other directions. The main beam of the radiation pattern can be generated based on a constructive inference of the transmitted RF signal based on the phase of the transmitted signal. The sidelobe level can be determined by the amplitude of the RF signal transmitted by the antenna element. The antenna device 100 can generate a desired antenna pattern for the antenna element 110 by using a phase shifter 130 as described herein, for example, providing a phase shifter setting.

[0059] Phase shifter using switch-based feeder power splitter

[0060] exist Figure 2 More details of the phase shift using a switch-based feeder power splitter are shown in FIG. Specifically, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, Figure 2 Shows the Figure 1 An example phase shifter 230 may be any of the phase shifters 130 shown in FIG.

[0061] like Figure 2As shown, the phase shifter 230 may include a first feed line 231 and a second feed line 232. An RF input signal 234 may be provided to the first feed line 231 at the input of the phase shifter 230. The feed line 231 may be coupled to a point of the second feed line 232 referred to herein as a "coupling point," whereby the RF input signal 234 is split into RF output signals 236-1 and 236-2, which may be provided at two outputs of the phase shifter 230. In particular, the first feed line 231 may be coupled to a switching device (e.g., a multiplexer) 238, which may include a plurality of switches 240, which may be used to selectively connect the RF input signal 234 to different coupling points on the feed line 232 (i.e., the switching device 238 may be used to select one of the positions of the coupling points on the feed line 232 to couple the first feed line 231 to). For example, in some embodiments, the switching device 238 may include four switches, one at a time. Figure 4 2, 240-3, and 240-4, which can be configured to couple feed line 231 to feed line 232 at one of four coupling points 242. Figure 4 242-1, 242-2, 242-3, and 242-4. Each switch 240 can be in one of two states. In a first state (e.g., closed), the switch 240 enables a portion of the RF input signal 234 to be transmitted through the switch, and in a second state (e.g., open), the switch 240 disables transmission of a portion of the RF input signal 234. In some embodiments, the switch device 238 can be such that, during operation of the phase shifter 230, one of the switches 240 can be closed while the other switches 240 can be open. In this manner, the switch device 238 can couple the RF input signal 234 in the first feed line 231 to the feed line 232 at the coupling point 242 where the closed switch is coupled to the feed line 232. .

[0062] Despite Figure 2 240, but in other embodiments, any other number of two or more switches 240 may be used. In addition, the number of different coupling points 242 need not be equal to the number of switches 240, and in further embodiments, the switch device 238 may include any number of two or more switches 240 arranged such that the switch device 238 may couple the feed line 231 to the feed line 232 at any one of a plurality of different coupling points 242 between two opposite ends of the feed line 232.

[0063] Feed line 232 may have two branches / portions, which means that RF input signal 234 enters a branch of feed line 232 at the point where feed line 231 couples to feed line 232 (ie, at coupling point 242). Figure 2As shown in the diagram 250 provided in FIG, if the impedance of all branches (e.g., the impedances 256-1 and 256-2 of the two branches) are the same, the power of the signal provided by the input 254 can be evenly distributed. Therefore, the power of the RF input signal 234 can be evenly distributed between the RF output signal 236-1 in the first branch 256-1 and the RF output signal 236-2 in the second branch 256-2, i.e., 50% and 50%. In some embodiments, the impedance of the input line 254 to the feed line 232 (i.e., the line supporting the propagation of the RF input signal 234) can be 50 ohms (Ω). In some embodiments, in order to make the impedance of the power divider 50Ω, the impedance of each of the branches 256-1 and 256-2 can be set to be equal to the square root of the impedance of the power divider, for example, 70.71Ω for a 50Ω power divider. In order to avoid impedance mismatch losses, it may be necessary to make the impedance of the power divider 50Ω. If the two output lines are designed to be 70.71Ω (50*√2), the impedance entering the signal split point looks like 50Ω, so no mismatch loss is introduced.

[0064] Figure 2 A diagram 260 is also provided which shows that a point 262, coupled to the input line 234 of the feed line 232, thereby splitting the feed line 232 into two (or more) branches 256, can be used to define the phase shift achieved by each branch 256. Specifically, the point 262 at which the RF input signal 234 is provided to the feed line 232 to be split defines the electrical path length that the RF energy of the split signal will travel along each respective path / branch 256 of the feed line power splitter, which in turn changes the phase shift achieved at each output of the feed line power splitter. For example, as shown in diagram 260, a phase shift of 35 degrees (°) can be achieved on branch 256-1, and a phase shift of 105° can be achieved on branch 256-2. Each branch 256 can be coupled to a respective antenna element 110, also as shown in FIG. Figure 2As shown in the diagram 260 of FIG. In other embodiments of the feed line splitter as shown in FIG. 260, the length of the feed line 232 can be such that one of the predefined positions of coupling the feed line 231 to the coupling point on the feed line 232 can achieve a final phase shift of a certain angle θ for the output RF signal 236-1 from the first branch 256-1, and a phase shift of an angle -θ for the output RF signal 236-2 from the first branch 256-2. In the phase shifter 230, if the line length between the feed line connection points can achieve a 45° phase shift, and when the switch 240-1 is turned on and the others are turned off, if the phase shift is assumed to be relative to the first or zero phase shift state, θ can be 0° and -θ can be 0°. When the switch 240-2 is turned on and the other switches are turned off, θ can be +45° and -θ can be -45°. When the switch 240-3 is turned on and the other switches are turned off, θ can be +90° and -θ can be -90°. When switch 240-4 is on and the other switches are off, θ can be +135° and -θ can be -135°. This illustrates the difference in this method. Figure 2 2, which shows that a single switch 240 can generate two differential phase shifted signals 236-1 and 236-2 from an RF input signal 234. By feeding the RF input signal 234 at different points on a transmission line (e.g., feed line 232), differential phase shifts (i.e., a phase shift of θ in one branch and a phase shift of -θ in the other branch) can be generated. The point at which the RF input signal 234 is fed to the transmission line can be controlled by closing one of the switches 240 of the switch arrangement 238. Thus, as schematically indicated by angles θ1, θ2, θ3, and θ4 in the phase shifter 230, closing the first switch 240-1 may produce differential phase shifts of θ1 and –θ1 for the output signals 236-1 and 236-2, respectively, closing the second switch 240-2 may produce differential phase shifts of θ2 and -θ2 for the output signals 236-1 and 236-2, respectively, closing the third switch 240-3 may produce differential phase shifts of θ3 and –θ3 for the output signals 236-1 and 236-2, respectively, and closing the fourth switch 240-4 may produce differential phase shifts of θ4 and -θ4 for the output signals 236-1 and 236-2, respectively.

