RF circuit including switch for isolation and wireless communication device including same

Abstract

An RF circuit including a switch for isolation and a wireless communication device including the same are provided. The RF circuit includes: a first port and a second port that receive a first RF signal and a second RF signal; (1-1)-th and (1-2)-th amplification stages connected to the first port and a first ground to amplify the first RF signal; a (2-1) th amplification stage and a (2-2) th amplification stage connected to the second port and a second ground to amplify the second RF signal; a (1-1) th switch and a (1-2) th switch, the (1-1) th switch being connected to the (1-1) th amplification stage and a second ground, and the (1-2) th switch being connected to the (1-2) th amplification stage and the second ground; a (2-1) th switch and a (2-2) th switch, the (2-1) th switch being connected to the (2-1) th amplifier stage and the first ground, and the (2-2) th switch being connected to the (2-2) th amplifier stage and the first ground; and a mixer stage that mixes the first RF signal or the second RF signal with the LO signal.

Description

[0001] This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0115737 filed on August 31, 2023, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0148014 filed on October 31, 2023, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0002] Embodiments of the present disclosure described herein relate to a radio frequency (RF) circuit including a switch for isolation and a wireless communication device including the same. Background Art

[0003] Radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) may be configured to transmit and receive signals across various frequency bands and may have input ports optimized for each frequency band. In order for a single receiver including an RFIC to accurately receive and process signals simultaneously input through multiple input ports, it may be necessary to isolate undesired signals entering through input ports not associated with the target frequency band (e.g., unused input ports).

[0004] Specifically, the presence of parasitic inductance in a semiconductor package may introduce unwanted signal components that are reflected due to the parasitic inductance. When this happens, the impedance of the parasitic inductance increases in signals in higher frequency bands, resulting in larger reflected components. This may complicate the isolation of unwanted signals. Summary of the invention

[0005] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a radio frequency (RF) circuit including a switch for isolation and a wireless communication device including the same.

[0006] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an RF circuit is provided, the RF circuit comprising: a first port and a second port, the first port being configured to receive a first RF signal, the second port being configured to receive a second RF signal; a (1-1)th amplifier stage and a (1-2)th amplifier stage, connected to the first port and a first ground, wherein the (1-1)th amplifier stage and the (1-2)th amplifier stage are configured to amplify the first RF signal; a (2-1)th amplifier stage and a (2-2)th amplifier stage, connected to the second port and a second ground, wherein the (2-1)th amplifier stage and the (2-2)th amplifier stage are configured to amplify the second RF signal; a (1-1)th switch and a (1-2)th switch, the (1-1)th switch having a first terminal connected to the (1-1)th amplifier stage and a first terminal connected to the second ground a second terminal of the (1-2)th switch, the (1-2)th switch having a first terminal connected to the (1-2)th amplifier stage and a second terminal connected to a second ground; the (2-1)th switch and the (2-2)th switch, the (2-1)th switch having a first terminal connected to the (2-1)th amplifier stage and a second terminal connected to the first ground, the (2-2)th switch having a first terminal connected to the (2-2)th amplifier stage and a second terminal connected to the first ground; and a mixer stage, connected to the (1-1)th amplifier stage and the (1-2)th amplifier stage and configured to mix the first RF signal or the second RF signal with a local oscillator (LO) signal, and connected to the (2-1)th amplifier stage and the (2-2)th amplifier stage and configured to mix the first RF signal or the second RF signal with the LO signal.

[0007] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, which includes: an antenna configured to transmit an RF transmit signal or receive an RF receive signal; a duplexer configured to separate the RF transmit signal and the RF receive signal; and an RF circuit configured to mix one RF signal from a first RF signal to an Nth RF signal included in the RF receive signal with an LO signal, and to cancel the remaining RF signal from the first RF signal to the Nth RF signal that has not been mixed, wherein the RF circuit includes: a plurality of ports configured to receive the first RF signal to the Nth RF signal; a plurality of amplifier stages connected to the plurality of ports and a first ground to an Nth ground to amplify the first RF signal to the Nth RF signal; a plurality of switches each having a first terminal connected to one of the plurality of amplifier stages and a second terminal connected to one of the first ground to the Nth ground; and a mixer stage connected to the plurality of amplifier stages to mix the one RF signal with the LO signal and to cancel the remaining RF signal.

[0008] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an RF circuit is provided, comprising: a plurality of ports configured to receive a first RF signal to an Nth RF signal; a plurality of amplifier stages connected to the plurality of ports and a first ground to an Nth ground to amplify the first RF signal to the Nth RF signal; a plurality of switches each having a terminal connected to one of the plurality of amplifier stages and an opposite terminal connected to one of the first ground to the Nth ground; and a mixer stage connected to the plurality of amplifier stages to mix one of the first RF signal to the Nth RF signal with a local oscillator (LO) signal and to cancel the remaining RF signal of the first RF signal to the Nth RF signal that has not been mixed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The above and other features of the present disclosure will become apparent by describing in detail embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the attached drawings.

[0010] Figure 1 A radio frequency (RF) circuit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0011] Figure 2 The operation of the RF circuit when the second RF signal is an interference signal according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0012] Figure 3 Show input to Figure 2 Example of a signal from a mixer stage.

[0013] Figure 4 The operation of the RF circuit when the first RF signal is an interference signal according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0014] Figure 5 An RF circuit according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0015] Figure 6 When the first RF signal is a desired signal according to some embodiments of the present disclosure Figure 5 operation of the RF circuits.

[0016] Figure 7 Show input to Figure 6 Example of a signal from a mixer stage.

[0017] Figure 8 FIG. 1 shows a flow chart of ... according to some embodiments of the present disclosure when the Nth RF signal is a desired signal. Figure 5 operation of the RF circuits.

[0018] Fig. 9 A comparison of isolation performance between RF circuits according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0019] Fig.10 An RF circuit according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0020] Fig.11 An RF circuit according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0021] Fig.12 A layout of an RF circuit according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0022] Fig.13 A wireless communication device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0024] Figure 1 A radio frequency (RF) circuit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0025] Reference Figure 1 , the RF circuit 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a plurality of ports P1 and P2, a plurality of amplification stages (or AMP stages) 110 , 120 , 130 , and 140 , a plurality of switches SW1 - 1 , SW1 - 2 , SW2 - 1 , SW2 - 2 , a mixer stage 150 , and an oscillator 160 .

[0026] The plurality of ports P1 and P2 may be configured to receive RF signals of various frequency bands. For example, the RF signal may have a low band (LB), a mid-high band (MHB), an ultra-high band (UHB), a licensed assisted access (LAA) band, an enhanced LAA (eLAA) band, and a new radio unlicensed (NRU) band. The plurality of ports P1 and P2 may be configured to receive RF signals in a frequency band corresponding to at least one of the above-mentioned frequency bands.

[0027] As an example, the plurality of ports P1 and P2 may include a first port P1 and a second port P2. The first port P1 may receive a first RF signal RF1, and the second port P2 may receive a second RF signal RF2. Hereinafter, in the present disclosure, each RF signal may be a desired signal or an unwanted signal (or an interference signal, aggressor signal), the desired signal must be received through a specific input port, and the unwanted signal (or interference signal) is not a desired signal. According to some embodiments, when the first RF signal RF1 is a desired signal, the second RF signal RF2 may be an unwanted signal. In an alternative, when the first RF signal RF1 is an unwanted signal, the second RF signal RF2 may be a desired signal. When the first RF signal RF1 is a desired signal, the first port P1 may be a used port, and the second port P2 may be an unused port. In an alternative, when the second RF signal RF2 is a desired signal, the first port P1 may be an unused port, and the second port P2 may be a used port. In this case, it may be necessary to ensure that the interference signal input into the unused port is isolated to a sufficiently low level that does not affect the desired signal.

[0028] The first RF signal RF1 received through the first port P1 may be transmitted to the (1-1)th and (1-2)th amplifying stages 110 and 120 , and the second RF signal RF2 received through the second port P2 may be transmitted to the (2-1)th and (2-2)th amplifying stages 130 and 140 .

[0029] The plurality of amplifier stages 110 to 140 may be configured to amplify RF signals received through the plurality of ports P1 and P2. For example, the plurality of amplifier stages 110 to 140 may include a (1-1)th amplifier stage 110, a (1-2)th amplifier stage 120, a (2-1)th amplifier stage 130, and a (2-2)th amplifier stage 140.

[0030] For example, each of the plurality of amplification stages 110 to 140 may include at least one matching network and / or an amplifier connected to the at least one matching network. The at least one matching network may be provided at an input terminal of a low noise amplifier (LNA) (or an LNA block LNA) and / or may be provided at an output terminal thereof. The at least one matching network may be configured to provide impedance matching for the amplifier. For example, the amplifier may be a buffer or an LNA, and the amplifier may perform low noise amplification on the RF signal input to the plurality of amplification stages 110 to 140 and output the amplified RF signal to the mixer stage 150.

