Radio frequency front end module with leakage management engine

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a radio frequency front end module with a leakage management engine. An electronic device is disclosed that can include a transceiver, an antenna, and a front end module (FEM) coupled between the transceiver and the antenna. Components on the FEM can operate on radio frequency signals. The FEM can include a digital controller with a leakage management engine. The leakage management engine can monitor a supply voltage received by the FEM. In response to detection of a trigger condition, the leakage management engine can power down a set of the components while at least some of the FEM remain powered up. The trigger condition can be a change in the supply voltage or a host command received from a host processor. Powering down the set of front end components using the leakage management engine can be used to minimize leakage current on the FEM, thereby maximizing battery life and shelf life of the device without the need to use bulky and expensive external load switches.

Description

[0001] Related application citation

[0002] This application is a divisional application of Chinese national application number 202110890576.X, filed on August 4, 2021, entitled "RF front-end module with leakage management engine".

[0003] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application 16 / 988,537, filed August 7, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0004] This invention relates generally to electronic devices, and more particularly to electronic devices having wireless communication circuitry. Background Technology

[0005] Electronic devices often possess wireless communication capabilities. This invention discloses an electronic device with wireless communication capabilities, which includes a wireless communication circuit having one or more antennas. The wireless transceiver circuit within the wireless communication circuit uses the antennas to transmit and receive radio frequency signals. A radio frequency front-end module is coupled between the transceiver circuit and the antennas.

[0006] Developing a satisfactory RF front-end module for electronic devices can be challenging. If left unchecked, leakage current in the front-end module can reduce the battery life and storage life of the electronic device. Summary of the Invention

[0007] Electronic devices may include wireless circuitry for performing wireless communication. The wireless circuitry may include a transceiver, an antenna, and a radio frequency front-end module (FEM) coupled between the transceiver and the antenna. The transceiver may use the antenna to transmit radio frequency signals. Front-end components on the FEM may operate in response to the radio frequency signals. The FEM may be powered by a power supply voltage provided by a power system on the electronic device.

[0008] The FEM may include a digital controller. A leakage current management engine may be formed by logic gates on the digital controller. The leakage current management engine monitors the power supply voltage received by the FEM. The leakage current management engine detects trigger conditions. In response to the detection of a trigger condition, the leakage current management engine may de-energize a group of front-end components while at least some of the FEM remains energized. For example, the leakage current management engine may disconnect the group of front-end components from one or more of the power supply voltages. The trigger condition may be a change in one or more of the monitored power supply voltages and / or a host command received from a host processor outside the FEM. Using the leakage current management engine to de-energize the group of front-end components can be used to minimize leakage current on the FEM, thereby maximizing the battery life and storage life of the device without the need for a bulky and expensive external load switch.

[0009] One aspect of this disclosure provides an electronic device. The electronic device may have an antenna. The electronic device may have a transceiver. The transceiver may use the antenna to transmit radio frequency signals. The electronic device may have a radio frequency front-end module coupled between the antenna and the transceiver. The radio frequency front-end module may have front-end components that operate on the radio frequency signals.

[0010] The RF front-end module may have a leakage management engine. The leakage management engine can de-energize a group of front-end components while at least some of the RF front-end module remains energized.

[0011] One aspect of this disclosure provides a method of operating an RF front-end module. The method may include using a digital controller on the RF front-end module to operate the RF front-end module in a first operating mode to perform a transmit or receive operation. The method may include using the digital controller to monitor a power supply voltage received at the RF front-end module. The method may include using the digital controller to place the RF front-end module in a second operating mode in response to a trigger condition by decoupling a group of front-end module components from at least one of the power supply voltages.

[0012] One aspect of this disclosure provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may store one or more programs executable by at least one processor on a radio frequency (RF) front-end module. The one or more programs may include instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to monitor a first power supply voltage received by the RF front-end module. The one or more programs may also include instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to decouple at least one front-end module component on the RF front-end module from a second power supply voltage received by the RF front-end module in response to a change in the first power supply voltage. Attached Figure Description

[0013] Figure 1This is a schematic diagram of an exemplary electronic device with wireless circuitry according to some implementation schemes.

[0014] Figure 2 This is a circuit diagram illustrating how one or more power supply voltages can be used to power an exemplary RF front-end module, based on some implementation schemes.

[0015] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional side view of an exemplary radio frequency front-end module according to some implementation schemes.

[0016] Figure 4 This is a block diagram of an exemplary RF front-end module with an intelligent leakage management engine, based on some implementation schemes.

[0017] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating exemplary steps involved in operating an intelligent leakage management engine to mitigate current leakage in an RF front-end module, based on some implementation schemes.

[0018] Figure 6 This is a state diagram illustrating the exemplary operating modes of an intelligent leakage current management engine based on some implementation schemes.

[0019] Figure 7 This is an illustrative diagram illustrating how a smart leakage management engine can use control signals to disable different RF front-end module components to mitigate current leakage, based on some implementation schemes.

[0020] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram illustrating how an illustrative intelligent leakage management engine can control a power management unit to disable other front-end module components, based on some implementation schemes. Detailed Implementation

[0021] Electronic devices, such as Figure 1 The electronic device 10 may include wireless circuitry. The wireless circuitry may include radio frequency transceiver circuitry and an antenna. A radio frequency front-end module may be coupled between the transceiver circuitry and the antenna. The front-end module may include an intelligent leakage management engine. The intelligent leakage management engine may be integrated into a digital controller on the front-end module. The intelligent leakage management engine can monitor the status of the front-end module and the power supply voltage supplied to the front-end module. The intelligent leakage management engine can use this information to selectively disable different components on the front-end module. For example, the front-end module may have different operating states. The intelligent leakage management engine can disconnect (disable) some or all of the components on the front-end module based on one or more of the following: the current state of the front-end module, timing requirements for possible future front-end module states, and direct commands issued from the application processor, transceiver, or from the host software via a driver. This can be used to mitigate current leakage at the front-end module without using an external load switch. Limiting current leakage in this way maximizes the battery life and storage life of the electronic device.

[0022] Figure 1 The electronic device 10 may be: a computing device, such as a laptop computer, desktop computer, computer monitor containing an embedded computer, tablet computer, cellular phone, media player, or other handheld or portable electronic device; a smaller device, such as a wristwatch, a wristband, a headset or handset, a device embedded in glasses; or other equipment worn on a user's head; or other wearable or micro-devices, televisions, computer monitors without an embedded computer, gaming devices, navigation devices, embedded systems (such as systems in which electronic equipment with a display is installed in a kiosk or vehicle), voice-controlled speakers connected to the wireless Internet, home entertainment devices, remote control devices, game controllers, peripheral user input devices, wireless base stations or access points, equipment that enables the functions of two or more of these devices; or other electronic equipment.

[0023] like Figure 1 As illustrated in the schematic diagram, device 10 may include components located on or within an electronic device housing, such as housing 12. Housing 12 (sometimes referred to as a shell) may be formed of plastic, glass, ceramic, fiber composite material, metal (e.g., stainless steel, aluminum, metal alloys, etc.), other suitable materials, or combinations thereof. In some cases, part or all of housing 12 may be formed of a dielectric or other low-conductivity material (e.g., glass, ceramic, plastic, sapphire, etc.). In other cases, housing 12, or at least some of the structures constituting housing 12, may be formed of metallic elements.

[0024] Device 10 may include control circuitry 14. Control circuitry 14 may include storage devices, such as storage circuitry 16. Storage circuitry 16 may include hard disk drive storage devices, non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory configured to form a solid-state drive or other electrically programmable read-only memory), volatile memory (e.g., static random access memory or dynamic random access memory), etc. Storage circuitry 16 may include storage devices and / or removable storage media integrated within device 10.

[0025] Control circuitry 14 may include processing circuitry, such as processing circuitry 18. Processing circuitry 18 may be used to control the operation of device 10. Processing circuitry 18 may include one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, host processors, baseband processor integrated circuits, application-specific integrated circuits, central processing units (CPUs), etc. Control circuitry 14 may be configured to perform operations in device 10 using hardware (e.g., dedicated hardware or circuitry), firmware, and / or software. Software code for performing operations in device 10 may be stored on storage circuitry 16 (e.g., storage circuitry 16 may include a non-transitory (tangible) computer-readable storage medium storing software code). This software code may sometimes be referred to as program instructions, software, data, commands, or code. The software code stored on storage circuitry 16 may be executed by processing circuitry 18.