[0065] In general, the switch device 238 can be any switching device that can connect an input signal (e.g., an RF input signal 234) to a transmission line (e.g., a feed line 232), wherein the RF power of the input signal can be divided into two or more branches and the connection point can be changed to cause the signal to be differentially phase shifted. In various embodiments, any of the switches 240 can be implemented as a semiconductor switch (e.g., a transistor, an SOI device, a PIN diode, or other semiconductor-based switching element) or a MEMS switch. In general, different switches in the switch 240 can be implemented as different types of switches, for example, one of the switches can be implemented as a PIN diode and another switch can be implemented as a MEMS switch. In general, a MEMS switch can be implemented as a micron-scale mechanical movable element that can physically make or break electrical contact. In some embodiments, MEMS switches can be superior to other RF switch technologies such as PIN, SOI, etc. in terms of transmission loss, linearity, power handling, and drive power.

[0066] Example of a power splitter with multiple phase shifters

[0067] Figure 3A A schematic diagram of a power splitter 340 having two phase shifters 130 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is provided, each phase shifter 130 being implemented as a switch-based feeder power splitter. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the power splitter 340 may be Figure 1 An example of a power divider 140 is shown. Figure 3A As shown, the power divider 340 is a 2x switching power divider (ie, it includes two phase shifters 130). The output of each feed line of each phase shifter 130 can be coupled to a different antenna element 110, such as, for example, reference Figure 2 As described in the diagram 260 shown. Figure 3A As shown, the RF input signal 234 may first be split 50 / 50 between the two branches 356-1 and 356-2, each branch 356 may include a corresponding phase shifter 130 (at Figure 3A Then, with the aid of each phase shifter 130, the RF signal is further divided into two output signals 236-1 and 236-2, as shown in FIG. Figure 2In this way, the power of the RF input signal 234 can be divided into four RF output signals, each of which has one-fourth of the power of the RF input signal 234. For example, considering that the RF input signal 234 is a 22Watt (W) signal, this power is first distributed into two 11W (22W / 2=11W) signals in branches 356-1 and 356-2, and then for each of the two branches 356, it is split again into two 5.5W (11W / 2=5.5W) signals in the branches supporting the output signals 236-1 and 236-2, as shown in FIG. Figure 3A As shown. Figure 3A As shown, the first phase shifter 130-1 can provide an RF signal 236-1 with a phase shift of 2θ (e.g., 60 degrees) to the antenna element 110-1, and can provide an RF signal 236-2 with a phase shift of -2θ (e.g., -60 degrees) to the antenna element 110-4. On the other hand, the second phase shifter 130-2 can provide an RF signal 236-1 with a phase shift of θ (e.g., 30 degrees) to the antenna element 110-2, and provide an RF signal 236-2 with a phase shift of -θ (e.g., -30 degrees) to the antenna element 110-3. The θ and 2θ nature of the phase shift means that the phase shift produced by 130-1 is twice that of 130-2 because the feed line length and / or the line length between the switch connection points is twice the length. This relationship is particularly effective for antenna beam steering when the phase shift of one phase shifter is twice the phase shift of the phase shifter driving the antenna in the same column (or generally any integer multiple greater than 1).

[0068] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, Figure 3B An example PCB implementation 342 of the power splitter 340 is provided. The PCB layout 342 shows an example of a PCB implementation with power distribution, impedance transformers and feeder switch power splitters, generating four phase shifted signals. Figure 3B The inset 344 shown in FIG. 2 shows an example circuit board implementation of the switch device 238 , particularly a switch device having a flip-chip MEMS implementation. Figure 3C Another view of a PCB embodiment 342 is provided. Embodiment 342 includes a power divider, a quarter wave transformer, and a switch with a feed power divider and can be implemented as a stand-alone module circuit board that connects to an antenna at the input using a wire connector, or can be a sub-section of a larger printed circuit board that can include other circuit elements and sub-circuits.

[0069] Figure 4A schematic diagram of a power divider 440 having two phase shifters 130 is provided, wherein the switch devices 238 of the two phase shifters 130 are implemented on a single die or in a single package, wherein the package may include any number of dies, such as mounted on and electrically connected to a metal frame and encased in plastic, for example. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the power divider 440 may be Figure 1 An example of a power divider 140 is shown. Figure 4 The power divider 440 shown in FIG. 1 is substantially similar to Figure 3A The separator shown in FIG. 1 is not repeated here for the sake of brevity, and only the differences are described. In particular, although Figure 3A The power divider 340 shown shows the switch devices 238 implementing different phase shifters 130 on different dies 338-1 and 338-2. Figure 4 The power divider 440 shown in illustrative embodiments shows that the switching devices 238 of different ones of the phase shifters 130 may be implemented on a single die 438 . Figure 4 It is shown that multiple multiplexers can be advantageously placed in one package to reduce the number of components required. The power divider 440 can be implemented with other variations described herein, such as quarter wave. In addition, although it may not be specifically described, the various embodiments described herein with multiple phase shifters can also be implemented with Figure 4 The switch device 238 shown implements two or more such phase shifters on a single die or package.

[0070] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a power splitter 540 having three phase shifters 130 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is provided, each phase shifter 130 being implemented as a switch-based feeder power splitter. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the power splitter 540 may be Figure 1 An example of a power divider 140 is shown. Figure 5 The power divider 540 shown in FIG. 1 is substantially similar to Figure 3A The power divider shown in FIG. 1 is similar to the power divider shown in FIG. 1 , and therefore, for the sake of brevity, its description will not be repeated here, and only the differences will be described. In particular, although Figure 5 The power divider 540 shown in FIG. Figure 3A As shown in FIG. 2 , the RF input signal 234 is split into two paths, but in some embodiments, the RF input signal 234 can be split into three paths, for example, as shown in FIG. Figure 5 As shown, the 22W RF input signal 234 is split into three signals of approximately 7W. Figure 5 As shown, for each separate 7W signal, a respective phase shifter 110 is provided. In this way, three phase shifters 130 can be used to drive six antenna elements 110, such as Figure 5 As shown, Figure 3A Compared to other antennas, it can provide higher performance because Figure 3A As shown, two phase shifters 130 drive four antenna elements 110. Figure 5 As shown in , the first phase shifter 130-1 can provide the RF signal 236-1 with a phase shift of 5θ (e.g., 150 degrees) to the antenna element 110-1 and can provide the RF signal 236-2 with a phase shift of -5θ (e.g., -150 degrees) to the antenna element 110-6; the second phase shifter 130-2 can provide the RF signal 236-1 with a phase shift of 3θ (e.g., 90 degrees) to the antenna element 110-2 and can provide the RF signal 236-2 with a phase shift of -3θ (e.g., -90 degrees) to the antenna element 110-5; and the third phase shifter 130-3 can provide the RF signal 236-1 with a phase shift of θ (e.g., 30 degrees) to the antenna element 110-3 and can provide the RF signal 236-2 with a phase shift of -θ (e.g., -30 degrees) to the antenna element 110-4. As shown in Figure 5 The 3-way splitting shown may enable a reduction in the number of components within each antenna element 110, such as Figure 5 As shown, each antenna element 110 includes two components, Figure 3A The antenna element 110 is shown with three components per component reversed. The power divider 540 may be implemented with other variations described herein, such as quarter wave and / or single chip or package implementations.

