Radio frequency power amplifier device and manufacturing method thereof

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a radio frequency power amplifier device and a manufacturing method thereof, and the radio frequency power amplifier device comprises a first substrate; the driving amplifier is formed on the first substrate; the final amplifier is formed on the first substrate; the inductance component is arranged on the first substrate and is correspondingly and electrically connected with the driving amplifier and the final-stage amplifier respectively; the inductor assembly comprises a second substrate and a conductive wire; the second substrate is provided with a through hole penetrating through the thickness of the second substrate; the conductive wires alternately pass through the through holes from two opposite sides of the second substrate to form an inductor. According to the radio frequency power amplifier device and the manufacturing method thereof provided by the embodiment of the invention, the inductor component is adopted to replace a planar inductor in a traditional scheme, so that circuit loss can be reduced, and device efficiency is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to semiconductor technology, and in particular to a radio frequency power amplifier device and a method for manufacturing the same. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, wireless communication systems have increasingly higher requirements for miniaturization and integration. It is hoped that the size of the RF power amplifier can be as small as possible, and the use of external components can be reduced, and the system cost can also be reduced. The power amplifier monolithic microwave integrated circuit (usually referred to as: MMIC PA) is small in size and can meet the miniaturization requirements of wireless communication systems.

[0003] In MMIC PA products, the driver amplifier, power amplifier, and impedance matching circuit need to be integrated into one chip or one package. Usually, the driver amplifier and power amplifier use Laterally Diffused Metal Oxide Semiconductor (LDMOS), gallium nitride GaN or other RF processes, and all matching circuits are also designed and manufactured using passive devices on LDMOS or GaN.

[0004] However, since the LDMOS substrate generates eddy currents and the inductor Q value is low, usually below 10, there is a huge loss in making a matching circuit on the LDMOS substrate, usually 5dB-8dB, which reduces the device efficiency by as much as about 4%. Summary of the invention

[0005] In order to solve one of the above-mentioned technical defects, a radio frequency power amplifier device and a manufacturing method thereof are provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0006] According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a radio frequency power amplifier device is provided, including:

[0007] first base;

[0008] A driving amplifier is formed on the first substrate;

[0009] The final amplifier is formed on the first substrate; the final amplifier and the driving amplifier are formed on the first substrate by semiconductor process;

[0010] The inductor component is arranged on the first substrate and is electrically connected to the driving amplifier and the final amplifier respectively; the inductor component comprises: a second substrate and a conductive wire; the second substrate is provided with a through hole penetrating the thickness thereof; the conductive wire passes through the through hole alternately from opposite sides of the second substrate to form an inductor, and the two ends of the conductive wire respectively form an inductor input electrode and an inductor output electrode, and conductive pillars are respectively arranged on the inductor input electrode and the inductor output electrode, and the conductive pillars are copper pillars; the second substrate is a glass substrate; the inductor input electrode and the inductor output electrode are formed on the same side of the second substrate; according to the direction in which the inductor input electrode and the inductor output electrode are facing the first substrate, the inductor component is connected to the first substrate through the copper pillar.

[0011] According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a method for manufacturing a radio frequency power amplifier device is provided, comprising:

[0012] forming a driver amplifier and a final amplifier on the first substrate by semiconductor process;

[0013] An inductor component is arranged on the first substrate, and the inductor component is electrically connected to the driving amplifier and the final amplifier respectively; the inductor component includes: a second substrate and a conductive wire; the second substrate is provided with a through hole penetrating the thickness thereof; the conductive wire passes through the through hole alternately from opposite sides of the second substrate to form an inductor, and the two ends of the conductive wire respectively form an inductor input electrode and an inductor output electrode, and conductive columns are respectively arranged on the inductor input electrode and the inductor output electrode, and the conductive columns are copper columns; the second substrate is a glass substrate; the inductor input electrode and the inductor output electrode are formed on the same side of the second substrate; according to the direction in which the inductor input electrode and the inductor output electrode are facing the first substrate, the inductor component is connected to the first substrate through the copper column.