[0026] Control circuitry 14 can be used to run software on device 10, such as satellite navigation applications, internet browsing applications, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone calling applications, email applications, media playback applications, operating system functions, etc. To support interaction with external equipment, control circuitry 14 can be used to implement communication protocols. Communication protocols that can be implemented using control circuitry 14 include: Internet Protocol, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.11 protocol—sometimes referred to as...). Protocols for other short-range wireless communication links, such as This protocol may be any of the following: wireless personal area network (WPAN) protocols, IEEE 802.11ad protocols (e.g., ultra-wideband protocols), cellular phone protocols (e.g., 3G, 4G (LTE), 5G, etc.), antenna diversity protocols, satellite navigation system protocols (e.g., Global Positioning System (GPS), Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), etc.), antenna-based spatial ranging protocols (e.g., radio detection and ranging (RADAR) protocols for signals transmitted at millimeter and centimeter wave frequencies or other desired distance detection protocols), or any other desired communication protocol. Each communication protocol may be associated with a corresponding radio access technology (RAT), which specifies the physical connection method used to implement the protocol.

[0027] Device 10 may include input-output circuitry 20. Input-output circuitry 20 may include input-output devices 28. Input-output devices 28 may be used to allow data to be supplied to device 10 and to allow data to be provided from device 10 to external devices. Input-output devices 28 may include user interface devices, data port devices, and other input-output components. For example, input-output devices 28 may include touch sensors, displays, light-emitting components such as displays without touch sensor capability, buttons (mechanical, capacitive, optical, etc.), scroll wheels, touchpads, keypads, keyboards, microphones, cameras, buttons, speakers, status indicators, audio jacks and other audio port components, digital data port devices, motion sensors (accelerometers, gyroscopes, and / or compasses that detect motion), capacitive sensors, proximity sensors, magnetic sensors, force sensors (e.g., force sensors coupled to a display to detect pressure applied to the display), etc. In some configurations, keyboards, headphones, displays, pointing devices such as touchpads, mice and joysticks, and other input-output devices can be coupled to device 10 using wired or wireless connections (e.g., some of the input-output devices 28 may be peripherals coupled to the main processing unit or other parts of device 10 via wired or wireless links).

[0028] Input-output circuitry 20 may include wireless circuitry 30 to support wireless communication. Wireless circuitry 30 (sometimes referred to herein as wireless communication circuitry 30) may include a baseband processor such as baseband processor 32, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry such as RF transceiver 36, RF front-end circuitry such as RF front-end module 40, and an antenna 44. Baseband processor 32 may be coupled to transceiver 36 via baseband path 34. Transceiver 36 may be coupled to antenna 44 via RF transmission line path 42. RF front-end module 40 may be inserted into RF transmission line path 42.

[0029] exist Figure 1 In the example, for clarity, wireless circuit 30 is shown as including only a single baseband processor, a single transceiver 36, a single front-end module 40, and a single antenna 44. Generally, wireless circuit 30 may include any desired number of baseband processors 32, any desired number of transceivers 36, any desired number of front-end modules 40, and any desired number of antennas 44. Each baseband processor 32 may be coupled to one or more transceivers 36 via a corresponding baseband path 34. Each transceiver 36 may be coupled to one or more antennas 44 via a corresponding RF transmission line path 42. Each RF transmission line path 42 may have a corresponding front-end module 40 inserted thereon. If desired, two or more front-end modules 40 may be inserted on the same RF transmission line path 42. If desired, one or more RF transmission line paths 42 in wireless circuit 30 may be implemented without any front-end modules inserted thereon.

[0030] The RF transmission line path 42 may be coupled to an antenna feed section on the antenna 44. The antenna feed section may, for example, include a positive antenna feed terminal and a ground antenna feed terminal. The RF transmission line path 42 may have a positive transmission line signal path coupled to the positive antenna feed terminal on the antenna 44. The RF transmission line path 42 may have a ground transmission line signal path coupled to the ground antenna feed terminal on the antenna 44. This example is merely illustrative, and in general, the antenna 44 may be fed using any desired antenna feeding scheme. If desired, the antenna 44 may have multiple antenna feed sections coupled to one or more RF transmission line paths 42.

[0031] Radio frequency (RF) transmission line path 42 may include transmission lines for routing RF antenna signals within device 10. Transmission lines in device 10 may include coaxial cables, microstrip transmission lines, stripline transmission lines, edge-coupled microstrip transmission lines, edge-coupled stripline transmission lines, transmission lines formed by combinations of these types of transmission lines, etc. Transmission lines in device 10, such as those in RF transmission line path 42, may be integrated into rigid and / or flexible printed circuit boards. In a suitable arrangement, RF transmission line paths such as RF transmission line path 42 may also include transmission line conductors integrated within a multilayer laminate structure (e.g., layers of conductive materials (such as copper) and dielectric materials (such as resin) laminated together without the intervention of adhesives). If desired, the multilayer laminate structure may be folded or bent in multiple dimensions (e.g., two-dimensional or three-dimensional) and may retain its bent or folded shape after bending (e.g., the multilayer laminate structure may be folded into a specific three-dimensional structural shape for wiring around other device components and may be rigid enough to retain its shape after folding without being held in place by reinforcements or other structures). All the multiple layers of a laminated structure can be laminated together in batches without adhesive (e.g., in a single pressing process) (e.g., in contrast to performing multiple pressing processes to laminate multiple layers together with adhesive).

[0032] During wireless transmission, the baseband processor 32 provides baseband signals to the transceiver 36 via baseband path 34. The transceiver 36 may include circuitry for converting the baseband signals received from the baseband processor 32 into corresponding radio frequency (RF) signals. For example, the transceiver circuitry 36 may include mixer circuitry for up-converting the baseband signals to RF before transmission via antenna 44. The transceiver circuitry 36 may also include digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and / or analog-to-digital converter (ADC) circuitry for converting signals between the digital and analog domains. The transceiver 36 may transmit RF signals via antenna 44 through RF transmission line path 42 and front-end module 40. Antenna 44 transmits RF signals to external wireless equipment by radiating the RF signals into free space.

[0033] During wireless reception, antenna 44 can receive radio frequency (RF) signals from external wireless equipment. The received RF signals can be transmitted to transceiver 36 via RF transmission line path 42 and front-end module 40. Transceiver 36 may include circuitry for converting the received RF signals into corresponding baseband signals. For example, transceiver 36 may include mixer circuitry for down-converting the received RF signals to baseband frequencies before transmitting the baseband signals via baseband path 34 to baseband processor 32.

[0034] Front-end module (FEM) 40 may include radio frequency front-end circuitry that operates on radio frequency signals transmitted (transmitted and / or received) through radio frequency transmission line path 42. FEM 40 may include, for example, front-end module (FEM) components such as switching circuitry (e.g., one or more radio frequency switches), radio frequency filter circuitry (e.g., low-pass filters, high-pass filters, notch filters, band-pass filters, multiplexing circuitry, duplexer circuitry, in-direction duplexer circuitry, tripplexer circuitry, etc.), impedance matching circuitry (e.g., circuitry that helps match the impedance of antenna 44 to the impedance of radio frequency transmission line 42), antenna tuning circuitry (e.g., a network of capacitors, resistors, inductors, and / or switches that adjust the frequency response of antenna 44), radio frequency amplifier circuitry (e.g., power amplifier circuitry and / or low-noise amplifier circuitry), radio frequency coupler circuitry, charge pump circuitry, power management circuitry, digital control and interface circuitry, and / or any other desired circuitry that operates on the radio frequency signals transmitted and / or received by antenna 44. Each front-end module component may be mounted on a common (shared) substrate, such as a rigid printed circuit board substrate or a flexible printed circuit board substrate.

[0035] Transceiver 36 may be separate from FEM 40. For example, transceiver 36 may be formed on another substrate such as the main logic board of device 10, a rigid printed circuit board, or a flexible printed circuit that is not part of FEM 40. Although for clarity, in Figure 1In the example, control circuitry 14 is shown separately from wireless circuitry 30, but wireless circuitry 30 may include processing circuitry and / or storage circuitry, the processing circuitry forming part of processing circuitry 18; the storage circuitry forming part of storage circuitry 16 of control circuitry 14 (e.g., portions of control circuitry 14 may be implemented on wireless circuitry 30). As an example, portions of baseband processor 32 and / or transceiver 36 (e.g., a host processor on transceiver 36) may form part of control circuitry 14. Control circuitry 14 (e.g., portions of control circuitry 14 formed on baseband processor 32, portions of control circuitry 14 formed on transceiver 36, and / or portions of control circuitry 14 separate from wireless circuitry 30) may provide control signals (e.g., via one or more control paths in device 10) to control the operation of FEM 40.