[0071] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of two power splitters 640-1 and 640-2 is provided, each having a phase shifter and a pass-through path implemented as a switch-based feeder power splitter according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, each power splitter 640 may be Figure 1 An example of a power divider 140 is shown. Figure 6 The architecture shown in FIG. 1 can allow doubling of transceivers on a 16-transceiver system (i.e., with Figure 1 The 16 transceivers shown are compared to Figure 6 The embodiment can be used for 32 transceivers 120), and the control of each column is doubled. Although it may increase the number of parts, it can advantageously achieve greater control. In this way, as Figure 6 As shown, two phase shifters 130 may be used to drive four antenna elements 110. The power divider 640 may be implemented with other variations described herein, such as quarter wave and / or single chip implementations.

[0072] Example of a switch-based feedline power splitter using quarter-wave elements

[0073] Figure 7A schematic diagram of a phase shifter 730 implemented as a switch-based feeder power splitter with quarter-wave tuning according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is provided. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the phase shifter 730 may be Figure 1 An example of a phase shifter 130 is shown.

[0074] like Figure 7 As shown, in some embodiments, the RF input signal 234 may traverse a quarter-wave portion 732 having an impedance of substantially 50 / √2Ω (i.e., substantially 35.5Ω) before entering the switching device 238. Therefore, in the quarter-wave portion 732, the input impedance of the input line 254 may be adjusted from 50Ω to 35.5Ω (i.e., the length of the portion 732 is substantially equal to one-quarter of the wavelength of the RF input signal 234, and the impedance of the portion 732 is 35.5Ω). Figure 7 The architecture shown can allow for optimal loss, shift and power distribution. A 35.5Ωλ / 4 impedance transformer at the input of the switching device 238 can be used to rebalance the mismatch caused by the splitter branch formed by the two 50Ω branches so that at the split point it is well below 50Ω, resulting in mismatch losses. In some embodiments, the feed line 232 can be formed to have a 50Ω line length with the switch contact lines connected along the desired phase shift. Including such a 50Ω line section can ensure that when the signal passes through the feed line 232, it has good return loss. In some embodiments, the switching device 238 can be made to have very low parasitic inductance and capacitance to avoid changing the impedance of the 5050Ω line 232. In some embodiments, the phase shifter 730 can be in one of 4 states, such as Figure 7 As shown in Figure 750.

[0075] In some embodiments, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, such as Figure 8 As shown, the quarter-wave portion can be used after the RF input signal 234 is split, thereby providing an illustration of a power divider 840 having a quarter-wave switching principle. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the power divider 840 can be Figure 1 An example of a power divider 140 is shown.

[0076] The RF input signal 234 may enter the power splitter 840, where it may be split substantially equally between all branches of the power splitter. For example, it may be split 50 / 50 between the two branches. Figure 8As shown, in each branch of the split, there may be a ground switch at a quarter wavelength distance from the split point - shown as switch 842-1 in the first branch and switch 842-2 in the second branch. Consider one switch closed (e.g., switch 842-1) and the other switch open (e.g., switch 842-2). In this case, when switch 842-1 is closed, the power of the RF input signal 234 traversing the branch (i.e., 50% of the power of the RF input signal 234 in this example) may be reflected from switch 842-1 and will experience a 180 degree phase shift transformation, so switch 842-1 will appear to be an open circuit in the RF input signal. On the other hand, when switch 842-2 is open, the power of the RF input signal 234 traversing the branch (i.e., 50% of the power of the RF input signal 234 in this example) will not see switch 842-2 and pass through, as shown Figure 8 Although Figure 8 An example with a 2-way power split is shown (ie, two branches on which the RF input signal 234 is split), but reference is made to Figure 8 The description provided can be easily extended to any N-way power split embodiment, where N is an integer greater than 1. In such an embodiment, N-1 switches connected to ground can be closed and 1 switch connected to ground can be opened, and then the split power of the RF input signal 234 will pass through the branches through the open switches, similar to Figure 8 An example of the lower branch is shown.

[0077] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of a power splitter 940 having two switch-based feeder power splitter phase shifters with quarter-wave and ground switching is provided according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the power splitter 940 may be Figure 1 An example of a power divider 140 is shown. Fig. 9 The power divider 940 shown in FIG. 1 is substantially similar to Figure 3A Therefore, for the sake of brevity, the description thereof will not be repeated here, and only the differences will be described. In particular, Fig. 9 The switch device 938 of each phase shifter 130 (ie, the switch device 938-1 of the phase shifter 130-1 and the switch device 938-2 of the phase shifter 130-2) is configured to implement the following Figure 8 The quarter-wave switching principle shown in Figure 1, but taking 4-way power distribution as an example (with Figure 8 , which is the opposite of the 2-way split shown in ). Fig. 9As shown, for each switch device 938, three ground-connected switches can be closed and one ground-connected switch can be opened, and then the shunt power of the RF input signal 234 will traverse the branch with the open switch, resulting in the shunt power of the RF input signal 234 traversing the branch through the open switch. Therefore, in this case, the phase shift achieved at the output of a given feeder 232 will depend on which switch 240 is open (and all other switches 240 of the switch device 938 are closed). In some embodiments, each phase shifter 130 of the power divider 940 can be in one of four states, such as Fig. 9 As shown in illustration 950.