[0031] The (1-1)th amplification stage 110 and the (1-2)th amplification stage 120 may be connected to the first port P1 and the first ground GND1, and may be configured to amplify the first RF signal RF1. Hereinafter, in the present disclosure, connection of an element to another element may include a case where another element is placed between two elements or a case where the element is directly connected to the other element.

[0032] The first parasitic inductance L1 may exist in the first ground GND1 to which the (1-1)th amplifier stage 110 and the (1-2)th amplifier stage 120 are connected. The parasitic inductance may be a parasitic component of a semiconductor package on which the RF circuit 100 is mounted. In other words, in the present disclosure, the parasitic inductance is not an actual component of the RF circuit 100, but is simply represented as a parasitic component visible from the ground of the RF circuit 100. For convenience, the parasitic component appearing in the first ground GND1 may be referred to as the first parasitic inductance L1.

[0033] The output terminal of the (1-1)th amplifying stage 110 may be connected to the input terminal of the mixer stage 150 through the first node N1, and the (1-1)th amplifying stage 110 may be connected to the first ground GND1 through the sixth node N6. The output terminal of the (1-2)th amplifying stage 120 may be connected to the input terminal of the mixer stage 150 through the third node N3, and similarly, the (1-2)th amplifying stage 120 may be connected to the first ground GND1 through the sixth node N6.

[0034] According to some embodiments, when the first RF signal RF1 is an interference signal, not only the first RF signal RF1 is input to the mixer stage 150 through the (1-1)th amplifier stage 110 and the (1-2)th amplifier stage 120, but also a component reflected due to the first parasitic inductance L1 may be input to the mixer stage 150. Therefore, the interference signal may need to be offset.

[0035] The (2-1)th and (2-2)th amplifier stages 130 and 140 may be connected to the second port P2 and the second ground GND2 to amplify the second RF signal RF2. The second parasitic inductance L2 may exist in the second ground GND2 to which the (2-1)th and (2-2)th amplifier stages 130 and 140 are connected.

[0036] The output terminal of the (2-1)th amplifying stage 130 may be connected to the input terminal of the mixer stage 150 through the second node N2, and the (2-1)th amplifying stage 130 may be connected to the second ground GND2 through the fifth node N5. The output terminal of the (2-2)th amplifying stage 140 may be connected to the input terminal of the mixer stage 150 through the fourth node N4, and similarly, the (2-2)th amplifying stage 140 may be connected to the second ground GND2 through the fifth node N5.

[0037] According to some embodiments, when the second RF signal RF2 is an interference signal, not only is the second RF signal RF2 input to the mixer stage 150 through the (2-1)th amplifier stage 130 and the (2-2)th amplifier stage 140, but a component reflected due to the second parasitic inductance L2 may also be input to the mixer stage 150. Therefore, the interference signal may need to be canceled.

[0038] In order to cancel the above interference signal, according to some embodiments, a plurality of switches may be provided. The plurality of switches SW1-1 to SW2-2 may include a (1-1)th switch SW1-1, a (1-2)th switch SW1-2, a (2-1)th switch SW2-1, and a (2-2)th switch SW2-2.

[0039] The first terminal of the switch SW1-1 may be connected to the (1-1)th amplifier stage 110, and the second terminal of the switch SW1-1 may be connected to the second ground GND2. The first terminal of the (1-2)th switch SW1-2 may be connected to the (1-2)th amplifier stage 120, and the second terminal of the switch SW1-2 may be connected to the second ground GND2. In other words, the (1-1)th switch SW1-1 and the (1-2)th switch SW1-2 are connected to the second parasitic inductance L2 present at the second ground GND2. In detail, the (1-1)th switch SW1-1 may be connected to the first node N1 and the fifth node N5 connected to the second ground GND2, and the (1-2)th switch SW1-2 may be connected to the third node N3 and the fifth node N5 connected to the second ground GND2.

[0040] Since the opposite terminals (e.g., second terminals) of the (1-1)th switch SW1-1 and the (1-2)th switch SW1-2 are connected to the second ground GND2, when the first RF signal RF1 is an interference signal, the (1-1)th switch SW1-1 and the (1-2)th switch SW1-2 may be operated to apply an RF component (hereinafter, referred to as a first RF component) associated with the first RF signal RF1 to the mixer stage 150 through the (2-1)th amplification stage 130 and the (2-2)th amplification stage 140.

[0041] When the (1-1)th switch SW1 - 1 and the (1-2)th switch SW1 - 2 are turned on, an RF component associated with the first RF signal RF1 may be reflected due to the second parasitic inductance L2 and may be transmitted to the (2-1)th amplification stage 130 and the (2-2)th amplification stage 140 .

[0042] In detail, when the first RF signal RF1 is an interference signal, the first RF signal RF1 may be transmitted from the output terminals of the (1-1)th amplification stage 110 and the (1-2)th amplification stage 120 to the first node N1 and the third node N3. In this case, the first RF signal RF1 may include an RF component reflected from the first parasitic inductance L1. When the (1-1)th switch SW1-1 and the (1-2)th switch SW1-2 are turned on, the first RF signal RF1 may be separated at the first node N1 and the third node N3. In this case, a first portion of the first RF component may be directly transmitted to the mixer stage 150 through the first node N1 and the third node N3, and a second portion of the first RF component may be reflected due to the second parasitic inductance L2 based on the (1-1)th switch SW1-1 and the (1-2)th switch SW1-2 being turned on. Therefore, the first RF component reflected due to the second parasitic inductance L2 may be transmitted to the (2-1)th amplification stage 130 and the (2-2)th amplification stage 140 through the fifth node N5. Thereafter, the reflected first RF component may be transmitted to the mixer stage 150 together with the second RF signal RF2. In this case, the first RF components separated from the first node N1 and the third node N3 may have the same phase. Therefore, as will be described later, all first RF components may be canceled in the mixer stage 150, and only the second RF signal RF2 may be finally output through the RF circuit 100.

[0043] The (2-1)th switch SW2-1 may have a first terminal connected to the (2-1)th amplifier stage 130 and a second terminal connected to the first ground GND1. The (2-2)th switch SW2-2 may have a first terminal connected to the (2-2)th amplifier stage 140 and a second terminal connected to the first ground GND1. In other words, the (2-1)th switch SW2-1 and the (2-2)th switch SW2-2 are connected to the first parasitic inductance L1 present at the first ground GND1. In detail, the (2-1)th switch SW2-1 may be connected to the second node N2 and the sixth node N6 connected to the first ground GND1, and the (2-2)th switch SW2-2 may be connected to the fourth node N4 and the sixth node N6 connected to the first ground GND1.

[0044] When the desired signal is the second RF signal RF2, the (1-1)th switch SW1-1 and the (1-2)th switch SW1-2 may be connected to the second ground GND2 as a ground included in the desired signal chain. When the desired signal is the first RF signal RF1, the (2-1)th switch SW2-1 and the (2-2)th switch SW2-2 may be connected to the first ground GND1 as a ground included in the desired signal chain.

[0045] Since the opposite terminals (e.g., second terminals) of the (2-1)th switch SW2-1 and the (2-2)th switch SW2-2 are connected to the first ground GND1, when the second RF signal RF2 is an interference signal, the (2-1)th switch SW2-1 and the (2-2)th switch SW2-2 may be operated to apply an RF component associated with the second RF signal RF2 (hereinafter, referred to as a second RF component) to the mixer stage 150 through the (1-1)th amplification stage 110 and the (1-2)th amplification stage 120.

[0046] In detail, when the second RF signal RF2 is an interference signal, the second RF signal RF2 may be transmitted from the output terminals of the (2-1)th amplification stage 130 and the (2-2)th amplification stage 140 to the second node N2 and the fourth node N4. In this case, the second RF signal RF2 may include an RF component reflected from the second parasitic inductance L2. When the (2-1)th switch SW2-1 and the (2-2)th switch SW2-2 are turned on, the second RF signal RF2 may be separated at the second node N2 and the fourth node N4. In this case, a first portion of the second RF component may be directly transmitted to the mixer stage 150 through the second node N2 and the fourth node N4, and a second portion of the second RF component may be reflected due to the first parasitic inductance L1 based on the (2-1)th switch SW2-1 and the (2-2)th switch SW2-2 being turned on. Therefore, the second RF component reflected due to the first parasitic inductance L1 may be transmitted to the (1-1)th amplification stage 110 and the (1-2)th amplification stage 120 through the sixth node N6. Thereafter, the reflected second RF component may be transmitted to the mixer stage 150 together with the first RF signal RF1. In this case, the second RF components separated from the second node N2 and the fourth node N4 may have the same phase. Therefore, as will be described later, all second RF components may be canceled in the mixer stage 150, and only the first RF signal RF1 may be finally output through the RF circuit 100.