[0036] Transceiver 36 may include a frequency band for processing WLAN communications (e.g., (IEEE 802.11) or other WLAN communication bands, such as the 2.4 GHz WLAN band (e.g., from 2400 to 2480 MHz), the 5 GHz WLAN band (e.g., from 5180 to 5825 MHz), 6E band (e.g., from 5925 to 7125 MHz) and / or others Wireless LAN transceiver circuitry covering a frequency band (e.g., from 1875 to 5160 MHz); handling 2.4 GHz. Wireless personal area network transceiver circuits for frequency bands or other WPAN communication bands; cellular phone transceiver circuits for processing cellular phone frequency bands (e.g., bands from about 600 MHz to about 5 GHz, 3G bands, 4G LTE bands, 5G New Radio Frequency Range 1 (FR1) band below 10 GHz, 5G New Radio Frequency Range 2 (FR2) band between 20 and 60 GHz, etc.); near field communication (NFC) transceiver circuits for processing near field communication bands (e.g., at 13.56 MHz); satellite navigation receiver circuits for processing satellite navigation bands (e.g., GPS band from 1565 to 1610 MHz, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) band, BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) band, etc.); ultra-wideband (UWB) transceiver circuits for processing communications using the IEEE 802.15.4 protocol and / or other ultra-wideband communication protocols; and / or any other desired radio frequency transceiver circuits for covering any other desired communication bands of interest. In a scenario where device 10 processes the NFC communication band, as an example, device 10 may form NFC tags (e.g., passive or active NFC tags with a smart leakage management engine as described herein), may include NFC tags integrated into a larger device or structure, or may be different types of devices processing NFC communication. The communication band may sometimes be referred to herein as a frequency band or simply a "band" and may span a corresponding frequency range.

[0037] Wireless circuit 30 may include one or more antennas, such as antenna 44. Antenna 44 can be formed using any desired antenna structure. For example, antenna 44 may be an antenna with a resonant element, formed from a loop antenna structure, patch antenna structure, inverted F-shaped antenna structure, slot antenna structure, planar inverted F-shaped antenna structure, helical antenna structure, monopole antenna, dipole antenna, a combination of these designs, etc. Two or more antennas 44 may be arranged in one or more phased antenna arrays (e.g., for transmitting radio frequency signals at millimeter-wave frequencies). Parasitic elements may be included in antenna 44 to adjust antenna performance. Antenna 44 may be provided with a conductive cavity that supports the antenna resonant element of antenna 44 (e.g., antenna 44 may be a cavity-backed antenna, such as a cavity-backed slot antenna).

[0038] Filter circuitry, switching circuitry, impedance matching circuitry, and other circuitry may be inserted within the RF transmission line path 42, incorporated into the FEM 40, and / or incorporated into the antenna 44 (e.g., to support antenna tuning, to support operation in a desired frequency band, etc.). These components (sometimes referred to herein as antenna tuning components) may be adjusted (e.g., using control circuitry 14) to regulate the frequency response and wireless performance of the antenna 44 over time.

[0039] Device 10 may include power circuitry, such as power system 22 (sometimes referred to as power control circuitry). Power system 22 may include a battery, such as battery 24. Battery 24 of device 10 can be used to power device 10 when device 10 is not receiving wired or wireless power from another source. In some configurations, device 10 may use battery power associated with an accessory. Power system 22 may also power device 10 using wired or wireless power.

[0040] Power system 22 can be used to receive wired power from an external source (e.g., an external charger, power adapter, or battery housing), and / or may include wireless power receiving circuitry for receiving wirelessly transmitted power from a corresponding wireless power transmission device (e.g., a wireless charging pad or dock). Power management circuitry 26 in power system 22 can be used to manage power consumption and distribution within device 10. For example, power management circuitry 26 can distribute power received by device 10 (e.g., wirelessly or via a wired connection) to internal circuitry within device 10 and / or to battery 24 (e.g., to charge battery 24). Power management circuitry 26 can also be used to generate one or more power supply voltages (e.g., direct current (DC) power supply voltages) for powering components of device 10. Power management circuitry 26 can generate DC power supply voltages, for example, from charge stored on battery 24 and / or from power already received or being received by device 10 (e.g., wirelessly or via a wired connection).

[0041] The power system 22 (e.g., power management circuitry 26 and / or battery 24) can generate any desired amount of DC supply voltage (e.g., positive supply voltage, ground, or reference voltage, etc.). The power system 22 generates a common collector voltage (V... CC DC power supply voltage, drain-drain voltage (V) DD DC power supply voltage and input-output voltage (V) IO Examples of DC power supply voltages are sometimes described as examples in this article. Power supply voltage V CC For example, the power supply voltage of the bipolar junction transistor in device 10. Power supply voltage V DD For example, the power supply voltage of the field-effect transistor (FET) in device 10. Power supply voltage V IO This could be, for example, the power supply voltage of the integrated circuit (IC) input-output (interface) circuit in device 10, and may sometimes be referred to herein as the input-output (IO) power supply voltage V. IO Generally speaking, power system 22 can generate any other desired power supply voltage for device 10. An example of power system 22 using a power supply voltage to power FEM 40 is described herein as an example.

[0042] Figure 2 This shows how the power supply voltage V can be...CC and V DD The circuit diagram provided for FEM 40 on device 10. (e.g.) Figure 3 As shown, the wireless circuit 30 may include N FEMs 40 (e.g., first FEM 40-1, second FEM 40-2, Nth FEM 40-N, etc.). Each FEM 40 may have a corresponding power input port 48. The power system 22 may be coupled to the power input port 48 of the FEM 40 via external power lines 46 (e.g., first power line 46-1, second power line 46-2, etc.). Each power line 46 may transmit a corresponding power supply voltage to the FEM 40.

[0043] Each FEM 40 can be coupled to the corresponding power input port 48 of power line 46-1 (e.g., V). CC The power input port receives the power supply voltage V. CC Similarly, each FEM 40 can be coupled to the corresponding power input port 48 of power line 46-2 (e.g., V). DD The power input port receives the power supply voltage V. DD The power supply voltage V can be generated from the charge stored in battery 24. DD and / or V CC For clarity, it has been... Figure 2 The power management circuit 26 is omitted. Figure 1 However, if needed, a power management circuit (e.g., a power regulator within the power management circuit) can be coupled between battery 24 and power line 46. The power management circuit can generate a power supply voltage V based on the charge stored on battery 24. CC and V DD One or both of them. In a suitable arrangement described herein as an example, power line 46-1 can receive power voltage V from battery 24. CC The power supply line 46-2 receives the power supply voltage V from the power management circuit. DD Power supply voltage V CC and V DD It can be used to power FEM components on FEM 40.

[0044] When wireless circuit 30 is on (e.g., when wireless circuit 30 actively transmits and / or receives radio frequency signals), all the power supply voltage generated by power system 22 is generally available to and supplied to FEMs 40. When wireless circuit 30 is off (e.g., when wireless circuit 30 is not actively transmitting or receiving radio frequency signals, such as when device 10 is off or in sleep or hibernation mode), FEMs 40 continue to draw current from battery 24. For example, the power supply voltage V remains the same. CC Provided to FEM40, without supplying power voltage VDD Other power supply voltages are supplied to FEM 40. Power supply voltage V continues to be supplied even when device 10 is disconnected or in sleep / hibernation operation mode. CC Some FEM components on FEM 40 may remain on, allowing the FEM components to continue meeting RF operation requirements (e.g., startup time requirements, settling time requirements, etc.). However, even when device 10 is off or in sleep / hibernation mode, there is inherent silicon leakage that contributes to continuous current consumption of FEM 40. If left unchecked, this continuous current consumption can adversely deplete battery 24, reducing battery life and / or potentially reducing the storage life of device 10.

[0045] To mitigate these effects, in some scenarios, one or more load switches external to FEM 40 are plugged into power line 46-1. Such load switches are not formed as part of FEM 40 (e.g., the load switch is external to FEM 40 and therefore may sometimes be referred to herein as an external load switch). When device 10 is disconnected or in hibernation / sleep mode, the external load switch disconnects battery 24 from FEM 40. This can be used to reduce the amount of current consumed by FEM 40 when device 10 is disconnected or in hibernation / sleep mode, thereby reducing battery depletion, increasing battery life, and increasing the storage life of device 10.

[0046] In one arrangement, for example, the power system 22 may include a single external load switch plugged into the power line 46-1. In another arrangement, the power system 22 may include N external load switches plugged into the power line 46-1. For example, these may be supplied by a power supply voltage V. DD Controls the status of the external load switch. When wireless circuit 30 is turned on, the power supply voltage V... DD It can be high, thereby switching on (e.g., closing) the load switch to allow the power supply voltage V CC Provided to FEM 40. When wireless circuit 30 is disconnected, the power supply voltage V DD It can be low, thereby disconnecting (e.g., cutting off) the load switch to make FEM 40 connected to the supply voltage V. CC Disconnect.