[0078] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of a power splitter 1040 having two switch-based feeder power splitter phase shifters with quarter wave and no switching to ground is provided in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure, the power splitter 1040 may be Figure 1 An example of a power divider 140 is shown. Fig.10 The power divider 1040 shown in FIG. 1 is substantially similar to Figure 3A Therefore, for the sake of brevity, the description thereof will not be repeated here, and only the differences will be described. In particular, Fig.10 As shown, in some embodiments, each of the multiple (eg, 2) branches 1056 on which the RF input signal 234 can be split (ie, taking 2 branches as an example, Fig.10 The first branch 1056-1 and the second branch 1056-2 shown may include a quarter wave portion 1002 having an impedance of 70.71Ω (50√2), followed by another quarter wave portion 1004, but now having an impedance of 35.5Ω (50 / √2), and then the RF signals in the branches are further divided by the corresponding switching devices 338 in the branches. The impedance values ​​of the two quarter wave portions 1002 and 1004 can be selected to create an impedance transformation, where a line with a wavelength of a quarter wavelength and at (50 / √2) or 35.5Ω is transformed to 50Ω at the end of the quarter wavelength line. Similarly, if a line with a wavelength of a quarter wavelength and at (50√2) or 70.71Ω is transformed to 50Ω at the end of the quarter wavelength line. In general, these values ​​can be any values ​​suitable for rebalancing the impedance mismatch caused by the mismatch on the power divider, which can be any of a variety of line lengths, impedance values, and circuit elements (such as capacitors or inductors).

[0079] Fig.11 A schematic diagram of a phase shifter 1130 implemented as a switch-based feeder power splitter with quarter-wave tuning and ground switching according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is provided. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the phase shifter 1130 may be Figure 1 An example of a phase shifter 130 is shown. Fig.11 The phase shifter 1130 shown is substantially similar to Figure 7 The phase shifter 1130 shown in FIG. 1 is similar to the phase shifter 1130 shown in FIG. 1 , and therefore, for the sake of brevity, its description will not be repeated here, and only the differences will be described. In particular, Fig.11 1132, which is connected to the RF input signal 234. Figure 7 The portion 732 shown is substantially similar in that it may have an impedance of 35.5Ω, however, Fig.11 As shown, it can also have a quarter wavelength. In addition, Fig.11 As shown, in some embodiments, a switch arrangement 1138 (substantially similar to switch arrangement 238) may include a plurality of switches 1140 (substantially similar to switch 240), but each switch is configured so that it can be grounded using another switch (referred to as a "grounding switch") 1142. In order not to clutter the drawings, Fig.11 Only one of the switches 1140 and one of the grounding switches 1142 are indicated by reference numerals, but in Fig.11 4 of such switches 1140 and grounding switches 1142 are shown in the example of FIG. Figure 2 The switch 240 shown in FIG. 1 operates as described above, while the grounding switch 1142 operates as described above with reference to FIG. Figure 8 Shown but for Figure 4 The 4-way power distribution shown (with Figure 8 The example of 2-way power distribution shown in the opposite way) is Fig.11 140. In some embodiments, at a given time, one of the switches 1140 may be closed (all other switches 1140 are open), and the corresponding ground switch 1142 may then be opened, resulting in a split portion of the RF input signal 234. At this time, the remaining ground switches 1142 may be closed or open, which does not matter because the switches 1140 of those remaining ground switches 1142 are open, and therefore no RF signal passes through these branches. Therefore, Fig.11 The implementation is similar to Figure 3A , but this time using a quarter wave feed line with a shorting switch associated with each switch 240. When the channel is not in use, the grounding switch 1142 can make the feed line look like it is disconnected. Fig.11 It is also shown that the portion connecting each grounding switch 1142 to the feed line 232 may be a quarter wave portion 1144 (in order not to confuse the drawing, Fig.11 Only one of them is marked with reference numeral 1144). Fig.11 Illustration 1150 is shown showing one example of a PCB implementation of the phase shifter 1130 .

[0080] Fig.12 A schematic diagram of a phase shifter 1230 implemented as a switch-based feeder power splitter with a quarter wave and switched to ground implementation is provided according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the phase shifter 1230 may be Figure 1 An example of a phase shifter 130 is shown. Fig.12 The phase shifter 1230 shown in FIG. 1 is substantially similar to Fig. 9 Therefore, for the sake of brevity, the description thereof will not be repeated here, and only the differences are described. In particular, Fig.12 As shown, in some embodiments, the phase shifter 1230 can be configured to drive four antenna elements using one die or package, where the previous embodiment drove two antenna elements. In particular, this implementation can use a phase shifter 1230 on the input side such as Fig. 9 The quarter-wave switch shown is implemented, and at the output of the switch, the signal is split again, and the two quarter-wavelength lines are connected to two feed lines 1232-1 and 1232-2 of different lengths. In some embodiments, the quarter-wavelength lines from the switch to the feed lines can be terminated at the switch to a quarter-wavelength grounded, thereby effectively utilizing the ground element. As a result, a 4-channel multiplexer can be configured to drive 4 antenna elements with different and differential phase shifts, while the previous embodiment drives 2 antenna elements.

[0081] More Examples

[0082] Fig.13 A schematic diagram of ESD protection with a parallel inductor 1302 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is provided. Fig.13 As shown, inductor 1302 can be grounded to ensure that it has high impedance at the operating frequency. This inductor can be configured to short to ground in the event of any ESD breakdown. This inductor / structure can optionally be added to Figure 2 Any of the nodes 236 or 234 shown is specifically a feed from a previous stage, such as an output node of a power amplifier or a driven antenna element. Fig.13 An example of using an inductor 1302 is shown in FIG. 1310, where FIG. 1310 shows the Figure 3B and 3C A portion of the circuit layout is shown.

[0083] Fig.14 A schematic diagram of ESD protection with a quarter wave stub 1402 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is provided. Fig.14As shown, a quarter wave stub 1402 can be coupled to ground at the operating frequency. Such a quarter wave stub 1402 can be optionally added to Figure 2 Any of the nodes 236 or 234 shown in , specifically, an output node from a feed source of a previous stage such as a power amplifier or a driven antenna element. Fig.14 An example of using a quarter wave stub 1402 is shown in FIG. 1410, wherein FIG. 1410 shows the Figure 3B and 3C A portion of the circuit layout is shown.

[0084] Fig.15 A schematic diagram of a short-cut band-stop filter 1502 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is provided. Fig.15 As shown, a short stub band-stop filter 1502 can be placed on the feed line, with the length of the stub being a quarter wave at the frequency desired to be filtered. Such a short band-stop filter 1502 can be added to the feed line. Figure 2 Any of the nodes 236 or 234 shown is specifically a feed from a preceding stage, such as an output node of a power amplifier or a driven antenna element. Fig.15 An example of using a short-cut band-stop filter 1502 is shown in diagram 1510, where diagram 1510 shows the above-mentioned Figure 3B and 3C A portion of the circuit layout is shown.