[0047] The mixer stage 150 may be configured to mix the first RF signal RF1 or the second RF signal RF2 with a local oscillator (LO) signal. Figure 1 When the RF circuit 100 corresponds to a receiving path, the mixer stage 150 may down-convert (e.g., frequency down-convert) the first RF signal RF1 or the second RF signal RF2. The oscillator 160 may be connected to the mixer stage 150 to provide an LO signal. The oscillator 160 may generate an LO signal having an appropriate LO frequency for down-conversion according to the bandwidth of each of the first RF signal RF1 and the second RF signal RF2, and provide the LO signal to the mixer stage 150.

[0048] According to some embodiments, the mixer stage 150 may be implemented as a double balanced mixer (DBM). The mixer stage 150 may be connected to the (1-1)th amplifier stage 110 and the (2-1)th amplifier stage 130, and is configured to mix the first RF signal RF1 or the second RF signal RF2 with the LO signal. The mixer stage 150 may be connected to a first node N1 corresponding to the output terminal of the (1-1)th amplifier stage 110 and a third node N3 corresponding to the output terminal of the (1-2)th amplifier stage 120. The mixer stage 150 may be connected to the (1-2)th amplifier stage 120 and the (2-2)th amplifier stage 140, and is configured to similarly mix the first RF signal RF1 or the second RF signal RF2 with the LO signal. The mixer stage 150 may be connected to a second node N2 corresponding to the output terminal of the (2-1)th amplifier stage 130 and a fourth node N4 corresponding to the output terminal of the (2-2)th amplifier stage 140.

[0049] According to some embodiments, when the (1-1)th switch SW1-1 and the (1-2)th switch SW1-2 are turned on and the (2-1)th switch SW2-1 and the (2-2)th switch SW2-2 are turned off (for example, when the first RF signal RF1 is an interference signal), the first part of the first RF component may be applied to some input terminals of the mixer stage 150, and the second part of the first RF component may be applied to some input terminals of the mixer stage 150 together with the second RF signal RF2. In this case, as described above, since the first RF components applied to different input terminals have the same phase, the mixer stage 150 may cancel all applied first RF components. For example, the mixer stage 150 may be implemented as a differential mixer to cancel the first RF component.

[0050] According to some embodiments, when the (1-1)th switch SW1-1 and the (1-2)th switch SW1-2 are turned off and the (2-1)th switch SW2-1 and the (2-2)th switch SW2-2 are turned on (for example, when the second RF signal RF2 is an interference signal), the first part of the second RF component may be applied to some input terminals of the mixer stage 150, and the second part of the second RF component may be applied to some input terminals of the mixer stage 150 together with the first RF signal RF1. In this case, as described above, since the second RF components applied to different input terminals have the same phase, the mixer stage 150 may cancel all the applied second RF components. For example, the mixer stage 150 may be implemented as a differential mixer to cancel the second RF component.

[0051] Through the mixer stage 150 , in-phase / quadrature (I / Q) conversion signals CS_I and CS_Q based on LO frequency conversion may be output.

[0052] According to the above-mentioned embodiment, when multiple input signals of various frequency bands are received, the RF circuit 100 of the present disclosure can receive only the required signal by isolating the interference signal among the signals simultaneously input through several input ports. Specifically, the present disclosure includes a switch inside the RF circuit 100, which intentionally distributes the interference signal as an RF component with the same phase and inputs the interference signal to the mixer stage 150, thereby making it possible to isolate the interference signal without using external components. In addition, because the present disclosure does not need to directly remove the parasitic inductance of the semiconductor package, the versatility of the circuit design can be increased.

[0053] Figure 2 The operation of the RF circuit when the second RF signal is an interference signal according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 1 A detailed description of the repeated section.

[0054] Reference Figure 2 , when the first RF signal RF1 input through the first port P1 is a desired signal, the second RF signal RF2 input through the second port P2 is an interference signal. In order to isolate the second RF signal RF2 to mix the first RF signal RF1 with the LO signal, the (1-1)th switch SW1-1 and the (1-2)th switch SW1-2 may be disconnected (e.g., opened), and the (2-1)th switch SW2-1 and the (2-2)th switch SW2-2 may be turned on (e.g., turned off). When the (1-1)th switch SW1-1 and the (1-2)th switch SW1-2 are disconnected, the path between the first node N1 and the fifth node N5 may be disconnected from the path between the third node N3 and the fifth node N5.

[0055] The second RF signal RF2 as an interference signal may be transmitted to the second node N2 and the fourth node N4 through the (2-1)th amplification stage 130 and the (2-2)th amplification stage 140. In this case, the transmitted second RF signal RF2 may include an RF component reflected due to the second parasitic inductance L2. Thereafter, since the (2-1)th switch SW2-1 and the (2-2)th switch SW2-2 are turned on, the second RF signal RF2 may be separated into a first portion of a remaining second RF component (hereinafter, referred to as a remaining (2-1)th RF component rm1_RFe2) and a second portion of a remaining second RF component (hereinafter, referred to as a remaining (2-2)th RF component rm2_RFe2) at the second node N2 and the fourth node N4. In this case, both the remaining (2-1)th RF component rm1_RFe2 and the remaining (2-2)th RF component rm2_RFe2 may be included in the second RF component. The remaining (2-1)th RF component rm1_RFe2 and the remaining (2-2)th RF component rm2_RFe2 may have a smaller signal size than the second RF signal RF2 before they are divided, and may have the same phase. The remaining (2-1)th RF component rm1_RFe2 may be applied to the mixer stage 150 .

[0056] The remaining (2-2)th RF component rm2_RFe2 may be reflected from the first ground GND1 and the first parasitic inductance L1 through the sixth node N6 based on the (2-1)th switch SW2-1 and the (2-2)th switch SW2-2 being turned on. Therefore, the reflected second RF component ref_RFe2 may be applied to the mixer stage 150 together with the first RF signal RF1 through the (1-1)th amplification stage 110 and the (1-2)th amplification stage 120. Finally, based on the fact that the (2-1)th switch SW2-1 and the (2-2)th switch SW2-2 are turned on, the second RF component ref_RFe2 reflected from the first ground GND1 among the second RF components may be transmitted to the mixer stage 150.

[0057] In this case, the reflected second RF component ref_RFe2 and the remaining (2-1)th RF component rm1_RFe2 may have the same phase. Therefore, the mixer stage 150 may cancel the reflected second RF component ref_RFe2 and the remaining (2-1)th RF component rm1_RFe2 input through the (2-1)th amplifier stage 130. In addition, the mixer stage 150 may cancel the reflected second RF component ref_RFe2 and the remaining (2-1)th RF component rm1_RFe2 input through the (2-2)th amplifier stage 140. The mixer stage 150 may cancel the second RF component, convert the first RF signal RF1, and output the first I conversion signal CS1_I and the first Q conversion signal CS1_Q.

[0058] Figure 3 Show input to Figure 2 Example of a signal from a mixer stage.

[0059] Reference Figure 3 , the reflected second RF component ref_RFe2 together with the first RF signal RF1 may be applied to the mixer stage 150, and for example, the reflected second RF component ref_RFe2 may be shown as a waveform having a time period starting at an arbitrary time point t1 (where t1 is a real number greater than 0 (zero)). In this case, like the reflected second RF component ref_RFe2, the remaining (2-1)th RF component rm1_RFe2 may have a time period starting at an arbitrary time point t1, and therefore, the phase difference between the reflected second RF component ref_RFe2 and the remaining (2-1)th RF component rm1_RFe2 may be 0 (zero). In other words, these signals may be in phase.

[0060] Finally, the reflected second RF component ref_RFe2 and the remaining (2-1)th RF component rm1_RFe2 may be canceled by the mixer stage 150, so that the second RF component may not exist in the final output conversion signal (e.g., the first I conversion signal CS1_I). In other words, because the interference signal components input to the mixer stage 150 have the same phase, they may be differentially eliminated by the mixer stage 150. As a result, only the desired signal may be output by the mixer stage 150.

[0061] Figure 4 The operation of the RF circuit when the first RF signal is an interference signal according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0062] Reference Figure 4 , when the second RF signal RF2 input through the second port P2 is a desired signal, the first RF signal RF1 input through the first port P1 is an interference signal. In order to isolate the first RF signal RF1 to mix the second RF signal RF2 with the LO signal, the (2-1)th switch SW2-1 and the (2-2)th switch SW2-2 may be turned off, and the (1-1)th switch SW1-1 and the (1-2)th switch SW1-2 may be turned on. Since the (2-1)th switch SW2-1 and the (2-2)th switch SW2-2 are turned off, the path between the second node N2 and the sixth node N6 may be disconnected from the path between the fourth node N4 and the sixth node N6.