[0014] The technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application forms a driving amplifier and a final amplifier on a first substrate, and an inductor component is arranged on the first substrate. The inductor component is electrically connected to the driving amplifier and the final amplifier respectively, and the inductor component includes: a second substrate and a conductive wire; the second substrate is provided with a through hole penetrating its thickness; the conductive wire alternately passes through the through hole from opposite sides of the second substrate to form an inductor with a certain three-dimensional space, which replaces the planar inductor in the traditional solution, can reduce circuit loss, and thus improve device efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The drawings described herein are used to provide a further understanding of the present application and constitute a part of the present application. The illustrative embodiments of the present application and their descriptions are used to explain the present application and do not constitute an improper limitation on the present application. In the drawings:

[0016] Figure 1 A structural block diagram of a radio frequency power amplifier device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0017] Figure 2 A circuit schematic diagram of a radio frequency power device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0018] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a radio frequency power device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0019] Figure 4 A three-dimensional diagram of a radio frequency power device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of an inductor component in a radio frequency power device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0021] Figure 6 A side view of an inductor component disposed on a first substrate in a radio frequency power device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Figure 7 A comparison chart of the Q values ​​of the inductor components in the RF power devices provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0023] Reference numerals:

[0024] 1-input matching network; 2-driving amplifier; 3-inter-stage matching network; 4-final amplifier; 5-output matching network; 6-inductor component; 7-first substrate; 8-second substrate; 9-through hole; 10-inductor input electrode; 11-inductor output electrode; 12-conductive column; 13-conductive wire. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] In order to make the technical solutions and advantages in the embodiments of the present application more clearly understood, the exemplary embodiments of the present application are further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than an exhaustive list of all the embodiments. It should be noted that the embodiments in the present application and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other without conflict.

[0026] This embodiment provides a radio frequency power amplifier device, which can improve the problem of large loss in traditional solutions.

[0027] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the RF power amplifier device provided in this embodiment includes: an input matching network 1, a driver amplifier 2, an inter-stage matching network 3, a final amplifier 4 and an output matching network 5, which can amplify a weak RF input signal in two stages, output it and transmit it through an antenna. Among them, the input matching network 1, the inter-stage matching network 3 and the output matching network 5 include inductors and capacitors. At least one of the driver amplifier 2 and the final amplifier 4 is a field effect transistor FET.

[0028] The input matching network 1 can match the 50ohm of the signal source to the Gate impedance of the driver amplifier 2. The interstage matching network 3 matches the impedance of the driver amplifier 2 output to the Gate impedance of the final amplifier 4. The input matching network 1 and the interstage matching network 3 are conjugate matching, in order to allow the power amplifier device to have the maximum link gain and bandwidth, and have a good input standing wave. The output matching network 5 is matched to 50ohm according to the maximum power or maximum efficiency or compromise impedance.

[0029] like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, a first substrate 7 is used, and the driver amplifier 2 and the final amplifier 4 are respectively formed on the first substrate 7. For example, the driver amplifier 2 and the final amplifier 4 can be formed on the first substrate 7 by a semiconductor process. The first substrate 7 can be made of silicon Si, silicon carbide SiC, gallium arsenide GaAs or gallium nitride GaN.

[0030] The inductor component 6 is disposed on the first substrate 7 and is electrically connected to the driving amplifier 2 and the final amplifier 4. The inductor component 6 replaces the planar inductor in the matching network in the traditional solution.

[0031] The inductor component 6 includes: a second substrate and a conductive wire, the second substrate is provided with a through hole that penetrates its thickness; the conductive wire alternately passes through the through hole from opposite sides of the second substrate to form an inductor, so that the inductor has a three-dimensional spatial structure, and most of the magnetic lines of force will pass through the space surrounded by the spiral metal, and the magnetic field strength in this surrounded space is the strongest. When this inductor is placed on a low-resistance substrate, its magnetic field distribution will not change much, and the strongest magnetic field is still concentrated inside the inductor. Correspondingly, the eddy current generated on the low-resistance substrate is also much smaller. Through simulation, it is found that the Q value of the inductor component is low, which can reduce the loss of the matching circuit.

[0032] The technical solution provided in this embodiment forms a driving amplifier and a final amplifier on a first substrate, and an inductor component is arranged on the first substrate. The inductor component is electrically connected to the driving amplifier and the final amplifier respectively, and the inductor component includes: a second substrate and a conductive wire; the second substrate is provided with a through hole penetrating its thickness; the conductive wire alternately passes through the through hole from opposite sides of the second substrate to form an inductor with a certain three-dimensional space, which replaces the planar inductor in the traditional solution, can reduce circuit loss, and thus improve device efficiency.

[0033] Based on the above technical solution, Figure 5As shown, at least two groups of through holes 9 are arranged on the second substrate 8, and the conductive wires 13 pass through the at least two groups of through holes 9 alternately according to the arrangement order of the through holes 9 to form an inductor, and the two ends of the conductive wires 13 respectively form an inductor input electrode 10 and an inductor output electrode 11 on the surface of the second substrate 8. The inductor input electrode 10 and the inductor output electrode 11 are also electrically connected to the driving amplifier 2 and the final amplifier 4, and can be electrically connected through the routing layer on the surface of the first substrate 7.