[0085] Fig.16 A schematic diagram of a stub bandpass filter 1602 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is provided. Fig.16 As shown, a short stub bandpass filter 1602 can be placed on the feed line, the length of the stub being a quarter wave at the desired operating frequency, thereby reducing or completely removing unwanted signals at other frequencies. Such a short bandpass filter 1602 can be optionally added to Figure 2 Any of the nodes 236 or 234 shown in , particularly a feed from a preceding stage, such as an output node of a power amplifier or a driven antenna element. Fig.16 An example of using a stub bandpass filter 1602 is shown in diagram 1610, where diagram 1610 shows the Figure 3B and 3C A portion of the circuit layout is shown.

[0086] Example Data Processing System

[0087] Fig.17A block diagram is provided illustrating an example data processing system 1700 that may be configured to implement or control the implementation of at least a portion of a phase shifter using a switch-based feeder power splitter as described herein, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0088] like Fig.17 As shown, data processing system 1700 may include at least one processor 1702, such as a hardware processor 1702, which is coupled to storage element 1704 via system bus 1706. In this way, the data processing system can store program codes in storage element 1704. In addition, processor 1702 can execute program codes accessed from storage element 1704 via system bus 1706. On the one hand, the data processing system can be implemented as a computer suitable for storing and / or executing program codes. However, it should be understood that data processing system 1700 can be implemented in the form of any system including a processor and a memory capable of performing the functions described in the present disclosure.

[0089] In some embodiments, the processor 1702 may execute software or algorithms to perform the activities discussed in this specification, particularly activities related to implementing a phase shifter using a switch-based feeder power splitter as described herein. The processor 1702 may include any combination of hardware, software, or firmware that provides programmable logic, including but not limited to a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic array (PLA), an application specific integrated circuit (IC) (ASIC), or a virtual machine processor. The processor 1702 may be communicatively coupled to the storage element 1704, for example, in a direct memory access (DMA) configuration, so that the processor 1702 can read from or write to the storage element 1704.

[0090] In general, storage element 1704 may include any suitable volatile or non-volatile storage technology, including double data rate (DDR) random access memory (RAM), synchronous RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), optical media, virtual memory areas, magnetic or tape storage, or any other suitable technology. Unless otherwise noted, any storage element discussed herein should be interpreted as being encompassed within the broad term "memory." Information measured, processed, tracked, or sent to or from any component of data processing system 1700 may be provided in any database, register, control list, cache, or storage structure, all of which may be referenced in any suitable time frame. Any such storage option may be included within the broad term "memory" used herein. Similarly, any potential processing elements, modules, and machines described herein should be interpreted as being included within the broad term "processor." Each element shown in the current figures, for example, Figure 1-16 Any circuits / components shown in the drawings may also include appropriate interfaces for receiving, sending and / or otherwise transferring data or information in a network environment so that they can communicate with, for example, the data processing system 1700 of another of these elements.

[0091] In certain example embodiments, the mechanisms outlined herein for implementing a phase shifter using a switch-based feeder power splitter may be implemented by logic encoded in one or more tangible media, which may include non-transitory media such as an ASIC, embedded logic provided in DSP instructions, software (which may include object code and source code) executed by a processor or other similar machine, etc. In certain of these cases, a storage element (e.g., Fig.17 The storage element 1704 shown in FIG. 17 can store data or information used for the operations described herein. This includes storage elements capable of storing software, logic, code, or processor instructions that are executed to perform the activities described herein. The processor can execute any type of instructions associated with the data or information to implement the operations detailed herein. In one example, such as Fig.17A processor, such as processor 1702, shown, can transform an element or article (e.g., data) from one state or thing to another state or thing. In another example, the activities outlined herein can be implemented with fixed logic or programmable logic (e.g., software / computer instructions executed by a processor), and the elements identified herein can be some type of programmable processor, programmable digital logic (e.g., FPGA, DSP, Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM)), or ASIC including digital logic, software, code, electronic instructions, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0092] Memory element 1704 may include one or more physical memory devices, such as local memory 1708 and one or more mass storage devices 1710. Local memory may refer to a RAM or other non-persistent storage device commonly used during the actual execution of the program code. Mass storage devices may be implemented as hard drives or other persistent data storage devices. Processing system 1700 may also include one or more cache memories (not shown) that provide temporary storage of at least some program codes to reduce the number of times program codes must be retrieved from mass storage devices 1710 during execution.

[0093] like Fig.17 As shown, storage element 1704 may store application programs 1718. In various embodiments, application programs 1718 may be stored in local memory 1708, one or more mass storage devices 1710, or separate from local memory and mass storage devices. It should be understood that data processing system 1700 may further execute an operating system (OS) that may facilitate the execution of application programs 1718. Fig.17 1700 ). The application 1718 implemented in the form of executable program code can be executed by the data processing system 1700, for example, by the processor 1702. In response to executing the application, the data processing system 1700 can be configured to perform one or more operations or method steps described herein.

[0094] Input / output (I / O) devices, depicted as input devices 1712 and output devices 1714, may optionally be coupled to the data processing system. Examples of input devices may include, but are not limited to, a keyboard, a pointing device such as a mouse, and the like. Examples of output devices may include, but are not limited to, a monitor or display, a speaker, and the like. In some embodiments, the output device 1714 may be any type of screen display, such as a plasma display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, an electroluminescent (EL) display, or any other indicator, such as a dial, a barometer, or an LED. In some embodiments, the system may include a driver (not shown) for the output device 1714. The input and / or output devices 1712, 1714 may be coupled to the data processing system directly or through an intervening I / O controller.

[0095] In one embodiment, the input and output devices may be implemented as a combined input / output device (in Fig.17 1712 and output device 1714). An example of such a combined device is a touch-sensitive display, sometimes also referred to as a "touch screen display" or simply a "touch screen." In such an embodiment, input to the device can be provided by movement of a physical object, such as a stylus or a user's finger, on or near the touch screen display.

[0096] Network adapter 1716 may also be optionally coupled to the data processing system to enable it to couple to other systems, computer systems, remote network devices, and / or remote storage devices through an intermediate private or public network. The network adapter may include: a data receiver for receiving data sent by the system, device, and / or network to the data processing system 1700; and a data transmitter for sending data from the data processing system 1700 to the system, device, and / or network. Modems, cable modems, and Ethernet cards are examples of different types of network adapters that can be used with data processing system 1700.

[0097] Select Examples

[0098] The following paragraphs provide examples of various embodiments disclosed herein.

[0099] Example A1 provides a phase shifter as described herein for implementing a phase shift in an RF signal of an RF system.

[0100] Example A2 provides an antenna device for wirelessly receiving and transmitting RF signals using multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, the antenna device including a phase shifter as described herein.