[0047] When device 10 is disconnected or in hibernation / sleep mode, an external load switch can be used to reduce the amount of current consumed by FEM 40. However, the external load switch consumes excessive area within device 10, which can adversely increase the wiring complexity of power system 22 and / or wireless circuit 30, and can also adversely increase the manufacturing cost of device 10. Therefore, it is desirable to provide device 10 with the ability to mitigate leakage current from battery 24 without using an external load switch.

[0048] To mitigate leakage current from battery 24 without using an external load switch, each FEM 40 may include a corresponding leakage current management engine (sometimes referred to herein as a smart leakage management engine). The smart leakage management engine can selectively de-energize some or all of the FEM 40s. For example, as... Figure 2 As shown, each FEM 40 may include FEM components 56, each powered by a corresponding line 54 on the FEM 40 (e.g., a power line, an enable line, etc. for the FEM component). Switching circuitry such as switches 50 (e.g., transistors such as field-effect transistors (FETs)) may be plugged into the line 54. Switches 50 may have control terminals 52 (e.g., gate terminals) that receive control signals from a smart leakage management engine. The smart leakage management engine can selectively de-energize (disable) or energize (enable) each FEM component 56 by controlling the state of the corresponding switch 50 (e.g., by providing a control signal to switch 50 at control terminal 52). The smart leakage management engine can de-energize FEM components 56 by controlling switch 50 (e.g., using a control signal at control terminal 52) to form an open circuit on line 54 (e.g., across switch 50), or by controlling switch 50 to form an extremely high impedance or extremely low transconductance through switch 50. m (For example, impedance exceeding the threshold impedance value or transconductance below the threshold transconductance value). In other words, when the intelligent leakage management engine controls the corresponding switch 50 on the FEM 40 to form an open circuit, extremely high impedance, or extremely low impedance (e.g., on the power line or enable line of the FEM component 56), the intelligent leakage management engine may be referred to herein as "powering off" the given FEM component 56. When the switch 50 forms a closed circuit, low impedance (e.g., impedance below the threshold impedance value) or high transconductance (e.g., transconductance above the threshold transconductance value), the corresponding FEM component 56 may sometimes be referred to herein as "powering on".

[0049] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional side view of FEM 40. (As shown) Figure 3 As shown, FEM 40 may include an FEM substrate, such as substrate 57 (sometimes referred to herein as module substrate 57). Substrate 57 may be a rigid printed circuit board, a flexible printed circuit, or any other desired module substrate. FEM component 56 (sometimes referred to herein as front-end component 56 or component 56) may be mounted to one or more surfaces of substrate 57. Figure 3 In the example, each FEM component 56 in FEM 40 is mounted to the same surface of FEM 40. This is merely illustrative, and one or more FEM components 56 may be mounted to opposite surfaces of substrate 57 if desired.

[0050] FEM component 56 may include, for example, switching circuitry, RF filter circuitry, impedance matching circuitry, antenna tuning circuitry, RF amplifier circuitry, RF coupler circuitry, charge pump circuitry, power management circuitry, digital control and interface circuitry, leakage management engine (e.g., a leakage current management engine formed as part of the digital control and interface circuitry), and / or components for antenna 44 (…). Figure 1 This can be any other desired circuitry that performs operations on the transmitted and / or received radio frequency signals. If desired, one or more FEM components in FEM component 56 (e.g., each FEM component) may include circuitry formed on a corresponding integrated circuit (IC) die (chip). FEM component 56 may be coupled to conductive traces (e.g., contact pads) on substrate 57 via conductive interconnect structures 58 (e.g., solder balls, ball grid arrays (BGAs), conductive adhesives, solder joints, conductive springs, conductive leads, etc.). FEM 40 may be a multi-chip package having multiple different IC dies mounted to the same substrate 57, may be manufactured as a monolithic die (e.g., using complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS), silicon-germanium (SiGe), or other IC processes) and packaged in any desired number of IC packages suitable for printed circuit board (PCB) mounting (e.g., using BGA technology, square flat no-lead (QFN) technology, double-sided flat no-lead (DFN) technology, etc.), and may be formed using a single IC or chip, etc.

[0051] If desired, one or more FEM components (e.g., all FEM components) in FEM component 56 may be embedded within an overmolded structure such as an overmolded component 61 (e.g., a plastic overmolded component). One or more electromagnetic shielding components, such as shielding element 59 (e.g., a conductive or ferrite shielding structure), may be provided above one or more FEM components (e.g., all FEM components) in FEM component 56. If desired, multiple different shielding elements may be provided above different subgroups of FEM components 56 in FEM 40.

[0052] FEM 40 may also include input-output (IO) ports on substrate 57. For example, as Figure 3 As shown, FEM 40 may include a power input port 48, one or more serial communication ports 60, one or more control ports 62, and / or one or more radio frequency (RF) ports 64. Ports 60, 62, 64, and 48 may include conductive contact pads, conductive traces, solder balls, solder joints, conductive springs, conductive adhesives, conductive pins, and / or any other desired conductive interconnect structures on one or more surfaces of substrate 57. Ports 60, 62, 64, and 48 do not need to be located on the same surface of substrate 57 as FEM component 56.

[0053] Figure 4This is a schematic diagram illustrating how the FEM in the wireless circuit 30 may include a leakage current management engine for mitigating leakage current from the battery 24 (e.g., without the need for an external load switch). Figure 4 The FEM 40 shown can be used to form one of the N FEMs 40 in the wireless circuit 30, more than one FEM, or all FEMs.

[0054] like Figure 4 As shown, FEM 40 may include M power input ports 48 (e.g., first power input port 48-1, second power input port 48-2, Mth power input port 48-M). Each power input port 48 may be coupled to a corresponding power line among M power lines 46 (e.g., first power line 46-1 coupled to power input port 48-1, second power line 46-2 coupled to power input port 48-2, Mth power line 46-M coupled to power input port 48-M, etc.). Each power line 46 may be connected to power management circuitry 26 and / or battery 24 ( Figure 1 Transmit the corresponding power supply voltage. In Figure 4 In the example, FEM 40 receives the power supply voltage V through power line 46-1 and power input port 48-1. CC It receives power supply voltage V through power cord 46-2 and power input port 48-2. DD And receive the IO power supply voltage V through power line 46-3. IO If needed, the FEM 40 can receive additional power supply voltage via the additional power cable 46 and the power input port 48.

[0055] FEM 40 may include FEM components (e.g., Figure 3 The FEM component 56 on the FEM 40 may include, for example, digital control circuitry such as a digital controller 68, power management circuitry such as a power management unit (PMU) 78, analog circuitry 80, charge pump circuitry such as one or more charge pumps 82, RF switching circuitry such as one or more RF switches 72, RF coupler circuitry such as one or more RF couplers 84, RF filter circuitry such as one or more RF filters 74, power amplifier (PA) circuitry such as one or more power amplifiers 86, low noise amplifier (LNA) circuitry such as one or more low noise amplifiers 76, and other blocks 88. Each of these components may be formed on a corresponding integrated circuit chip (e.g., each of these components may be formed into...). Figure 3 One of the corresponding FEM components in the FEM component 56 shown can be formed on the same integrated circuit chip, and two or more of these components can be formed on the same integrated circuit chip (e.g., on the corresponding FEM component 56). Figure 3Two or more of these components are formed on the same FEM component 56 shown, and / or one or more of these components may be mounted across the substrate 57. Figure 3 Multiple integrated circuit chips are distributed (e.g., in...) Figure 3 One or more of these components are formed on different FEM components in the illustrated FEM component 56. One or more of these components may be formed of circuitry that is not part of an integrated circuit (e.g., one or more of these components may include surface mount technology (SMT) components mounted to substrate 57, components embedded within substrate 57, conductive traces located on or within substrate 57, and / or other circuitry mounted to or located within substrate 57). In a suitable arrangement described herein as an example, at least the digital controller 68 may be formed of an application-specific integrated circuit (e.g., Figure 3 A given FEM component in the FEM component 56 shown may be a controller integrated circuit including a digital controller 68, while other components are formed on other integrated circuits and / or on substrate 57 (e.g., outside the controller integrated circuit) on FEM 40.

[0056] like Figure 4 As shown, each FEM component on FEM 40 can be coupled to signal path 66. Signal path 66 (sometimes referred to herein as FEM internal signal path) may include communication buses, data paths, control signal paths, power lines, RF transmission lines, and / or any other desired paths for transmitting signals and / or power between FEM components on FEM 40 and / or external components via the input-output ports of FEM 40. In addition to power input port 48, FEM 40 may also include additional input-output ports, such as one or more serial communication ports 60, one or more control ports 62, and / or one or more radio frequency (RF) ports 64.