[0063] The first RF signal RF1 as an interference signal may be transmitted to the first node N1 and the third node N3 through the (1-1)th amplification stage 110 and the (1-2)th amplification stage 120. In this case, the transmitted first RF signal RF1 may include an RF component reflected due to the first parasitic inductance L1. Thereafter, since the (1-1)th switch SW1-1 and the (1-2)th switch SW1-2 are turned on, the first RF signal RF1 may be separated into a first portion of the remaining first RF component (hereinafter, referred to as the remaining (1-1)th RF component rm1_RFe1) and a second portion of the remaining first RF component (hereinafter, referred to as the remaining (1-2)th RF component rm2_RFe1) at the first node N1 and the third node N3. In this case, both the remaining (1-1)th RF component rm1_RFe1 and the remaining (1-2)th RF component rm2_RFe1 may be included in the first RF component. The remaining (1-1)th RF component rm1_RFe1 and the remaining (1-2)th RF component rm2_RFe1 may have a smaller signal size than the first RF signal RF1 before they are divided, and may have the same phase. The remaining (1-1)th RF component rm1_RFe1 may be applied to the mixer stage 150 .

[0064] The remaining (1-2)th RF component rm2_RFe1 may be reflected from the second ground GND2 and the second parasitic inductance L2 through the fifth node N5 based on the (1-1)th switch SW1-1 and the (1-2)th switch SW1-2 being turned on. Therefore, the reflected first RF component ref_RFe1 may be applied to the mixer stage 150 together with the second RF signal RF2 through the (2-1)th amplification stage 130 and the (2-2)th amplification stage 140. Finally, based on the fact that the (1-1)th switch SW1-1 and the (1-2)th switch SW1-2 are turned on, the first RF component ref_RFe1 reflected from the second ground GND2 among the first RF components may be transmitted to the mixer stage 150.

[0065] In this case, the reflected first RF component ref_RFe1 and the remaining (1-1)th RF component rm1_RFe1 may have the same phase. Therefore, the mixer stage 150 may cancel the reflected first RF component ref_RFe1 and the remaining (1-1)th RF component rm1_RFe1 input through the (1-1)th amplifier stage 110. In addition, the mixer stage 150 may cancel the reflected first RF component ref_RFe1 and the remaining (1-1)th RF component rm1_RFe1 input through the (1-2)th amplifier stage 120. The mixer stage 150 may cancel the first RF component, convert the second RF signal RF2, and output the second I conversion signal CS2_I and the second Q conversion signal CS2_Q. In this case, the second RF component may not exist in the second I conversion signal CS2_I and the second Q conversion signal CS2_Q that are finally output. In other words, because the interference signal components input to the mixer stage 150 have the same phase, they may be differentially eliminated by the mixer stage 150. As a result, only the desired signal can be output through the mixer stage 150 .

[0066] Figure 5 An RF circuit according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0067] Reference Figure 5 , the RF circuit 200 may include N ports P1 to PN, a plurality of amplifier stages 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, and 260, a plurality of switches SW1-1, SW1-2, SW2-1, SW2-2, SWN-1 to SWN-2, and a mixer stage 270, the plurality of amplifier stages 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, and 260 corresponding to the N ports P1 to PN, and the plurality of switches SW1-1, SW1-2, SW2-1, SW2-2, SWN-1 to SWN-2 are configured to intentionally apply an interference signal to a desired signal applied from each of the N ports P1 to PN. An oscillator 280 for providing an LO signal may be connected to the mixer stage 270.

[0068] The first RF signal RF1 and the second RF signal RF2 to the Nth RF signal RFN may be sequentially received at each of the N ports P1 to PN. According to various embodiments, when one RF signal among the first RF signal RF1 and the second RF signal RF2 to the Nth RF signal RFN is a desired signal, the remaining RF signal may be an interference signal.

[0069] Two amplifier stages may be connected to each of the N ports P1 to PN. For example, the (1-1)th amplifier stage 210 and the (1-2)th amplifier stage 220 may be connected to the first port P1. The (2-1)th amplifier stage 230 and the (2-2)th amplifier stage 240 may be connected to the second port P2, and the (N-1)th amplifier stage 250 and the (N-2)th amplifier stage 260 may be connected to the Nth port PN.

[0070] The (1-1)th amplifying stage 210 and the (1-2)th amplifying stage 220 may be connected to the first ground GND1. The (2-1)th amplifying stage 230 and the (2-2)th amplifying stage 240 may be connected to the second ground GND2. The (N-1)th amplifying stage 250 and the (N-2)th amplifying stage 260 may be connected to the Nth ground GNDN. The first parasitic inductance L1, the second parasitic inductance L2, and the Nth parasitic inductance LN may exist in the first ground GND1, the second ground GND2, and the Nth ground GNDN, respectively.

[0071] The output terminal of the (1-1)th amplifier stage 210 may be connected to the input terminal of the mixer stage 270 through the seventh node N7, and the (1-1)th amplifier stage 210 may be connected to the first ground GND1 through the thirteenth node N13. The output terminal of the (1-2)th amplifier stage 220 may be connected to the input terminal of the mixer stage 270 through the eighth node N8, and similarly, the (1-2)th amplifier stage 220 may be connected to the first ground GND1 through the thirteenth node N13. The output terminal of the (2-1)th amplifier stage 230 may be connected to the input terminal of the mixer stage 270 through the ninth node N9, and the (2-1)th amplifier stage 230 may be connected to the second ground GND2 through the thirteenth node N13. The output terminal of the (2-2)th amplifier stage 240 may be connected to the input terminal of the mixer stage 270 through the tenth node N10, and similarly, the (2-2)th amplifier stage 240 may be connected to the second ground GND2 through the thirteenth node N13. The output terminal of the (N-1)th amplifying stage 250 may be connected to the input terminal of the mixer stage 270 through the eleventh node N11, and the (N-1)th amplifying stage 250 may be connected to the Nth ground GNDN through the thirteenth node N13. The output terminal of the (N-2)th amplifying stage 260 may be connected to the input terminal of the mixer stage 270 through the twelfth node N12, and similarly, the (N-2)th amplifying stage 260 may be connected to the Nth ground GNDN through the thirteenth node N13.

[0072] The plurality of switches SW1-1 to SWN-2 may include a (1-1)th switch SW1-1, a (1-2)th switch SW1-2, a (2-1)th switch SW2-1, a (2-2)th switch SW2-2 to an (N-1)th switch SWN-1 and an (N-2)th switch SWN-2.

[0073] The (1-1)th switch SW1-1 may have a first terminal connected to the (1-1)th amplifier stage 210 through a seventh node N7 and a second terminal connected to the second ground GND2 and the Nth ground GNDN through a thirteenth node N13. The (1-2)th switch SW1-2 may have a first terminal connected to the (1-2)th amplifier stage 220 through an eighth node N8 and a second terminal connected to the second ground GND2 and the Nth ground GNDN through a thirteenth node N13. The (2-1)th switch SW2-1 may have a first terminal connected to the (2-1)th amplifier stage 230 through a ninth node N9 and a second terminal connected to the first ground GND1 and the Nth ground GNDN through a thirteenth node N13. The (2-2)th switch SW2-2 may have a first terminal connected to the (2-2)th amplifier stage 240 through a tenth node N10 and a second terminal connected to the first ground GND1 and the Nth ground GNDN through a thirteenth node N13.

[0074] The (N-1)th switch SWN-1 may have a first terminal connected to the (N-2)th amplification stage 260 through a twelfth node N12 and a second terminal connected to the first and second grounds GND1 and GND2 through a thirteenth node N13.

[0075] The (N-2)th switch SWN-2 may have a first terminal connected to the (N-1)th amplifying stage 250 through an eleventh node N11 and a second terminal connected to the first ground GND1 and the second ground GND2 through a thirteenth node N13. In other words, each of the plurality of switches SW1-1 to SWN-2 may be configured such that an opposite terminal (e.g., a second terminal) is connected to the remaining grounds except for the grounds respectively connected to the amplifier stages.

[0076] The RF signal may be applied to the input terminal of the mixer stage 270 from the (1-1)th, (2-1)th, to (N-1)th, amplification stages 210, 230, to 250, and the RF signal may be input to the input terminal of the mixer stage 270 from the (1-2)th, (2-2)th, to (N-2)th, amplification stages 220, 240, to 260.

[0077] According to some embodiments, Figure 5In the RF circuit 200, a plurality of ports P1 to PN may receive first to Nth RF signals RF1 to RFN. A plurality of amplifier stages 210 to 260 may be connected to the plurality of ports P1 to PN and the first to Nth grounds GND1 to GNDN to amplify the first to Nth RF signals RF1 to RFN. A first terminal of each of the plurality of switches SW1-1 to SWN-2 may be connected to one of the plurality of amplifier stages 210 to 260, and a second terminal of each of the plurality of switches SW1-1 to SWN-2 may be connected to all grounds except one of the first to Nth grounds GNDN. A mixer stage 270 may be connected to the plurality of amplifier stages 210 to 260, and mix one RF signal with the LO signal and cancel the remaining RF signal.