[0101] Example A3 provides a method of operating a phase shifter as described herein.

[0102] Example B1 provides a phase shift module for an antenna device, the phase shift module comprising: a switching device (eg Figure 2 The switch device 238 shown is configured to switch the first feeder (eg Figure 2 The feed line 231 shown is electrically coupled to a second feed line (eg Figure 2 The coupling point between two opposite ends of the feed line 232 shown (eg Figure 2 The switching device includes a plurality of switches (e.g., a plurality of switches) at least one of the coupling points 242 shown in the figure, such that the power of the radio frequency (RF) signal transmitted on the first feeder includes (e.g., substantially equal to) the sum of the power of the RF signal transmitted on the first portion of the second feeder and the power of the RF signal transmitted on the second portion of the second feeder, wherein the first portion is a portion of the second feeder between the coupling point and a first antenna element coupled to a first end of two opposite ends of the second feeder, and the second portion is a point of the second feeder between the coupling point and a second antenna element coupled to a second end of two opposite ends of the second feeder. Figure 2 The switch 240 is shown in the figure, and is configured to be in one of a plurality of states depending on the state of each of the plurality of switches. When the switch device is in a first state of the plurality of states, the coupling point is located at a first position of a plurality of positions between two opposite ends of the second feeder (for example, the coupling point is Figure 2 When the switch device is in a second state (different from the first state) among the plurality of states, the coupling point is located at a second position among the plurality of positions (for example, the coupling point is Figure 2 Coupling point 242-2 is shown).

[0103] Example B2 provides a phase shift module according to Example B1, wherein each switch is configured to be in a first state (eg, closed and current can be conducted through the switch) or a second state (eg, open and current cannot be conducted through the switch).

[0104] Example B3 provides a phase shift module according to Example B2, wherein each of the switches is coupled between different positions of a plurality of positions between two opposite ends of the first feeder and the second feeder, and in each of a plurality of different states of the switching device, only one of the plurality of switches is in a first state.

[0105] Example B4 provides a phase shift module according to any of the preceding Examples B, wherein for each of the multiple positions of the coupling point, the RF signal transmitted on the first portion of the second feeder undergoes a phase shift of an angle θ, and the RF signal transmitted on the second portion of the second feeder undergoes a phase shift of an angle -θ, and the value of the angle θ is different for different positions of the coupling point.

[0106] Example B5 provides a phase shift module according to Example B4, wherein the multiple positions of the coupling point include a first position, a second position, a third position and a fourth position, when the coupling point is at the first position, the value of the angle θ is 0 degrees, when the coupling point is at the second position, the value of the angle θ is 45 degrees, when the coupling point is at the third position, the value of the angle θ is 90 degrees, and when the coupling point is at the fourth position, the value of the angle θ is 135 degrees.

[0107] Example B6 provides a phase shift module according to any of the preceding Examples B, wherein the first feed line includes a first portion and a second portion, the second portion being the portion of the first feed line that is closest to and coupled to the coupling point, and the first portion being electrically coupled to the first portion, the second portion of the first feed line including an impedance transformer configured to transform the impedance of the first feed line from a first value at the first portion of the first feed line to a second value at the second portion of the first feed line.

[0108] Example B7 provides the phase shift module according to Example B6, wherein the second value is substantially equal to 50 / √2 ohms.

[0109] Example B8 provides a phase shift module according to Example B6 or B7, wherein the length of the second portion of the first feed line is substantially equal to one quarter of the wavelength of the RF signal transmitted on the first feed line.

[0110] Example B9 provides a phase shift module according to any of the preceding Examples B, wherein the impedance of the second feed line is substantially equal to 50 ohms.

[0111] Example B10 provides the phase shift module of any preceding Example B, further including an ESD protection component coupled to the second feed line.

[0112] Example B11 provides the phase shift module according to Example B10, wherein the ESD protection component is a shunt inductor.

[0113] Example B12 provides the phase shift module according to Example B10, wherein the ESD protection component is a quarter-wave stub.

[0114] Example B13 provides a phase shift module according to any of the preceding Examples B, wherein at least one (but preferably all) of the plurality of switches are MEMS-based switches.

[0115] Example B14 provides a phase shift module for an antenna device, the phase shift module comprising: a first feeder, the first feeder being divided into a second feeder and a third feeder; a first switch device coupled to the second feeder; and a second switch device coupled to the third feeder. In operation, the RF signal transmitted on the first feeder includes the sum of the RF signal transmitted on the second feeder and the RF signal transmitted on the third feeder. The first switch device is configured to selectively couple the second feeder to the fourth feeder at a coupling point in one of a plurality of predetermined positions between a first end and a second end of a fourth feeder. The second switch device is configured to selectively couple the third feeder to the fifth feeder at a coupling point in one of a plurality of predetermined positions between a first end and a second end of a fifth feeder. Moreover, in operation, each of the first end of the fourth feeder, the second end of the fourth feeder, the first end of the fifth feeder, and the second end of the fifth feeder is coupled to a different antenna element.

[0116] Example B15 provides a phase shift module according to Example B14, further comprising a first input or output (I / O) port coupled to an end of the first feed line, the end being opposite to an end of the first feed line in which the first feed line is divided into a second feed line and a third feed line; and four second I / O ports. A first of the four second I / O ports is configured to couple a first end of the fourth feed line to the first antenna element, a second of the four second I / O ports is configured to couple a second end of the fourth feed line to the second antenna element, a third of the four second I / O ports is configured to couple a first end of the fifth feed line to the third antenna element, and a fourth of the four second I / O ports is configured to couple a second end of the fifth feed line to the fourth antenna element.

[0117] Example B16 provides a phase shift module according to Example B15, wherein in a first operating mode, the first I / O port is an input port and each of the four second I / O ports is an output port, and in a second operating mode, the first I / O port is an output port and each of the four second I / O ports is an input port.

[0118] Example B17 provides a phase shift module according to any one of the preceding examples B14-B16, wherein in operation, the RF signal transmitted on the second feeder is the sum of the RF signal transmitted on the first portion of the fourth feeder and the RF signal transmitted on the second portion of the fourth feeder, wherein the first portion of the fourth feeder is between the coupling point and the first end of the fourth feeder, and the second portion of the fourth feeder is between the coupling point and the second end of the fourth feeder. Moreover, in operation, the RF signal transmitted on the third feeder is the sum of the RF signal transmitted on the first portion of the fifth feeder and the RF signal transmitted on the second portion of the fifth feeder, wherein the first portion of the fifth feeder is between the coupling point and the first end of the fifth feeder, and the second portion of the fifth feeder is between the coupling point and the second end of the fifth feeder. The first switching device is configured such that, in operation, the RF signal transmitted on the first portion of the fourth feeder undergoes a phase shift of a positive first angle, and the RF signal transmitted on the second portion of the fourth feeder undergoes a phase shift of a negative first angle. The second switch arrangement is configured such that, in operation, an RF signal transmitted on the first portion of the fifth feeder line experiences a phase shift of a positive second angle and an RF signal transmitted on the second portion of the fifth feeder line experiences a phase shift of a negative second angle.