[0057] Serial communication port 60 can be coupled to one or more serial interface paths 90. As an example, serial communication port 60 and serial interface path 90 can form a serial interface, such as a Mobile Industry Processor Interface RF Front End (MIPI RFFE) interface, a Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter (UART) interface, a System Power Management Interface (SPMI), or an Internal Integrated Circuit (I2C) interface. Control port 62 can be, for example, an input-output communication port, such as a General Purpose Input-Output (GPIO) communication port. Control port 62 can be coupled to one or more I / O paths 92.

[0058] RF port 64 can be coupled to one or more radio frequency signal paths 94. Radio frequency signal paths 94 may include, for example, […]. Figure 1One or more transmission lines in the RF transmission line path 42. As an example, RF port 64 may include a first RF port coupled to transceiver 36 via a first transmission line in RF transmission line path 42 and a second RF port coupled to antenna 44 via a second transmission line in RF transmission line path 42. The first RF port may receive RF signals from transceiver 36 for transmission by antenna 44. The second RF port may be used to transmit these RF signals to antenna 44. Additionally, the second RF port may receive RF signals received by antenna 44. The first RF port may transmit these RF signals to transceiver 36. One or more FEM components on FEM 40 may operate on these RF signals before and / or after they are received by antenna 44. This example is merely illustrative. RF port 64 may include any desired number of RF ports for coupling FEM 40 to any desired number of transceivers and antennas.

[0059] FEM 40 can receive control signals from the host processor. The host processor may include transceiver 36. Figure 1 The control circuitry on the baseband processor 32 and / or control circuitry 14 (e.g., an application processor running on control circuitry 14). The FEM 40 can receive control signals from the host processor via control port 62 and / or serial communication port 60 (e.g., via the FEM 40's GPIO ports, MIPI RFFE interface, UART interface, SPMI interface, and / or I / O ports). 2 The FEM 40 uses a Type-C interface to receive control signals. Control signals (e.g., control commands or instructions transmitted via control signals) can control the operation of one or more FEM components on the FEM 40 (e.g., when operating on radio frequency signals transmitted via RF port 64). Control commands received by the FEM 40 can control the digital controller 68 and the FEM 40 to perform scheduled events, direct power-saving operations (e.g., control commands may include direct power-saving commands), thermal management operations, etc. (as an example). If needed, the FEM 40 can also transmit control signals to the host processor via ports 62 and / or 60. For example, these control signals can be used to report the current operating mode of the FEM 40 and / or the status of one or more FEM components on the FEM 40 to the host processor. In other words, serial communication port 60 and / or control port 62 can form part of a bidirectional interface between the FEM 40 and the host processor.

[0060] The PMU 78 on FEM 40 may include circuitry for managing the distribution of power (e.g., one or more of the power supply voltages received via power input port 48) to other FEM components on FEM 40. If needed, one or more of these FEM components may be powered by the power supply voltage received from PMU 78 (e.g., via a power line in signal path 66). If needed, PMU 78 may be formed from a dedicated power management integrated circuit in FEM 40. PMU 78 may include, for example, regulator circuitry, such as a low-dropout (LDO) regulator that provides one or more power supply voltages to other FEM components on FEM 40. Charge pump 82 may (e.g., using capacitors and / or other charge storage elements) perform DC-DC conversion on FEM 40 (e.g., on one or more of the power supply voltages of FEM 40).

[0061] FEM components on FEM 40, such as RF switch 72, RF filter 74, low-noise amplifier 76, power amplifier 86, and RF coupler 84, can operate on RF signals received by FEM 40 (e.g., in the RF domain). RF filter 74 may include, for example, low-pass filters, high-pass filters, band-pass filters, notch filters, duplexer circuits, duplexer circuits, triplexer circuits, and / or any other desired filters for filtering RF signals. RF switch 72 can be used within FEM 40 and / or at different transceivers 36 and / or antennas 44. Figure 1 The RF coupler 84 can be used to measure transmitted, received, and / or reflected RF signals (e.g., to collect impedance measurements from the antenna, such as RF scattering parameter information), and / or to route portions of the RF signals transmitted through RF port 64 outside the transmission / reception path of wireless circuit 30. Power amplifier 86 can be used to amplify the RF signals transmitted through antenna 44. Low-noise amplifier 76 can be used to amplify the RF signals received by antenna 44.

[0062] FEM 40 may include analog circuitry 80, which includes, for example, sensing circuitry of FEM 40 (e.g., temperature sensing circuitry, voltage sensing circuitry, current sensing circuitry, etc.), impedance matching circuitry, antenna tuning circuitry (e.g., a network of capacitors, resistors, and / or inductors), biasing circuitry, and / or any other desired analog circuitry. Figure 4 The examples are merely illustrative, and in general, FEM 40 may include any desired FEM components that operate on or support operation on radio frequency signals transmitted via RF port 64 (see, for example, other block 88).

[0063] Digital controller 68 may include digital control and interface circuitry for FEM 40. Digital controller 68 may include control circuitry (e.g., digital logic) for controlling the operation of FEM components on FEM 40. Digital controller 68 may receive control commands (sometimes referred to herein as host commands) from a host processor, for example, instructing digital controller 68 to turn different FEM components on or off, and / or instructing digital controller 68 to otherwise adjust the operation of FEM components over time. Digital controller 68 may control FEM components by providing control signals to FEM components via signal path 66.

[0064] FEM 40 may include leakage management circuitry to mitigate leakage current from battery 24 without the use of an external load switch. For example, as Figure 4 As shown, FEM 40 may include a leakage current management engine, such as leakage current management engine 70 (sometimes referred to herein as intelligent leakage current management engine (SLME) 70). In a suitable arrangement described herein as an example, SLME 70 may be integrated within digital controller 68 (e.g., SLME 70 may reside on a controller integrated circuit used to form digital controller 68). SLME 70 may be formed, for example, by hardware logic on digital controller 68 (e.g., digital logic gates, one or more programmable logic devices (PLDs), one or more state machines, etc.). The hardware logic in SLME 70 may be arranged and controlled in a manner that configures SLME 70 to perform the leakage current management operations described herein. Figure 4 The examples are merely illustrative, and in general, SLME 70 can be formed at any desired location on FEM 40.

[0065] The SLME 70 can monitor / track the operating mode of the FEM 40, control commands received via ports 60 and / or 62, the operating status of one or more (e.g., all) FEM components on the FEM 40 (e.g., via signal path 66), and / or one or more (e.g., all) power supply voltages received by the FEM 40. The SLME 70 can selectively disable (power down) different FEM components on the FEM 40 based on the current operating mode of the FEM 40, control commands received via ports 60 and / or 62, the operating status of one or more FEM components on the FEM 40, one or more power supply voltages received by the FEM 40, and / or the next possible operating mode of the FEM 40. The SLME 70 provides corresponding control signals to the FEM components and / or to the switching circuitry on the FEM 40 via signal path 66 (e.g., Figure 2The SLME 70 can selectively disable (power off) and selectively enable (power on) the FEM components by means of switch 50. As an example, the SLME 70 can disable one or more FEM components by means of the current state of one or more other power supply voltages received by the FEM 40 (e.g., when power supply voltage V...). DD When a logic low level is received or otherwise unavailable for use by FEM 40, the power supply voltage V is set. CC Disconnect (decouple) those FEM components or otherwise disable sources of leakage current.

[0066] If needed, one or more FEM components on FEM 40 can remain enabled (energized) while other FEM components are de-energized (this differs from scenarios using an external load switch, where all FEM components in the FEM are simultaneously de-energized). FEM components can be disabled (e.g., when the supply voltage V...). DD (When low) can reduce the total leakage current generated by FEM 40 when it is not actively transmitting or receiving radio frequency signals. This can be used to reduce battery depletion, increase battery life, and / or increase the storage life of device 10 without the space consumption or cost associated with external load switching.

[0067] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating the exemplary steps that can be performed by the SLME 70 when controlling the FEM 40 to mitigate leakage current. The SLME 70 and FEM 40 can operate in a variety of different operating modes (sometimes referred to herein as operating states, FEM operating states, or FEM operating modes). For example, the SLME 70 and FEM 40 can operate in at least full-power mode, autonomous mode, zero-leakage mode, and low-power mode. The SLME 70 and FEM 40 can switch between different operating modes when certain triggering conditions are met. Different groups of FEM components on the FEM 40 can be active (energized) or passive (de-energized) in each operating mode. Each operating mode may also have different power requirements.

[0068] At step 98, SLME 70 can identify the current operating mode of FEM 40 (e.g., by querying other logic at digital controller 68). Digital controller 68 and SLME 70 can track the current operating mode of FEM 40 over time.