[0034] Specifically, the second substrate 8 can be in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, and its height dimension is smaller than the length dimension and also smaller than the width dimension, and its height direction is used as the thickness direction of the second substrate 8. At least two rows of through holes 9 are arranged along the thickness direction of the second substrate 8, and the conductive wire 13 passes through at least two rows of through holes 9 alternately according to the arrangement order of the through holes 9 to form an inductor. The conductive wire 13 is specifically a metal wire. For example: two rows of through holes 9 are arranged on the second substrate 8, and the metal wire 13 passes through the first through hole in the first row upward, then passes through the first through hole in the second row downward, then passes through the second through hole in the first row upward, and then passes through the second through hole in the second row downward, and so on, until it passes through the last through hole in the two rows to form an inductor. Electrode through holes are respectively arranged at both ends of the second substrate 8, and the two ends of the metal wire 13 pass through the electrode through holes respectively to form an inductor input electrode 10 and an inductor output electrode 11.

[0035] The second substrate 8 is a low-resistance substrate, such as a silicon carbide substrate, a silicon nitride substrate, a glass substrate, etc. This embodiment takes a glass substrate as an example, and makes an inductor on the glass substrate. Specifically, a through hole is made on the glass substrate, and then metal connections are made on the upper and lower surfaces of the glass substrate to form a three-dimensional 3D inductor, especially a 3D spiral inductor. Through simulation, it is found that a 3D inductor of about 7nH, formed on a glass substrate, can have a maximum Q value of about 70. Even if it is connected to an LDMOS substrate, its Q value drops to 55, which is still higher than the inductor made directly on the LDMOS substrate. Figure 7 The solid line in the middle represents the Q value curve of the 3D inductor made of glass substrate, and the dotted line represents the Q value curve of the inductor made on LDMOS substrate. In addition, the glass substrate also has the advantages of low loss and low cost.

[0036] The inductor input electrode 10 and the inductor output electrode 11 may be located on the same side of the second substrate 8 or on both sides of the second substrate 8. This embodiment is described by taking the inductor input electrode 10 and the inductor output electrode 11 being located on the same side of the second substrate 8 as an example.

[0037] One implementation method is: Figure 6As shown, the inductor input electrode 10 and the inductor output electrode 11 face downward, and the inductor component 6 is arranged on the first substrate 7. That is, the inductor component 6 is arranged on the first substrate 7 according to the direction in which the inductor input electrode 10 and the inductor output electrode 11 face the first substrate 7, and the inductor input electrode 10 and the inductor output electrode 11 are correspondingly welded to the electrode pads of the first substrate 7. This scheme is a flip-chip method.

[0038] A specific implementation manner: Conductive pillars 12 are respectively provided on the inductor input electrode 10 and the inductor output electrode 11, and the other ends of the conductive pillars 12 are electrically connected to the electrode pads of the first substrate 7. The conductive pillars 12 can be copper pillars, and the electrode pads, the inductor input electrode 10, and the inductor output electrode 11 can all be copper electrodes.

[0039] An inductor may be formed on the second substrate 8 , and an inductor input electrode 10 and an inductor output electrode 11 may be formed accordingly.

[0040] Alternatively, at least two inductors are formed on the second substrate 8 , at least two inductor input electrodes 10 and at least two inductor output electrodes 11 are formed on the surface of the second substrate 8 , and each inductor has one inductor input electrode 10 and one inductor output electrode 11 .

[0041] For example Figure 2 There are three inductors in the interstage matching network 3, and three inductors, three inductor input electrodes 10 and three inductor output electrodes 11 can be formed on the second substrate 8. One inductor is electrically connected to one inductor input electrode 10 and one inductor output electrode 11. Each inductor input electrode 10 and each inductor output electrode 11 are connected to an electrode pad on the first substrate 7. The number of inductors can be set according to the circuit principle.

[0042] The inductors in the input matching network 1 and the output matching network 5 can also refer to the above solution and adopt the inductor component 6. The loss of the power amplifier device obtained by adopting the above solution can be reduced to 3dB, and the efficiency can be improved by 2%-3% compared with the traditional solution.

[0043] On the basis of the above technical solution, this embodiment further provides a method for manufacturing a radio frequency power amplifier device, comprising the following steps:

[0044] Step 1: forming a driving amplifier and a final amplifier on a first substrate.

[0045] The first substrate may be made of silicon Si, silicon carbide SiC, gallium arsenide GaAs or gallium nitride GaN. At least one of the driver amplifier 2 and the final amplifier 4 is a field effect transistor FET.