[0078] For example, based on mixing an RF signal amplified by one of the plurality of amplifying stages 210 to 260 with the LO signal, at least one of the plurality of switches SW1-1 to SWN-2 connected to the one amplifying stage may be turned off, and the remaining switches except for at least one of the plurality of switches SW1-1 to SWN-2 may be turned on.

[0079] For example, since the remaining switches are turned on, an RF component reflected from the remaining ground among the RF components associated with the remaining RF signal may be transmitted to the mixer stage 270 .

[0080] For example, the mixer stage 270 may cancel the reflected RF component and the remaining RF component input through the remaining amplifier stages among the plurality of amplifier stages 210 to 260 .

[0081] Figure 6 When the first RF signal is a desired signal according to some embodiments of the present disclosure Figure 5 operation of the RF circuits.

[0082] Reference Figure 6, when the first RF signal RF1 input through the first port P1 is a desired signal, the second RF signal RF2 input through the second port P2 and the Nth RF signal RFN input through the Nth port PN are interference signals. When it is necessary to isolate the second RF signal RF2 from the Nth RF signal RFN to mix the first RF signal RF1 with the LO signal, the (1-1)th switch SW1-1 and the (1-2)th switch SW1-2 may be turned off, and the (2-1)th switch SW2-1, the (2-2)th switch SW2-2, the (N-1)th switch SWN-1, and the (N-2)th switch SWN-2 may be turned on. Since the (1-1)th switch SW1-1 and the (1-2)th switch SW1-2 are turned off, the path between the seventh node N7 and the thirteenth node N13 may be disconnected from the path between the eighth node N8 and the thirteenth node N13.

[0083] The second RF signal RF2 as an interference signal may be transmitted to the ninth node N9 and the tenth node N10 through the (2-1)th amplification stage 230 and the (2-2)th amplification stage 240. In this case, the transmitted second RF signal RF2 may include an RF component reflected due to the second parasitic inductance L2. In addition, the Nth RF signal RFN may be transmitted to the eleventh node N11 and the twelfth node N12 through the (N-1)th amplification stage 250 and the (N-2)th amplification stage 260. In this case, the transmitted Nth RF signal RFN may include an RF component reflected due to the Nth parasitic inductance LN.

[0084] Thereafter, since the (2-1)th switch SW2-1 and the (2-2)th switch SW2-2 are turned on, the second RF signal RF2 may be separated into the remaining (2-1)th RF component rm1_RFe2 and the remaining (2-2)th RF component rm2_RFe2 having the same phase at the ninth node N9 and the tenth node N10. The remaining (2-1)th RF component rm1_RFe2 may be applied to the mixer stage 270. In addition, since the (N-1)th switch SWN-1 and the (N-2)th switch SWN-2 are turned on, the Nth RF signal RFN may be separated into the remaining (N-1)th RF component rm1_RFeN and the remaining (N-2)th RF component rm2_RFeN having the same phase at the eleventh node N11 and the twelfth node N12. The remaining (N-1)th RF component rm1_RFeN may be applied to the mixer stage 270.

[0085] The remaining (2-2)th RF component rm2_RFe2 may be reflected from the first ground GND1 and the first parasitic inductance L1 through the thirteenth node N13 based on the (2-1)th switch SW2-1 and the (2-2)th switch SW2-2 being turned on, and the remaining (N-2)th RF component rm2_RFeN may be reflected from the first ground GND1 and the first parasitic inductance L1 through the thirteenth node N13 based on the (N-1)th switch SWN-1 and the (N-2)th switch SWN-2 being turned on. Therefore, the reflected second RF component ref_RFe2 and the reflected Nth RF component ref_RFeN may be applied to the mixer stage 270 through the (1-1)th amplifier stage 210 and the (1-2)th amplifier stage 220 together with the first RF signal RF1.

[0086] In this case, the reflected second RF component ref_RFe2 and the remaining (2-1)th RF component rm1_RFe2 may have the same phase, and the reflected Nth RF component ref_RFeN and the remaining (N-1)th RF component rm1_RFeN may also have the same phase. Therefore, the mixer stage 270 may cancel the reflected second RF component ref_RFe2 and the remaining (2-1)th RF component rm1_RFe2 input through the (2-1)th amplification stage 230, and cancel the reflected Nth RF component ref_RFeN and the remaining (N-1)th RF component rm1_RFeN input through the (N-1)th amplification stage 250. Likewise, the mixer stage 270 may cancel the reflected second RF component ref_RFe2 and the remaining (2-1)th RF component rm1_RFe2 input through the (2-2)th amplifier stage 240, and cancel the reflected Nth RF component ref_RFeN and the remaining (N-1)th RF component rm1_RFeN input through the (N-2)th amplifier stage 260. The mixer stage 270 may cancel the second RF component and the Nth RF component, convert the first RF signal RF1, and output a first I-converted signal CS1_I and a first Q-converted signal CS1_Q.

[0087] In addition, although not described, according to the above-described embodiment, the third to (N−1)th RF components are also canceled by the mixer stage 270 .

[0088] Figure 7 Show input to Figure 6 Example of a signal from a mixer stage.

[0089] Reference Figure 6, the reflected second RF component ref_RFe2 and the reflected Nth RF component ref_RFeN may be applied to the mixer stage 270 together with the first RF signal RF1. For example, the reflected second RF component ref_RFe2 is shown as a waveform having a time period starting at an arbitrary time point t1 (where t1 is a real number greater than 0 (zero)), and the reflected Nth RF component ref_RFeN is shown as a waveform having a time period starting at an arbitrary time point t2 (where t2 is a real number greater than or equal to 0 (zero)). In this case, like the reflected second RF component ref_RFe2, the remaining (2-1)th RF component rm1_RFe2 may also have a time period starting at an arbitrary time point t1, so that the phase difference between the reflected second RF component ref_RFe2 and the remaining (2-1)th RF component rm1_RFe2 is 0, in other words, these signals have the same phase. In addition, like the reflected Nth RF component ref_RFeN, the remaining (N-1)th RF component rm1_RFeN may have a time period starting at any time point t2 so that the phase difference between the reflected Nth RF component ref_RFeN and the remaining Nth RF component rm1_RFeN is 0 (zero), in other words, these signals have the same phase.

[0090] Finally, the reflected second RF component ref_RFe2 and the remaining (2-1)th RF component rm1_RFe2 may cancel each other through the mixer stage 270, and the reflected Nth RF component ref_RFeN and the remaining (N-1)th RF component rm1_RFeN may cancel each other through the mixer stage 270. As a result, the second RF component and the Nth RF component may not exist in the final output conversion signal (e.g., the first I conversion signal CS1_I). In other words, because the interference signal components input to the mixer stage 270 have the same phase, the interference signal components may be differentially removed by the mixer stage 270, so that only the desired signal may be finally output through the mixer stage 270.

[0091] Figure 8 FIG. 1 shows a flow chart of ... according to some embodiments of the present disclosure when the Nth RF signal is a desired signal. Figure 5 operation of the RF circuits.

[0092] Reference Figure 8, when the Nth RF signal RFN input through the Nth port PN is a desired signal, the first RF signal RF1 input through the first port P1 and the second RF signal RF2 input through the second port P2 are interference signals. When it is necessary to isolate the first RF signal RF1 and the second RF signal RF2 to mix the Nth RF signal RFN with the LO signal, the (N-1)th switch SWN-1 and the (N-2)th switch SWN-2 are turned off, and the (1-1)th switch SW1-1, the (1-2)th switch SW1-2, the (2-1)th switch SW2-1, and the (2-2)th switch SW2-2 may be turned on. Since the (N-1)th switch SWN-1 and the (N-2)th switch SWN-2 are turned off, the path between the eleventh node N11 and the thirteenth node N13 may be disconnected from the path between the twelfth node N12 and the thirteenth node N13.

[0093] The first RF signal RF1 as an interference signal may be transmitted to the seventh node N7 and the eighth node N8 through the (1-1)th amplification stage 210 and the (1-2)th amplification stage 220. In this case, the transmitted first RF signal RF1 may include an RF component reflected due to the first parasitic inductance L1. In addition, the second RF signal RF2 may be transmitted to the ninth node N9 and the tenth node N10 through the (2-1)th amplification stage 230 and the (2-2)th amplification stage 240. In this case, the transmitted second RF signal RF2 may include an RF component reflected due to the second parasitic inductance L2.