[0119] Example B18 provides a phase shift module according to Example B17, wherein the first angle is substantially equal to twice the second angle.

[0120] Example B19 provides a phase shift module according to Example B17 or B18, wherein the first switching device is configured such that when the first switching device couples the second feeder to different positions of a plurality of predetermined positions between the first end and the second end of the fourth feeder, the first angle is different, and the second switching device is configured such that when the second switching device couples the third feeder to different positions of a plurality of predetermined positions between the first end and the second end of the fifth feeder, the second angle is different.

[0121] Example B20 provides a phase shift module according to any of the preceding Examples B14-B19, further comprising one or more ESD protection components coupled to one or more of the first feed line, the second feed line, the third feed line, the fourth feed line, and the fifth feed line.

[0122] Example B21 provides a phase shift module for an antenna device, the phase shift module comprising: a switching device configured to selectively couple a first feed line to a second feed line at a coupling point at one of a plurality of predetermined positions between a first end and a second end of the second feed line, wherein in operation, the first end of the second feed line is coupled to a first antenna element of the antenna device, and the second end of the second feed line is coupled to a second antenna element of the antenna device.

[0123] Example B22 provides a phase shift module according to Example B21, wherein when the switching device is in a first state, the coupling point is located at a first position of a plurality of predetermined positions between the first end and the second end of the second feeder, and when the switching device is in a second state, the coupling point is located at a second position of a plurality of predetermined positions between the first end and the second end of the second feeder.

[0124] Example B23 provides a phase shift module according to Example B21 or B22, wherein in operation, the RF signal transmitted on the first feeder is divided into a first RF signal transmitted from the coupling point to the first end of the second feeder and a second RF signal transmitted from the coupling point to the second end of the second feeder, the first RF signal is phase-shifted by an angle θ relative to the RF signal, and the second RF signal is phase-shifted by an angle -θ relative to the RF signal.

[0125] Example B24 provides the phase shift module according to Example B23, wherein the value of θ is based on a location of a coupling point between the first end and the second end of the second feed line.

[0126] Example B25 provides an antenna device for wirelessly receiving and transmitting RF signals using multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, the antenna device including a phase shift module according to any one of Example B.

[0127] Example B26 provides a method of operating a phase shift module according to any of Example B.

[0128] Variants and implementations

[0129] Although the above reference Figure 1-17 The exemplary embodiments shown describe embodiments of the present disclosure, but those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various teachings described above can be applied to a variety of other embodiments. For example, the same principles can be applied to radar systems, automotive radars, frequency generation circuits (e.g., phase-locked loops, etc.), and optical networks.

[0130] In some cases, the features discussed herein may be applicable to automotive systems, medical systems, scientific instrumentation, wireless and wired communications, radio, radar, and digital processing-based systems.

[0131] In the discussion of the above embodiments, system components such as phase shifters, mixers, amplifiers and / or other components may be easily replaced, substituted or otherwise modified to accommodate specific circuit requirements. In addition, it should be noted that the use of complementary electronic devices, hardware, software, etc. provides equally viable options for implementing the teachings of the present disclosure related to the phase shifter of the switch-based feeder power splitter described herein.

[0132] Portions of various systems for implementing phase shifters using switch-based feeder power dividers as proposed herein may include electronic circuits that perform the functions described herein. In some cases, one or more portions of the system may be provided by a processor specifically configured to perform the functions described herein. For example, the processor may include one or more dedicated components, or may include programmable logic gates configured to perform the functions described herein. The circuit may operate in an analog domain, a digital domain, or a mixed signal domain. In some cases, the processor may be configured to perform the functions described herein by executing one or more instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium.

[0133] In an example embodiment, any number of circuits in the current figure can be implemented on a board of an associated electronic device. The board can be a general circuit board that can accommodate various components of the internal electronic system of the electronic device and can also provide connectors for other peripheral devices. More specifically, the board can provide an electrical connection through which other components of the system can communicate electrically. Any suitable processor (including DSP, microprocessor, supporting chipset, etc.), computer-readable non-transient storage element, etc. can be appropriately coupled to the board based on specific configuration requirements, processing requirements, computer design, etc. Other components, such as external memory, additional sensors, controllers for audio / video display, and peripherals, can be connected to the board as plug-in cards via cables or integrated onto the board. In various embodiments, the functions described herein can be implemented in simulated form as software or firmware running in one or more configurable (e.g., programmable) elements arranged in a structure that supports these functions. Software or firmware providing simulation can be provided on a non-transient computer-readable storage medium including instructions that allow the processor to perform those functions.

[0134] In another example embodiment, the circuits of the present figures may be implemented as stand-alone modules (e.g., devices with associated components and circuits configured to perform specific applications or functions) or as plug-in modules in dedicated hardware of an electronic device. Note that specific embodiments of the present disclosure may be readily included in part or in whole in a system-on-chip (SOC) package. SOC stands for an IC that integrates the components of a computer or other electronic system into a single chip. It may contain digital, analog, mixed signal, and typically RF functions: all of which can be provided on a single chip substrate. Other embodiments may include a multi-chip module (MCM), in which multiple separate ICs are located within a single electronic package and are configured to interact closely with each other through the electronic package. In various other embodiments, the circuits described herein may be implemented in one or more silicon cores in an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and other semiconductor chips.