[0046] The driver amplifier 2 and the final amplifier 4 can be formed simultaneously on the first substrate 7 by semiconductor process with reference to the existing technology.

[0047] Step 2: an inductor component is arranged on the first substrate, and the inductor component is electrically connected to the driving amplifier and the final amplifier respectively.

[0048] The inductor component 6 can be prefabricated in the circuit structure. In this step, the inductor component 6 is directly soldered to the corresponding electrode pads of the first substrate 7 so that the inductor component 6 is connected to the circuit.

[0049] The above solution uses a three-dimensional inductor on a low-loss substrate to reduce the insertion loss of the matching network, thereby improving the efficiency of the entire power amplifier device and almost does not increase the cost.

[0050] The two ends of the conductive line in the inductor component respectively form an inductor input electrode 10 and an inductor output electrode 11, and conductive pillars 12 are respectively arranged on the inductor input electrode 10 and the inductor output electrode 11, and the conductive pillars 12 are copper pillars. Further, the second substrate 8 is a glass substrate. The inductor input electrode 10 and the inductor output electrode 11 are formed on the same side of the second substrate 8, and the inductor component 6 is connected to the first substrate 7 through the copper pillars according to the direction in which the inductor input electrode 10 and the inductor output electrode 11 face the first substrate 7.

[0051] The above solution has the same technical effect as the radio frequency power amplifier device, that is, using a glass substrate as the second substrate 8 for making an inductor can reduce the Q value of the device and has lower loss and lower cost.

[0052] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present application.

[0053] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of this application, the meaning of "plurality" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0054] In this application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection, an electrical connection, or can communicate with each other; it can be a direct connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0055] Although the preferred embodiments of the present application have been described, those skilled in the art may make other changes and modifications to these embodiments once they have learned the basic creative concept. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be interpreted as including the preferred embodiments and all changes and modifications falling within the scope of the present application.

[0056] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A radio frequency power amplifier device, characterized in that: include: first base; A driving amplifier is formed on the first substrate; A final amplifier is formed on the first substrate; The final amplifier and the driver amplifier are formed on the first substrate by semiconductor process; The inductor component is arranged on the first substrate and is electrically connected to the driving amplifier and the final amplifier respectively; the inductor component comprises: a second substrate and a conductive wire; The second substrate is provided with a through hole that penetrates the thickness of the second substrate; the conductive wires alternately pass through the through holes from opposite sides of the second substrate to form an inductor, and the two ends of the conductive wires respectively form an inductor input electrode and an inductor output electrode, and conductive columns are respectively arranged on the inductor input electrode and the inductor output electrode, and the conductive columns are copper columns; the second substrate is a glass substrate; the inductor input electrode and the inductor output electrode are formed on the same side of the second substrate; according to the direction in which the inductor input electrode and the inductor output electrode are facing the first substrate, the inductor component is connected to the first substrate through the copper columns.

2. The radio frequency power amplifier device according to claim 1, characterized in that: At least two groups of through holes are arranged on the second substrate, and the conductive wires pass alternately between the at least two groups of through holes according to the arrangement sequence of the through holes to form an inductor.

3. The radio frequency power amplifier device according to claim 2, characterized in that: At least two conductive wires are arranged on the second substrate, each conductive wire forms an inductor, at least two inductor input electrodes and at least two inductor output electrodes are arranged on the surface of the second substrate, and each inductor corresponds to an inductor input electrode and an inductor output electrode.

4. The radio frequency power amplifier device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first substrate is made of silicon Si, silicon carbide SiC, gallium arsenide GaAs or gallium nitride GaN.

5. The radio frequency power amplifier device according to claim 1, characterized in that: At least one of the driving amplifier and the final amplifier is a field effect transistor FET.

6. A method for manufacturing a radio frequency power amplifier device, characterized in that: include: forming a driver amplifier and a final amplifier on the first substrate by semiconductor process; An inductor component is arranged on the first substrate, and the inductor component is electrically connected to the driving amplifier and the final amplifier respectively; the inductor component comprises: a second substrate and a conductive wire; The second substrate is provided with a through hole that penetrates the thickness of the second substrate; the conductive wires alternately pass through the through holes from opposite sides of the second substrate to form an inductor, and the two ends of the conductive wires respectively form an inductor input electrode and an inductor output electrode, and conductive columns are respectively arranged on the inductor input electrode and the inductor output electrode, and the conductive columns are copper columns; the second substrate is a glass substrate; the inductor input electrode and the inductor output electrode are formed on the same side of the second substrate; according to the direction in which the inductor input electrode and the inductor output electrode are facing the first substrate, the inductor component is connected to the first substrate through the copper columns.

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