[0094] Thereafter, since the (1-1)th switch SW1-1 and the (1-2)th switch SW1-2 are turned on, the first RF signal RF1 may be separated into the remaining (1-1)th RF component rm1_RFe1 and the remaining (1-2)th RF component rm2_RFe1 having the same phase. The remaining (1-1)th RF component rm1_RFe1 may be applied to the mixer stage 270. In addition, since the (2-1)th switch SW2-1 and the (2-2)th switch SW2-2 are turned on, the second RF signal RF2 may be separated at the ninth node N9 and the tenth node N10 into the remaining (2-1)th RF component rm1_RFe2 and the remaining (2-2)th RF component rm2_RFe2 having the same phase. The remaining (2-1)th RF component rm1_RFe2 may be applied to the mixer stage 270.

[0095] Since the (1-1)th switch SW1-1 and the (1-2)th switch SW1-2 are turned on, the remaining (1-2)th RF component rm2_RFe1 may be reflected from the Nth ground GNDN and the Nth parasitic inductance LN through the thirteenth node N13. Since the (2-1)th switch SW2-1 and the (2-2)th switch SW2-2 are turned on, the remaining (2-2)th RF component rm2_RFe2 may be reflected from the Nth ground GNDN and the Nth parasitic inductance LN through the thirteenth node N13. Therefore, the reflected first RF component ref_RFe1 and the reflected second RF component ref_RFe2 may be applied to the mixer stage 270 through the (N-1)th amplifier stage 250 and the (N-2)th amplifier stage 260 together with the Nth RF signal RFN.

[0096] In this case, the reflected first RF component ref_RFe1 and the remaining (1-1)th RF component rm1_RFe1 may have the same phase, and the reflected second RF component ref_RFe2 and the remaining (2-1)th RF component rm1_RFe2 may also have the same phase. Therefore, the mixer stage 270 may cancel the reflected first RF component ref_RFe1 and the remaining (1-1)th RF component rm1_RFe1 input through the (1-1)th amplification stage 210, and cancel the reflected second RF component ref_RFe2 and the remaining (2-1)th RF component rm1_RFe2 input through the (2-1)th amplification stage 230. Likewise, the mixer stage 270 may cancel the reflected first RF component ref_RFe1 and the remaining (1-1)th RF component rm1_RFe1 input through the (1-2)th amplifier stage 220, and cancel the reflected second RF component ref_RFe2 and the remaining (2-1)th RF component rm1_RFe2 input through the (2-2)th amplifier stage 240. The mixer stage 270 may cancel the first RF component and the second RF component, convert the Nth RF signal RFN, and output the N1th converted signal CSN_I and the NQth converted signal CSN_Q.

[0097] According to the above-mentioned embodiment, when receiving a plurality of input signals of various frequency bands, the RF circuit 200 of the present disclosure can isolate interference signals except for the desired signal corresponding to one input port among the signals simultaneously input through several input ports, thereby receiving only the desired signal. Specifically, the present disclosure may include a switch configured to intentionally distribute each interference signal as RF components having the same phase and input them to the mixer stage 270, thereby isolating all interference signals without the need for external components.

[0098] Fig. 9 A comparison of isolation performance between RF circuits according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0099] Reference Fig. 9 By comparing the isolation performance by frequency of the RF circuit w SW with a switch and the RF circuit w / o SW without a switch according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, it can be confirmed that when the switch is set like the RF circuit of the present disclosure, the isolation performance is improved in all frequency bands.

[0100] When a switch is not provided inside the RF circuit, a switch may be provided outside the RF circuit (e.g., at the front-end module (FEM) level, etc.) to isolate the interference signal. However, when a switch is implemented using a switching element (such as a transistor), the switching element may not physically connect / disconnect the path, so that the interference signal may flow into the RF circuit. In this case, as described above, the input interference signal may include a reflection component due to the parasitic inductance caused by the semiconductor package. Since the signal is in a higher frequency band, the size of the reflection component may increase as the impedance of the parasitic inductance increases. Ultimately, there may be limitations on ensuring isolation when providing an external switch.

[0101] In contrast, according to the present disclosure, an interference signal can be applied together with a desired signal through a switch provided inside an RF circuit, and the interference signal can be actively removed through a mixer that receives the interference signal and an interference signal having the same phase as the applied interference signal. Therefore, according to the present disclosure, regardless of the frequency band of the signal, improved isolation performance can be ensured, and specifically, as shown in the figure, isolation degradation due to parasitic inductance can be overcome even at high frequencies.

[0102] Fig.10 FIG. 1 shows an RF circuit 100a according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 1 A detailed description of the repeated section.

[0103] Reference Fig.10According to some embodiments, the above-mentioned plurality of switches SW1-1 to SW2-2 may be provided on the front end of the plurality of amplifier stages 110 to 140, in other words, provided between the plurality of ports P1 and P2 and the plurality of amplifier stages 110 to 140. In this configuration, the first port P1 may be connected to the input terminal of the (1-1)th amplifier stage 110 through the 1ath node N1a, and the second port P2 may be connected to the input terminal of the (2-1)th amplifier stage 130 through the 2ath node N2a. The (1-1)th switch SW1-1 may be connected to the 1ath node N1a and the 5ath node N5a, and the (1-2)th switch SW1-2 may be connected to the 5ath node N5a and the 3ath node N3a. In this case, the 3ath node N3a may be the same as the 1ath node N1a. The (2-1)th switch SW2-1 may be connected to the 2ath node N2a and the 6ath node N6a, and the (2-2)th switch SW2-2 may be connected to the 6ath node N6a and the 4ath node N4a. In this case, the 4ath node N4a may be the same as the 2ath node N2a.

[0104] Output terminals of the plurality of amplifier stages 110 to 140 may be directly connected to the mixer stage 150 .

[0105] The input terminal of the (1-1)th amplifier stage 110 may be connected to the first port P1 through the 1a-th node N1a, and to the first parasitic inductance L1 through the 6a-th node N6a. The input terminal of the (1-2)th amplifier stage 120 may be connected to the first port P1 through the 3a-th node N3a, and to the (2-2)-th switch SW2-2 through the 6a-th node N6a. The input terminal of the (2-1)-th amplifier stage 130 may be connected to the second port P2 through the 2a-th node N2a, and to the (1-2)-th switch SW1-2 through the 5a-th node N5a. The input terminal of the (2-2)-th amplifier stage 140 may be connected to the second port P2 through the 4a-th node N4a, and to the second parasitic inductance L2 through the 5a-th node N5a.

[0106] Fig.11 An RF circuit 100b is shown according to some embodiments.

[0107] Reference Fig.11 According to some embodiments, when each of the plurality of amplification stages 110 to 140 includes a matching network (or matching stage) MN and an LNA, the plurality of switches SW1-1 to SW2-2 may be provided between the matching network MN and the LNA included in each of the plurality of amplification stages 110 to 140. Therefore, the first port P1 and the second port P2 may be directly connected to the matching network MN. In addition, the output terminal of the LNA may be directly connected to the mixer stage 150.

[0108] The switch SW1-1 may be connected to the 1b-th node N1b between the matching network MN and the LNA of the (1-1)th amplifier stage 110 and the 5b-th node N5b connected to the second parasitic inductance L2. The (1-2)th switch SW1-2 may be connected to the 5b-th node N5b connected to the second parasitic inductance L2 and the 3b-th node N3b between the LNA and the matching network MN of the (1-2)th amplifier stage 120. The (2-1)th switch SW2-1 may be connected to the 2b-th node N2b between the matching network MN and the LNA of the (2-1)th amplifier stage 130 and the 6b-th node N6b connected to the first parasitic inductance L1. The (2-2)th switch SW2-2 may be connected to the 6b-th node N6b connected to the first parasitic inductance L1 and the 4b-th node N4b between the matching network MN and the LNA of the (2-2)th amplifier stage 140.

[0109] Fig.12 A layout of an RF circuit according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0110] Reference Fig.12 , the RF circuit 300 according to some embodiments may include a plurality of matching stages MN, a plurality of LNA blocks LNA, and a mixer. The matching network may be included in the amplifier stage according to the above-described embodiment. The plurality of LNA blocks LNA may correspond to the LNA included in the amplifier stage according to some embodiments above. The mixer may correspond to the mixer stage according to some embodiments above.

[0111] The first ground GND1 may be connected to at least one matching stage MN and / or at least one LNA block LNA, and the second ground GND2 may be connected to at least one matching stage MN and / or at least one LNA block LNA.

[0112] The (2-1)th switch SW2-1 and the (2-2)th switch SW2-2 may be connected to the first ground GND1, and the (1-1)th switch SW1-1 and the (1-2)th switch SW1-2 may be connected to the second ground GND2. Specifically, when viewed in the layout, the first ground GND1 and the second ground GND2 may cross or overlap each other and be connected to each of the aforementioned switches.