[0069] At step 100, the SLME 70 can monitor the state of one or more FEM components on the FEM 40 (e.g., the SLME 70 may have prior knowledge of the state of each FEM component and / or be able to...). Figure 4The signal path 66 receives signals that identify the state of the FEM component, and can monitor control commands received by the FEM 40 from the host processor via the control port 62 and / or serial communication port 60, and / or can monitor one or more power supply voltages received at the power input port 48. The SLME 70 may, for example, include voltage sensing hardware logic (circuit) that senses (identifies) the voltage level of one or more power supply voltages received at the power input port 48.

[0070] At step 102, SLME 70 may determine whether a trigger condition is met based on the monitored state of the FEM component on FEM 40, the control command received by FEM 40, and / or the power supply voltage received at power input port 48. In a suitable arrangement sometimes described herein as an example, the trigger condition may vary depending on the current operating mode of SLME 70 and FEM 40 (e.g., different trigger conditions may be applied based on the current operating mode as identified in step 98). The trigger condition may, for example, be the received power supply voltage (e.g., power supply voltage V). DD or IO power supply voltage V IO One or more power supply voltages in the FEM 40 may change from a logic high level to a logic low level or from a logic low level to a logic high level. As another example, the trigger condition may be the receipt of a control command from the host processor, which instructs the digital controller 68 to change the operating mode of the FEM 40.

[0071] If the trigger condition is not met, the process can loop back to step 100, as shown by arrow 104. SLME 70 can continue monitoring the conditions of FEM 40 in the current operating mode until the trigger condition is met. If the trigger condition is met, the process can proceed to step 108, as shown by arrow 106.

[0072] At step 108, SLME 70 may update the current operating mode based on the current operating mode of the FEM components on FEM 40, the monitored status, the control commands received by FEM 40, and / or the power supply voltage received at power input port 48. When updating the current operating mode, SLME 70 may selectively disable (power off) or enable (power on) one or more FEM components on FEM 40 (step 110). As an example, SLME 70 may include switching circuitry for selectively powering off or on different FEM components (e.g., formed on SLME 70 if desired). Figure 2 (Switch 50). Additionally or alternatively, SLME 70 may provide control signals to switching circuitry on the FEM component and / or to switching circuitry on the power supply line or enable line of the FEM component (see, for example...). Figure 2The switch 50 on line 54 selectively energizes or de-energizes those FEM components. If necessary, the remainder of FEM 40 (e.g., at least some of the FEM components on FEM 40) can remain energized, while the group of FEM components de-energized by SLME 70 remains disabled. The process can then cycle back to step 100, as indicated by arrow 112, and SLME 70 can continue to monitor the conditions of FEM 40 in the current operating mode until the trigger condition is met.

[0073] Figure 6 State diagram 114 shows exemplary operating modes (states) of the SLME 70 and FEM 40. (See diagram 114 for example.) Figure 6 As shown, the SLME 70 and FEM 40 may have at least four operating modes, such as full power mode 116, autonomous mode 118, zero leakage mode 120 and low power mode 122.

[0074] In full power mode 116, at power input port 48 ( Figure 4 Each supply voltage received at the FEM 40 can be used by the FEM components on the FEM 40 (e.g., at least the supply voltage V). DD V IO and V CC This can be received by FEM 40 at a logic high level (sometimes referred to herein as the voltage being in the "on" state). Wireless circuit 30 can actively transmit and / or receive radio frequency signals using antenna 44 in full-power mode 116. Each FEM component on FEM 40 can be active (sometimes referred to herein as being enabled, powered, or switched on) in full-power mode 116. The FEM components can operate in response to the radio frequency signals transmitted and / or received by antenna 44 (e.g., Figure 4 The RF filter 74 filters the RF signal, the RF switch 72 routes the RF signal within the FEM 40, the low-noise amplifier 76 amplifies the received RF signal, the power amplifier 86 amplifies the transmitted RF signal, the RF coupler 84 collects impedance measurements, the charge pump 82 performs DC-DC conversion, and the PMU 78 powers the components of the FEM 40, etc.

[0075] The SLME 70 can monitor the status of the FEM components on the FEM 40, the control commands received by the FEM 40 through the control port 62 and / or the serial communication port 60, and / or the power supply voltage received at the power input port 48 (e.g., at...). Figure 5 (In processing step 100). When in full power mode 116, if SLME 70 detects the IO power supply voltage V IO The voltage has been changed to a logic low level or is otherwise unavailable (sometimes referred to in this document as the voltage being in an "off state"), while the supply voltage VDD Maintaining the on-state, SLME 70 can place FEM 40 into autonomous mode 118, as indicated by arrow 124 (e.g., in...). Figure 5 (During processing step 108). In this example, the IO power supply voltage V IO The change from the on-state to the off-state (e.g., from logic high to logic low) can be used as a trigger condition for the transition from full-power mode 116 to autonomous mode 118 (e.g., as in...). Figure 5 Step 102 (site processing).

[0076] In autonomous mode 118 (sometimes referred to herein as the stand-alone mode of device 10), wireless circuit 30 can actively transmit and / or receive radio frequency signals using antenna 44. If necessary, one or more of the first group of FEM components on FEM 40 can be de-energized (sometimes referred to herein as passive, disabled, or disconnected) in autonomous mode 118. SLME 70 can de-energize these FEM components by providing control signals to switching circuitry on SLME 70, providing control signals to switching circuitry on the power or enable lines of the FEM components, and / or providing control signals to switching circuitry within the FEM components (e.g., ...). Figure 2 The switch 50 may be located in the SLME 70, on the signal path 66, and / or within the FEM component. Meanwhile, at least some of the FEM components on the FEM 40 may remain powered in autonomous mode 118. Disabling at least some of the FEM components can be used to minimize leakage current in the FEM 40 while the FEM 40 continues to support the transmission and / or reception of RF signals.

[0077] When in autonomous mode 118, if the SLME 70 detects the IO power supply voltage V IO It has changed from the off state to the on state, and at the same time the power supply voltage V DD If kept on, the SLME 70 can put the FEM 40 into full-power mode 116, as shown by arrow 126 (e.g., IO supply voltage V). IO The change from the off-state to the on-state can be used as a trigger condition for the transition from autonomous mode 118 to full-power mode 116. However, if the SLME 70 detects the supply voltage V... DD It has changed from the on-state to the off-state, and at the same time, the IO power supply voltage V IO If kept in the off state, the SLME 70 can place the FEM 40 in zero leakage mode 120, as shown by arrow 128 (e.g., supply voltage V). DD The change from the on-state to the off-state can be used as a trigger condition for the transition from autonomous mode 118 to zero-leakage mode 120.

[0078] In zero-leakage mode 120 (sometimes referred to herein as the power-off mode of device 10), wireless circuit 30 does not actively transmit or receive radio frequency signals. If necessary, one, more, or all of the second group of FEM components on FEM 40 may be de-energized in zero-leakage mode 120. As an example, the second group may include more FEM components than the first group of FEM components disabled in autonomous mode 118. If necessary, simultaneously, one or more of the FEM components on FEM 40 may remain energized in zero-leakage mode 120.

[0079] The FEM 40 can continue to receive the supply voltage V in zero-leakage mode 120. CC (For example, power supply voltage V) CC (Can be in the on state). Disabling the second group of FEM components can be used to make it compatible with the supply voltage V. CC and / or power system 22 ( Figure 1 This minimizes leakage current associated with other supply voltages, while the FEM 40 is not used for transmitting or receiving RF signals. If needed, the SLME 70 can operate at a supply voltage of V when in zero-leakage mode 120. CC When the FEM 40 has been changed to the off state, it is placed in the off operation mode, and the supply voltage V can be changed to the off state. CC When the circuit returns to the on-state, it reverts to zero-leakage mode 120, as indicated by arrow 130. If necessary, the SLME 70 can de-energize the third group of FEM components in the off-state operation mode.

[0080] When in zero-leakage mode 120, if the SLME 70 detects the IO power supply voltage V IO and power supply voltage V DD Since both have changed from the off state to the on state, the SLME 70 can either place the FEM 40 in full-power mode 116, as shown by arrow 132, or place the FEM 40 in low-power mode 122, as shown by arrow 136 (e.g., IO supply voltage V). IO and power supply voltage V DD The change from the off state to the on state can be used as a trigger condition for the transition from zero leakage mode 120 to full power mode 116 or low power mode 122. If needed, when the SLME 70 receives a control command from the host processor instructing the digital controller 68 to place the FEM 40 into low power mode 122 (e.g., when the SLME 70 detects the IO supply voltage V...),... IO and power supply voltage V DD(As a supplement or replacement when changing from the off-state to the on-state), SLME 70 allows FEM 40 to transition from zero-leakage mode 120 to low-power mode 122 (instead of transitioning to full-power mode 116). When in full-power mode 116, if SLME 70 detects the IO supply voltage V... IO and power supply voltage V DD Since both have changed from the on-state to the off-state, the SLME 70 can put the FEM 40 into zero-leakage mode 120, as shown by arrow 134 (e.g., IO supply voltage V). IO and power supply voltage V DD The change from the on-state to the off-state can be used as a trigger condition for the transition from full-power mode 116 to zero-leakage mode 120.