[0135] It is also important to note that all specifications, dimensions, and relationships outlined herein (e.g. Figure 1-17 The number of components shown in the system (the number of components shown in the system) is provided for the purpose of example and instruction only. This information may be changed considerably without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure or the scope of the appended claims. It should be understood that the system can be combined in any suitable manner. Along similar design alternatives, any illustrated circuits, components, modules and elements of the present invention can be combined in various possible configurations, all of which are obviously within the broad scope of this specification. In the foregoing description, example embodiments have been described with reference to specific processors and / or component arrangements. Various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. Therefore, the description and drawings should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

[0136] It is also important to note that the functions associated with implementing a phase shifter using a switch-based feeder power splitter as proposed herein illustrate only some of the possible functions that may be performed by or within an RF system. Some of these operations may be deleted or removed where appropriate, or these operations may be modified or changed considerably without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein provide great flexibility in that any suitable arrangements, timings, configurations, and timing mechanisms may be provided without departing from the teachings of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A phase shift module for an antenna device, the phase shift module comprising: a switching device configured to couple a first feeder to a coupling point between two opposite ends of a second feeder so that a power of a radio frequency (RF) signal transmitted on the first feeder includes a sum of a power of an RF signal transmitted on a first portion of the second feeder and a power of an RF signal transmitted on a second portion of the second feeder, wherein the first portion is a portion of the second feeder between the coupling point and a first antenna element coupled to a first end of the two opposite ends of the second feeder, and the second portion is a portion of the second feeder between the coupling point and a second antenna element coupled to a second end of the two opposite ends of the second feeder, The switch arrangement comprises a plurality of switches and is configured to be in one of a plurality of states depending on a state of each of the plurality of switches, Wherein, when the switching device is in a first state among the multiple states, the coupling point is located at a first position among a plurality of positions between two opposite ends of the second feeder, and when the switching device is in a second state among the multiple states, the coupling point is located at a second position among the multiple positions.

2. The phase shift module according to claim 1, wherein: Each switch is configured to be in a first state or a second state, Each of the switches is coupled between different ones of the plurality of positions between two opposite ends of the first feed line and the second feed line, and In each of the plurality of states of the switch arrangement, only one of the plurality of switches is in a first state.

3. The phase shift module according to claim 1, wherein: For each of the plurality of locations of the coupling point, the RF signal transmitted on the first portion of the second feeder experiences a phase shift of an angle θ and the RF signal transmitted on the second portion of the second feeder experiences a phase shift of an angle -θ, and For different positions of the coupling point, the value of the angle θ is different.

4. The phase shift module according to claim 3, wherein: The plurality of positions of the coupling point include a first position, a second position, a third position and a fourth position, When the coupling point is at the first position, the value of the angle θ is 0 degrees. When the coupling point is at the second position, the value of the angle θ is 45 degrees. When the coupling point is located at the third position, the value of the angle θ is 90 degrees, and When the coupling point is located at the fourth position, the value of the angle θ is 135 degrees.

5. The phase shift module according to claim 1, wherein: The first feed line includes a first portion and a second portion, the second portion being a portion of the first feed line closest to and coupled to the coupling point, and the second portion is coupled to the first portion, The second portion of the first feed line includes an impedance transformer configured to transform an impedance of the first feed line from a first value at the first portion of the first feed line to a second value at the second portion of the first feed line.

6. The phase shift module according to claim 5, wherein the second value is substantially equal to ohm.

7. The phase shift module of claim 5, wherein a length of the second portion of the first feed line is substantially equal to one quarter of a wavelength of an RF signal transmitted on the first feed line.

8. The phase shift module according to claim 1, wherein the impedance of the second feed line is substantially equal to 50 ohms. 9 . The phase shift module according to claim 1 , further comprising an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection component coupled to the second feed line.

10. A phase shift module for an antenna device, the phase shift module comprising: a first feeder, the first feeder being divided into a second feeder and a third feeder; a first switching device coupled to the second feeder; and a second switching device coupled to the third feeder, in: In operation, the radio frequency (RF) signal transmitted on the first feeder line includes the sum of the RF signal transmitted on the second feeder line and the RF signal transmitted on the third feeder line. The first switch device is configured to selectively couple the second feeder to a fourth feeder at a coupling point, the coupling point being at one of a plurality of predetermined positions between a first end and a second end of the fourth feeder, The second switch device is configured to selectively couple the third feeder to the fifth feeder at a coupling point, the coupling point being at one of a plurality of predetermined positions between the first end and the second end of the fifth feeder, and In operation, each of the first end of the fourth feed line, the second end of the fourth feed line, the first end of the fifth feed line, and the second end of the fifth feed line are coupled to a different antenna element.

11. The phase shift module according to claim 10, further comprising: a first input or output port coupled to one end of the first feeder, the one end of the first feeder being opposite to another end of the first feeder at which the first feeder is divided into a second feeder and a third feeder; and Four second input or output ports, where: A first one of the four second input or output ports is configured to couple a first end of the fourth feed line to the first antenna element, A second one of the four second input or output ports is configured to couple a second end of the fourth feed line to a second antenna element, A third of the four second input or output ports is configured to couple the first end of the fifth feed line to a third antenna element, and A fourth of the four second input or output ports is configured to couple the second end of the fifth feed line to a fourth antenna element.

12. The phase shift module according to claim 11, wherein: In a first operating mode, the first input or output port is an input port and each of the four second input or output ports is an output port, and In a second operating mode, the first input or output port is an output port and each of the four second input or output ports is an input port.

13. The phase shift module according to claim 10, wherein: In operation, the RF signal transmitted on the second feeder is the sum of the RF signal transmitted on a first portion of the fourth feeder and the RF signal transmitted on a second portion of the fourth feeder, wherein the first portion of the fourth feeder is between the coupling point and the first end of the fourth feeder and the second portion of the fourth feeder is between the coupling point and the second end of the fourth feeder, In operation, the RF signal transmitted on the third feeder is the sum of the RF signal transmitted on a first portion of the fifth feeder and the RF signal transmitted on a second portion of the fifth feeder, wherein the first portion of the fifth feeder is between the coupling point and the first end of the fifth feeder, and the second portion of the fifth feeder is between the coupling point and the second end of the fifth feeder, The first switching device is configured such that, in operation, an RF signal transmitted on a first portion of the fourth feeder line experiences a phase shift of a positive first angle and an RF signal transmitted on a second portion of the fourth feeder line experiences a phase shift of a negative first angle, and The second switch arrangement is configured such that, in operation, an RF signal transmitted on the first portion of the fifth feeder line experiences a phase shift of a positive second angle and an RF signal transmitted on the second portion of the fifth feeder line experiences a phase shift of a negative second angle. The phase shift module of claim 13 , wherein the first angle is substantially equal to twice the second angle.

15. The phase shift module according to claim 13, wherein: The first switch device is configured such that the first angle is different when the first switch device couples the second feeder to different positions of the plurality of predetermined positions between the first end and the second end of the fourth feeder, and The second switch device is configured such that the second angle is different when the second switch device couples the third feeder line to different ones of the plurality of predetermined positions between the first end and the second end of the fifth feeder line. 16 . The phase shift module of claim 10 , further comprising one or more electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection components coupled to one or more of the first feed line, the second feed line, the third feed line, the fourth feed line, and the fifth feed line.

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