[0113] When the RF circuit 300 is grouped into the first stage S1 and the second stage S2 as shown in the figure, the (1-1)th switch SW1-1 and the (1-2)th switch SW1-2 included in the first stage S1 may be connected to the second ground GND2 included in the second stage S2, instead of the first ground GND1 included in the first stage S1. In addition, the (2-1)th switch SW2-1 and the (2-2)th switch SW2-2 included in the second stage S2 may be connected to the first ground GND1 included in the first stage S1, instead of the second ground GND2 included in the second stage S2. In this case, for example, when the first stage S1 operates to receive a desired signal, the (1-1)th switch SW1-1 and the (1-2)th switch SW1-2 may be turned off, and the (2-1)th switch SW2-1 and the (2-2)th switch SW2-2 may be turned on. Therefore, an interference signal reflected from the parasitic inductance of the first ground GND1 may be applied to the first stage S1.

[0114] Alternatively, for example, when the second stage S2 operates to receive a desired signal, the (2-1)th switch SW2-1 and the (2-2)th switch SW2-2 may be turned off, and the (1-1)th switch SW1-1 and the (1-2)th switch SW1-2 may be turned on. Therefore, an interference signal reflected from the parasitic inductance of the second ground GND2 may be applied to the second stage S2.

[0115] Fig.13 A wireless communication device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0116] Reference Fig.13 , the wireless communication device 400 may include a modem 410 , an RF integrated circuit (RFIC) 420 , a power amplifier 430 , a duplexer 440 , and an antenna 450 .

[0117] The modem 410 may include a digital processing circuit 411 , an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 413 , and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) 412 .

[0118] The modem 410 may process a baseband signal BB_T (including, for example, an I signal and a Q signal) containing information to be transmitted through the digital processing circuit 411 according to various communication schemes. The modem 410 may process a received baseband signal BB_R through the digital processing circuit 411 according to various communication schemes.

[0119] For example, the modem 410 may process a signal to be transmitted or received according to a communication scheme such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), wideband code multiple access (WCDMA), and high-speed packet access + (HSPA+). In addition, the modem 410 may process the baseband signal BB_T or BB_R according to various types of communication schemes, for example, various communication schemes to which a technique for modulating or demodulating the amplitude and frequency of the baseband signal BB_T or BB_R is applied.

[0120] The digital processing circuit 411 may perform various processing operations on the baseband signal in the digital domain. For example, the digital processing circuit 411 may perform an envelope extraction operation, a digital envelope signal generation operation, a crest factor reduction (CFR), a shaping function (SF), a digital predistortion (DPD), a delay correction operation, and the like. For example, the envelope extraction operation may extract the envelope of the baseband signal BB_T, and the digital envelope signal generation operation may generate a digital envelope signal based on the extracted envelope. The digital envelope signal may be used to determine the operating voltage of the power amplifier 430. The CFR may reduce the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of the communication signal (e.g., the baseband signal BB_T). The SF may transform the digital envelope signal to improve the efficiency and linearity of the power amplifier 430. The DPD may linearize the distortion of the power amplifier 430 by compensating for the distortion of the power amplifier 430 in the digital domain. In addition, the delay correction operation may correct the delay of the digital envelope signal or the baseband signal BB_T.

[0121] At least one ADC 413 and DAC 412 may be provided. The modem 410 may convert the baseband signal BB_T into an analog signal by using the DAC 412 to generate a transmission signal TX. In addition, the modem 410 may receive a reception signal RX as an analog signal from the RFIC 420. In addition, the modem 410 may digitally convert the reception signal RX by the ADC 413 provided therein, and extract the baseband signal BB_R as a digital signal. For example, the reception signal RX may be a differential signal including a positive signal and a negative signal.

[0122] RFIC 420 may generate an RF input signal RF_IN by performing frequency up-conversion on a transmission signal TX, or generate a reception signal RX by performing frequency down-conversion on an RF reception signal RF_R. For example, RFIC 420 may include a transmission circuit TXC for frequency up-conversion, a reception circuit RXC for frequency down-conversion, and a local oscillator LO.

[0123] In this case, the transmitting circuit TXC may include a first analog baseband filter ABF1, a first mixer MX1, and a driving amplifier 421. For example, the first analog baseband filter ABF1 may include a low pass filter.

[0124] The first analog baseband filter ABF1 may filter the transmission signal TX received from the modem 410 and provide the filtered signal to the first mixer MX1. In addition, the first mixer MX1 ​​may perform frequency up-conversion to convert the frequency of the transmission signal TX from the baseband to the high frequency band by the frequency signal provided by the local oscillator LO. Through the frequency up-conversion, the transmission signal TX may be provided to the driver amplifier 421 as the RF input signal RF_IN, and the driver amplifier 421 may mainly amplify the power of the RF input signal RF_IN and provide the power-amplified RF input signal RF_IN to the power amplifier 430.

[0125] The power amplifier 430 may be supplied with a DC voltage or a variable power supply voltage (eg, a dynamically variable output voltage), and based on the supplied power supply voltage, the power of the RF input signal RF_IN is amplified twice to generate an RF output signal RF_OUT. In addition, the power amplifier 430 may provide the generated RF output signal RF_OUT to the duplexer 440.

[0126] The receiving circuit RXC may include a second analog baseband filter ABF2, a transimpedance amplifier TIA, and an RF circuit 422. For example, the second analog baseband filter ABF2 may include a low-pass filter.

[0127] The RF circuit 422 may be implemented according to some of the above embodiments. For example, the RF circuit 422 may be implemented according to Figure 1 , Figure 5 , Fig.10 , Fig.11 and Fig.12 Some embodiments shown in the embodiment can be implemented, or can be implemented according to Figures 2 to 4 and Figures 6 to 8 to operate according to some of the embodiments shown in .

[0128] The RF circuit 422 may amplify the RF reception signal RF_R provided from the duplexer 440, and may perform frequency down-conversion to convert the frequency of the reception signal RF_R from a high frequency band to a baseband using a frequency signal provided by the local oscillator LO. Through the frequency down-conversion, the RF reception signal RF_R may be provided as a reception signal RX to the second analog baseband filter ABF2, and the second analog baseband filter ABF2 may filter the reception signal RX and provide the filtered reception signal RX to the modem 410.

[0129] As described above, according to some embodiments, the RF circuit 422 may include multiple ports, multiple amplifier stages, multiple switches, and a mixer stage, the multiple ports being used to internally receive a first RF signal to an Nth RF signal corresponding to an RF receive signal RF_R; multiple amplifier stages being connected to the multiple ports and a first ground to an Nth ground to amplify the first RF signal to the Nth RF signal; each of the multiple switches having a terminal connected to one of the multiple amplifier stages and a relative terminal connected to the remaining grounds except one of the first ground to the Nth ground; and the mixer stage being connected to the multiple amplifier stages to mix one of the first RF signal to the Nth RF signal with the LO signal and cancel the remaining RF signal.

[0130] Specifically, when mixing an RF signal with an LO signal, an RF component reflected from the ground associated with a remaining RF signal among RF components may be sent to the mixer stage due to some of the plurality of switches being turned on / off. The mixer stage may mix only the desired RF signal with the LO signal by canceling the reflected RF component and the remaining RF component.

[0131] The TIA may be connected to an output terminal of a mixer stage provided in the RF circuit 422 and configured to amplify a mixed signal output from the mixer stage. For example, the TIA may be connected to Figure 1 The output terminal of the mixer stage in the analog baseband filter ABF2 is connected to the output terminal of the mixer stage in the analog baseband filter ABF2, and amplifies the mixed signal output from the mixer stage. Afterwards, the second analog baseband filter ABF2 can filter the mixed signal and output a filtered received signal RX.

[0132] For reference, the wireless communication device 400 may transmit a transmission signal via multiple frequency bands by using a carrier aggregation (CA) technology. In addition, to achieve this, the wireless communication device 400 may include multiple power amplifiers 430, and the multiple power amplifiers 430 perform power amplification on multiple RF input signals RF_IN corresponding to multiple carriers, respectively. However, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, for ease of explanation, the case where only one power amplifier 430 exists is described as an example.

[0133] The duplexer 440 may be connected to the antenna 450 to separate the transmission frequency (or the radio frequency transmission signal) and the reception frequency (or the radio frequency reception signal). For example, the duplexer 440 may separate the RF output signal RF_OUT provided from the power amplifier 430 by frequency band and provide the RF output signal RF_OUT to the antenna 450. In addition, the duplexer 440 may provide an external signal received from the antenna 450 to an LNA included in the RF circuit 422 of the receiving circuit RXC of the RFIC 420. For example, the duplexer 440 may include a front end module (FEMiD) having an integrated duplexer.