[0081] In low-power mode 122 (sometimes referred to herein as sleep or hibernation mode of device 10), wireless circuitry 30 may periodically transmit and / or receive radio frequency signals (e.g., with lower total power or frequency compared to when FEM 40 is in full-power mode 116 or autonomous mode 118). If necessary, one or more FEM components in a fourth group on FEM 40 may be de-energized in low-power mode 122. The fourth group may include more, fewer, or the same number of FEM components compared to the first group of FEM components disabled in autonomous mode 118. The FEM components in the fourth group may differ from those in the first group if necessary. Meanwhile, at least some of the FEM components on FEM 40 may remain energized in low-power mode 122.

[0082] When in low power mode 122, if SLME 70 detects that (e.g., via) Figure 4 If the serial communication port 60 receives a control command such as the MIPI ACTIVE command from the host processor, the SLME 70 can place the FEM 40 into full-power mode 116, as indicated by arrow 140 (e.g., the receipt of the MIPI ACTIVE command can be used as a trigger condition for the transition from low-power mode 122 to full-power mode 116). This example is merely illustrative, and in general, the trigger condition can be any desired control command received from the host processor that instructs the digital controller 68 to transition to full-power mode 116.

[0083] When in full-power mode 116, if SLME 70 detects that a control command such as the MIPI LOWPOWER command has been received from the host processor, SLME 70 can place FEM 40 into low-power mode 122, as indicated by arrow 142 (e.g., the receipt of the MIPI LOWPOWER command can be used as a trigger condition for the transition from full-power mode 116 to low-power mode 122). This example is merely illustrative, and in general, the trigger condition can be the receipt of any desired control command from the host processor that instructs digital controller 68 to transition to low-power mode 122. When in low-power mode 122, if SLME 70 detects the IO supply voltage V... IO and power supply voltage V DD Since both have changed from the on-state to the off-state, the SLME 70 can put the FEM 40 into zero-leakage mode 120, as shown by arrow 138 (e.g., IO supply voltage V). IO and power supply voltage V DD The change from the on-state to the off-state can be used as a trigger condition for the transition from the low-power mode 122 to the zero-leakage mode 120.

[0084] Figure 6 The examples provided are merely illustrative. Direct transitions from low-power mode 122 to autonomous mode 118, from autonomous mode 118 to low-power mode 122, and / or from zero-leakage mode 120 to autonomous mode 118 may occur if desired. SLME 70 may use any desired triggering condition for transitions between operating modes. If desired, the receipt of control commands (e.g., via control port 62 and / or serial communication port 60) from the host processor may serve as a triggering condition for any transition in state diagram 114 (e.g., if desired, the receipt of control commands from the host processor may overridden a transition that would otherwise be performed based on a change in one or more power supply voltages). SLME 70 may use any desired change in power supply voltage to determine when to transition between operating states. FEM 40 and SLME 70 may include any desired number of operating states and any desired transitions between these operating states. Generally, SLME 70 may disable zero, one, or more FEM components in each operating state to mitigate leakage current in FEM 40.

[0085] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of how the SLME 70 can disable the FEM component on the FEM 40 using control signals. Figure 7 As shown, the SLME 70 can receive the power supply voltage V at power input 152. DD It can receive the IO power supply voltage V at the power input 150. IOThe SLME 70 can receive control commands from the host processor at control input 154. Control input 154 can be coupled, for example, to control port 62 and / or serial communication port 60 (e.g., via signal path 66). Power input 152 can be coupled, for example, to power input port 48-2 (e.g., via signal path 66). Power input 150 can be coupled, for example, to power input port 48-3 (e.g., via signal path 66). The SLME 70 can process control commands received via control input 154 and power supply voltage V received via power input 152. DD and / or the IO power supply voltage V received via power input 150 IO To determine when and how to change the operating status of FEM 40.

[0086] Consider an example where the FEM 40 is in full-power mode 116 ( Figure 6 Furthermore, SLME 70 determines that FEM 40 will be placed in a different operating mode, in which some FEM components are disabled to mitigate leakage current. In this scenario, SLME 70 can provide control signals to the disabled FEM components via signal path 66. As an example, SLME 70 can provide control signal CTRLA to PMU 78 to disable PMU 78 (as shown by arrow 156), provide control signal CTRLB to RF switch 72 to de-energize RF switch 72 (as shown by arrow 158), provide control signal CTRLC to power amplifier 86 to de-energize power amplifier 86 (as shown by arrow 160), and provide control signal CTRLD to low noise amplifier 76 to de-energize low noise amplifier 76 (as shown by arrow 162), etc.

[0087] If desired, one or more FEM components may include switches (e.g., transistors) controlled by control signals from the SLME 70. Figure 2 The enable line of switch 50. The enable line can, for example, control whether the corresponding FEM component receives a given power supply voltage (e.g., power supply voltage V). CC Control signals (e.g., control signals CTRLA, CTRLB, CTRLC, CTRLD, etc.) can be provided to the control terminals of the switch (e.g., ...). Figure 2 The control terminal 52) is used to selectively enable (power on) or disable (power off) the FEM component. For FEM components that do not have a corresponding enable line and switch, an additional enable line and switch can be added to the signal path 66 to allow the SLME 70 to selectively enable or disable the FEM component.

[0088] If needed, SLME 70 can selectively power off the FEM component by providing a control signal to PMU 78 (e.g., without directly providing a control signal to the FEM component to power it off). PMU 78 can provide a power supply voltage (e.g., based on a power supply voltage such as power supply voltage V received by PMU 78 via power input 144). CC This powers other FEM components on FEM 40. As an example, power amplifier 86 can be powered by a supply voltage V received from PMU 78, such as via power input 146. CC Power supply. In this example, the SLME 70 can use the control signal CTRLA provided to the PMU 78 to control the PMU 78 to selectively power on or off the power amplifier 86. Similarly, the low-noise amplifier 76 can be powered by a supply voltage V received from the PMU 78, such as via power input 148. CC Power supply. In this example, SLME 70 can use the control signal CTRLA provided to PMU 78 to control PMU 78 to selectively power on or off the low-noise amplifier 76. Other FEM components can be disabled in this manner if needed.

[0089] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of how the SLME 70 can control the PMU 78 to selectively enable or disable a given power amplifier 86. Figure 8 As shown, the SLME 70 can be accessed via control path 166 (e.g., Figure 7 The control path in signal path 66 is coupled to PMU 78. SLME 70 can generate control signal CTRLA to selectively enable or disable power amplifier 86 based on control commands received via control input 154 and / or power supply voltages received via power inputs 152 and 150. SLME 70 can provide control signal CTRLA to PMU 78 via control path 166.

[0090] As an example, PMU 78 may include a voltage regulator, such as LDO regulator 164. LDO regulator 164 may be powered by a supply voltage V received through power input 144. CC Power supply. The LDO regulator 164 can supply a regulated power supply voltage (e.g., a regulated power supply voltage V). CCA power input 146 is provided to the power amplifier 86. An regulated power supply voltage powers the power amplifier. The control signal CRTLA controls whether the LDO regulator 164 provides the regulated power supply voltage to the power amplifier 86. When the SLME 70 determines that the power amplifier 86 is a FEM component that will be powered down in the current operating mode of the FEM 40, the SLME 70 can (using the control signal CRTLA) control the LDO regulator 164 to stop providing the regulated power supply voltage to the power amplifier 86 or to provide the regulated power supply at a logic low level. This can be used to power down the power amplifier 86. Thus, the SLME 70 can control the LDO regulator 164 to disconnect other FEM components on the FEM 40 while the LDO regulator itself remains on. Figure 8 The examples provided are merely illustrative. The SLME 70 can control the LDO regulator 164 to disable any other desired FEM components. In general, the SLME 70 can be used with any desired control scheme to selectively disable FEM components on the FEM 40 to mitigate leakage current in the device 10.

[0091] The above combination Figures 1 to 8 The described methods and operations can be performed by components of device 10 using software, firmware, and / or hardware (e.g., dedicated circuitry or hardware). The software code used to perform these operations may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a tangible computer-readable storage medium) located on one or more components of the front-end module 40 or elsewhere (e.g., Figure 1 The storage circuit 16). This software code may sometimes be referred to as software, data, instructions, program instructions, or code. Non-transitory computer-readable storage media may include drives, non-volatile memory such as non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), removable flash drives or other removable media, other types of random access memory, etc. The software stored on the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be processed by processing circuitry on one or more components of device 10 (e.g., processing circuitry on FEM 40, etc.). Figure 1 The processing circuitry (e.g., 18) performs the execution. The processing circuitry may include a microprocessor, a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) with processing circuitry, or other processing circuitry.