[0134] For reference, the wireless communication device 400 may be provided with a switch structure that can separate the transmission frequency and the reception frequency instead of the duplexer 440. In addition, the wireless communication device 400 may be provided with a structure including the duplexer 440 and the switch to separate the transmission frequency and the reception frequency. However, for ease of explanation, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the wireless communication device 400 provided with the duplexer 440 that can separate the transmission frequency and the reception frequency is described as an example.

[0135] The antenna 450 may transmit the RF output signal RF_OUT frequency-separated by the duplexer 440 to the outside, or provide the RF reception signal RF_R received from the outside to the duplexer 440. For example, the antenna 450 may include an array antenna, but the embodiment is not limited thereto.

[0136] For reference, the modem 410, the RFIC 420, the power amplifier 430, and the duplexer 440 may be implemented as an IC, a chip, or a module separately. In addition, the modem 410, the RFIC 420, the power amplifier 430, and the duplexer 440 may be mounted together on a printed circuit board (PCB). However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and in some embodiments, at least some of the modem 410, the RFIC 420, the power amplifier 430, and the duplexer 440 may be implemented as a single communication chip.

[0137] also, Fig.13 The wireless communication device 400 shown in the figure may be included in a wireless communication system using a cellular network such as 5G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc., and may be included in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system or other wireless communication systems. For reference, Fig.13 The configuration of the wireless communication device 400 shown in FIG. 4 is merely an example and is not limited thereto, and may be configured in various ways according to a communication protocol or a communication scheme.

[0138] According to the above embodiment, the wireless communication device of the present disclosure can cancel the interference signal by setting the switch inside the RF circuit 422 included in the RFIC. Therefore, the wireless communication device can send only the required signal to the ADC 413. In addition, the wireless communication device can isolate the interference signal without setting an additional switch outside the RFIC (for example, the duplexer 440, etc.).

[0139] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above. The present disclosure may include not only the above-described embodiments but also various changes to the embodiments. Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the above-described embodiments.

Claims

1. A radio frequency circuit, comprising: A first port and a second port, the first port being configured to receive a first radio frequency signal, and the second port being configured to receive a second radio frequency signal; A first amplifier stage and a second amplifier stage are connected to the first port and the first ground, wherein the first amplifier stage and the second amplifier stage are configured to amplify the first radio frequency signal; A third amplifier stage and a fourth amplifier stage are connected to the second port and the second ground, wherein the third amplifier stage and the fourth amplifier stage are configured to amplify the second radio frequency signal; a first switch and a second switch, the first switch having a first terminal connected to the first amplifier stage and a second terminal connected to the second ground, the second switch having a first terminal connected to the second amplifier stage and a second terminal connected to the second ground; a third switch having a first terminal connected to the third amplifying stage and a second terminal connected to the first ground, and a fourth switch having a first terminal connected to the fourth amplifying stage and a second terminal connected to the first ground; and A mixer stage is connected to the first amplifier stage and the second amplifier stage and is configured to mix the first RF signal or the second RF signal with the local oscillator signal, and is connected to the third amplifier stage and the fourth amplifier stage and is configured to mix the first RF signal or the second RF signal with the local oscillator signal.

2. The radio frequency circuit according to claim 1, wherein: The first switch and the second switch are turned off, and the third switch and the fourth switch are turned on to mix the first radio frequency signal with the local oscillator signal, and The first switch and the second switch are turned on, and the third switch and the fourth switch are turned off, so as to mix the second radio frequency signal with the local oscillator signal.

3. The radio frequency circuit according to claim 2, wherein: When the third switch and the fourth switch are turned on, a second radio frequency component reflected from the first ground among second radio frequency components associated with the second radio frequency signal is transmitted to the mixer stage.

4. The radio frequency circuit according to claim 3, wherein: The mixer stage is configured to cancel the reflected second radio frequency component and the remaining second radio frequency component input through the third amplifier stage, and cancel the reflected second radio frequency component and the remaining second radio frequency component input through the fourth amplifier stage.

5. The radio frequency circuit according to claim 2, wherein: When the first switch and the second switch are turned on, a first radio frequency component reflected from the second ground among first radio frequency components associated with the first radio frequency signal is transmitted to the mixer stage.

6. The radio frequency circuit according to claim 5, wherein: The mixer stage is configured to cancel the reflected first radio frequency component and the remaining first radio frequency component input through the first amplifier stage, and to cancel the reflected first radio frequency component and the remaining first radio frequency component input through the second amplifier stage.

7. The radio frequency circuit according to claim 1, wherein: Each of the first amplifying stage, the second amplifying stage, the third amplifying stage, and the fourth amplifying stage includes a matching network and a low noise amplifier connected to the matching network.

8. The radio frequency circuit according to claim 1, further comprising: An oscillator is configured to provide a local oscillator signal to the mixer stage.

9. The radio frequency circuit according to claim 1, wherein: The mixer stage is connected to a first node corresponding to an output terminal of the first amplification stage, a second node corresponding to an output terminal of the second amplification stage, a third node corresponding to an output terminal of the third amplification stage, and a fourth node corresponding to an output terminal of the fourth amplification stage.

10. The radio frequency circuit according to claim 9, wherein: The first switch is connected to the first node and a fifth node connected to the second ground, and the second switch is connected to the second node and the fifth node.

11. The radio frequency circuit according to claim 10, wherein: The third switch is connected to the third node and a sixth node connected to the first ground, and the fourth switch is connected to the fourth node and the sixth node.

12. The radio frequency circuit according to claim 1, further comprising: A transimpedance amplifier is connected to the output terminal of the mixer stage to amplify the mixed signal output from the mixer stage.

13. A communication device, comprising: an antenna configured to send a radio frequency transmit signal or receive a radio frequency receive signal; a duplexer configured to separate a radio frequency transmit signal and a radio frequency receive signal; as well as a radio frequency circuit configured to mix one of the first radio frequency signal to the Nth radio frequency signal included in the radio frequency reception signal with a local oscillator signal, and cancel the remaining radio frequency signal of the first radio frequency signal to the Nth radio frequency signal that has not been mixed, Among them, the radio frequency circuit includes: A plurality of ports configured to receive a first radio frequency signal to an Nth radio frequency signal; a plurality of amplification stages connected to the plurality of ports and the first to Nth grounds to amplify the first to Nth radio frequency signals; a plurality of switches each having a first terminal connected to one of the plurality of amplification stages and a second terminal connected to one of the first to Nth grounds; and A mixer stage is connected to the plurality of amplifier stages to mix the one RF signal with a local oscillator signal and cancel the remaining RF signal.

14. The communication device according to claim 13, wherein: When the one radio frequency signal amplified by one of the plurality of amplifying stages is mixed, at least one switch among the plurality of switches connected to the one of the plurality of amplifying stages is turned off, and the remaining switches except the at least one turned off switch are turned on.

15. The communication device according to claim 13, further comprising: a transimpedance amplifier connected to the output terminal of the mixer stage to amplify the mixed signal output from the mixer stage; an analog baseband filter configured to filter the mixed signal and output a filtered received signal; as well as A modem is configured to process the filtered received signal.

16. The communication device according to claim 14, wherein: When the remaining switches are turned on, the radio frequency components reflected from the ground among the radio frequency components associated with the remaining radio frequency signals are sent to the mixer stage.

17. The communication device according to claim 16, wherein: The mixer stage is configured to cancel the reflected radio frequency component and the remaining radio frequency component input through the remaining amplifier stages among the plurality of amplifier stages, the remaining amplifier stages being amplifier stages that do not amplify the one radio frequency signal.

18. A radio frequency circuit, comprising: A plurality of ports configured to receive a first radio frequency signal to an Nth radio frequency signal; a plurality of amplification stages connected to the plurality of ports and the first to Nth grounds to amplify the first to Nth radio frequency signals; a plurality of switches, each having one terminal connected to one of the plurality of amplification stages and an opposite terminal connected to one of the first to Nth grounds; as well as A mixer stage is connected to the plurality of amplifier stages to mix one of the first to Nth RF signals with a local oscillator signal and cancel the remaining RF signal of the first to Nth RF signals that is not mixed.

19. The radio frequency circuit according to claim 18, wherein: When the one radio frequency signal amplified by one of the plurality of amplifying stages is mixed, at least one switch among the plurality of switches connected to the one of the plurality of amplifying stages is turned off, and the remaining switches except the at least one turned off switch are turned on.

20. The radio frequency circuit according to claim 19, wherein: When the remaining switch is turned on, the radio frequency component reflected from the ground among the radio frequency components associated with the remaining radio frequency signal is sent to the mixer stage, and The mixer stage is configured to cancel the reflected radio frequency component and the remaining radio frequency component input through the remaining amplifier stages among the plurality of amplifier stages, the remaining amplifier stages being amplifier stages that do not amplify the one radio frequency signal.

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