[0092] According to one embodiment, an electronic device is provided, the electronic device including an antenna; a transceiver configured to use the antenna to transmit a radio frequency signal; and a radio frequency front-end module coupled between the antenna and the transceiver, the radio frequency front-end module having front-end components and a leakage management engine, the front-end components being configured to operate on the radio frequency signal, and the leakage management engine being configured to de-energize a group of front-end components while at least some of the radio frequency front-end module remains energized.

[0093] According to another embodiment, the RF front-end module includes a digital controller, and the leakage management engine includes logic gates on the digital controller.

[0094] According to another embodiment, the radio frequency front-end module includes a substrate, and the digital controller includes an integrated circuit mounted to the substrate.

[0095] According to another embodiment, the RF front-end module is configured to receive a power supply voltage, the leakage management engine is configured to de-energize the group of front-end components by decoupling the power supply voltage from the group of front-end components, and at least some of the RF front-end module is powered by the power supply voltage while the group of front-end components is decoupled from the power supply voltage.

[0096] According to another embodiment, the RF front-end module includes a switch with a control terminal, and the leakage management engine is configured to decouple the power supply voltage from at least one of the front-end components in the group of front-end components by providing a control signal to the control terminal of the switch.

[0097] According to another embodiment, the RF front-end module includes a line coupled to at least one of the group of front-end components, the at least one of the group of front-end components being configured to receive the power supply voltage through the line and the switch being plugged into the line.

[0098] According to another implementation, the switch is located within the leakage management engine.

[0099] According to another embodiment, the RF front-end module is configured to receive a power supply voltage, and the leakage management engine is configured to power off the group of front-end components in response to a change in the power supply voltage.

[0100] According to another embodiment, the RF front-end module includes a drain-drain voltage (VDD) power input configured to receive a VDD power supply voltage, and the RF front-end module includes an input-output voltage (VIO) power input configured to receive a VIO power supply voltage, wherein the power supply voltage includes one of the VDD power supply voltage and the VIO power supply voltage.

[0101] According to another implementation, the RF front-end module includes an input-output (IO) port, and the leakage management engine is configured to power down the group of front-end components based on host processor commands received through the IO port.

[0102] According to another embodiment, the front-end component includes a power management unit, and the leakage current management engine is configured to de-energize the group of front-end components by providing a control signal to the power management unit, the control signal controlling the power management unit to de-energize the group of front-end components.

[0103] According to another implementation, the group of front-end components includes one of an RF switch, an RF filter, a low-noise amplifier, a power amplifier, and an RF coupler.

[0104] According to one embodiment, a method of operating an RF front-end module is provided, the method comprising: operating the RF front-end module in a first operating mode to perform a transmission or reception operation using a digital controller on the RF front-end module; using the digital controller to monitor a power supply voltage received at the RF front-end module; and using the digital controller to place the RF front-end module in a second operating mode in response to a trigger condition by decoupling a group of the front-end module components from at least one of the power supply voltages.

[0105] According to another embodiment, the triggering condition includes a change in the power supply voltage monitored by the digital controller.

[0106] According to another embodiment, the power supply voltage includes a drain-drain voltage (VDD) power supply voltage and a common collector voltage (VCC) power supply voltage, the change of the power supply voltage includes a change of the VDD power supply voltage, and at least one of the power supply voltages includes the VCC power supply voltage.

[0107] According to another embodiment, the method includes using the digital controller to place the RF front-end module into a third operating mode in response to an additional trigger condition when the RF front-end module is in the second operating mode, by decoupling the additional set of front-end module components from the VCC power supply voltage.

[0108] According to another implementation, the triggering condition includes receiving a host command transmitted by a host processor external to the RF front-end module via the digital controller.

[0109] According to another embodiment, the front-end module components include a low-dropout (LDO) regulator, and decoupling the group of front-end module components from at least one of the power supply voltages includes controlling the low-dropout (LDO) regulator to decouple the group of front-end module components from at least one of the power supply voltages.

[0110] According to one embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs configured to be executed by at least one processor on a radio frequency front-end module, the one or more programs including instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to monitor a first power supply voltage received by the radio frequency front-end module and, in response to a change in the first power supply voltage, decouple at least one front-end module component on the radio frequency front-end module from a second power supply voltage received by the radio frequency front-end module.

[0111] According to another embodiment, the change in the first power supply voltage includes a change in the first power supply voltage from a logic high level to a logic low level.

[0112] The foregoing description is merely illustrative and various modifications can be made to the described implementation scheme. The described implementation scheme can be implemented independently or in any combination.

Claims

1. An electronic device, the electronic device comprising: transceiver; An integrated circuit package having multiple front-end components, a first radio frequency port, a second radio frequency port communicatively coupled to the transceiver, and multiple input ports; as well as A digital controller, communicatively coupled to the plurality of input ports, and configured to: In a first operating mode, the plurality of front-end components are operated, wherein each of the plurality of front-end components is supplied with a power supply voltage, and The plurality of front-end components are operated in a second operating mode based at least in part on changes in one or more monitored voltages at one or more corresponding input ports of the plurality of input ports of the integrated circuit package, wherein at least one of the plurality of front-end components is supplied with the power supply voltage, while one or more of the plurality of front-end components are disconnected from the power supply voltage.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the integrated circuit package includes the digital controller.

3. The electronic device of claim 2, further comprising a substrate, wherein the integrated circuit package is mounted on the substrate, and wherein the digital controller is formed on an integrated circuit in the integrated circuit package.

4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the first operating mode is a full-power mode, characterized in that... The antenna transmits or receives radio frequency signals, which are processed by the multiple front-end components.

5. The electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the second operating mode is a low-power mode, a power-off mode, or an autonomous mode.

6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of front-end components is coupled to a corresponding switch, and the power supply voltage is supplied through the switch.

7. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the plurality of front-end components are implemented as part of at least two integrated circuit dies.

8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the digital controller is configured to switch the plurality of front-end components between a first operating mode and a second operating mode in response to a trigger condition, the trigger condition being satisfied by the change in one or more monitored voltages.

9. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the change in the one or more monitored voltages includes a change in one or more power supply voltages having the power supply voltage.

10. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising: A host processor coupled to the digital controller, wherein the digital controller is configured to cause the plurality of front-end components to switch between a first operating mode and a second operating mode based on host processor commands from the host processor.

11. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising a power management circuit, wherein the digital controller is configured to operate the plurality of front-end components in the second operating mode by providing a control signal to the power management circuit, the control signal controlling the power management circuit to disconnect one or more of the remaining front-end components among the plurality of front-end components from the power supply voltage.

12. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of front-end components include a radio frequency switch, a radio frequency filter, a low-noise amplifier, a power amplifier, and a radio frequency coupler.

13. A method of operating a radio frequency circuit device, the method comprising: Radio frequency signals are transmitted via one or more radio frequency circuits in the radio frequency circuit device; Monitor the power supply voltage received at the corresponding input port of the radio frequency circuit device at one or more processors; and In response to a trigger condition indicating that the radio frequency circuit device is in a power-down mode, the one or more processors decouple at least one of the one or more radio frequency circuits from at least one of the power supply voltages based on the monitored power supply voltage.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the triggering condition includes the change in the power supply voltage.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the power supply voltage comprises a drain-drain voltage VDD and a common collector voltage VCC, wherein the change in the power supply voltage comprises a change in the VDD power supply voltage, and wherein the at least one of the power supply voltages comprises the VCC power supply voltage.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising: In response to an additional triggering condition, at least one radio frequency circuit is decoupled from at least one of the power supply voltages, thereby decoupling at least one additional radio frequency circuit from the VCC power supply voltage.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the triggering condition includes receiving a host command transmitted by a host processor external to the radio frequency circuitry.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the radio frequency circuitry includes a low-dropout LDO regulator, and wherein decoupling the at least one radio frequency circuitry from the at least one power supply voltage comprises: The LDO regulator is controlled to decouple the at least one radio frequency circuit from the at least one power supply voltage in the power supply voltage.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs configured to be executed by at least one processor, the one or more programs including instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: The system monitors a first power supply voltage received from a first power supply voltage input port of an integrated circuit package having multiple radio frequency (RF) front-end circuits, a first RF port, and a second RF port configured to communicatively couple the multiple RF front-end circuits to a transceiver. Based at least in part on the monitoring, at least one of the plurality of radio frequency front-end circuits is decoupled from the second power supply voltage received by the second power supply voltage input port of the integrated circuit package.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the decoupling of the at least one radio frequency front-end circuitry is responsive to a change in the first power supply voltage from a first logic level to a second logic level lower than the first logic level.

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