Radio frequency chip and radio frequency front-end module

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of radio frequency, in particular to a radio frequency chip and a radio frequency front-end module, and the radio frequency chip comprises a first metal layer; the first sealing ring is wound on the first metal layer and arranged around the edge of the radio frequency chip, a plurality of first openings are formed in the first sealing ring to divide the first sealing ring into multiple sections of metal wires, and the metal wires comprise first metal wires; a primary coil of the transformer, a secondary coil of the transformer and the coupling coil are mutually coupled, and one of the primary coil, the secondary coil and the coupling coil comprises a first metal wire. According to the invention, the utilization rate of the area of the chip is improved while the performance of the radio frequency chip is considered.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of radio frequency technology, and in particular to a radio frequency chip and a radio frequency front-end module. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of wireless communication technology, the performance requirements of RF front-end modules are increasing. In RF front-end modules, couplers and transformers are two independent components. The coupler is mainly used to realize signal coupling, such as coupling out the detection signal from the main signal transmission line. The transformer realizes functions such as balanced-unbalanced conversion and impedance matching of the signal through electromagnetic induction. In related technologies, in order to save the area occupied by the coupler, the coil of the transformer is reused as the main signal transmission line of the coupler. In order to improve performance, in certain specific application scenarios, the coupler and transformer need to be integrated on the chip, which takes up a large amount of chip area. The area on the chip is often limited, which will lead to low chip area utilization, thereby limiting the miniaturization development of RF front-end modules. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of the above problems, the embodiments of the present application provide a radio frequency chip and a radio frequency front-end module to solve the technical problem that the chip cannot take into account both performance and area utilization.

[0004] An embodiment of the present application provides a radio frequency chip, including:

[0005] a first metal layer;

[0006] A first sealing ring is wound on the first metal layer and is disposed around the edge of the RF chip. The first sealing ring is provided with a plurality of first openings to divide the first sealing ring into a plurality of metal wire segments, wherein the metal wires include first metal wires; and

[0007] A transformer and a coupling coil, wherein the primary coil of the transformer, the secondary coil of the transformer and the coupling coil are coupled to each other, and one of the primary coil, the secondary coil and the coupling coil comprises the first metal wire.

[0008] Optionally, the coupling coil includes the first metal wire.

[0009] Optionally, among the primary coil, the secondary coil and the coupling coil, the coil including the first metal wire is a first coil, and the remaining coils are second coils;

[0010] The first opening passes through the first sealing ring along a first direction parallel to the first metal layer, wherein at least one of the second coils includes a second metal wire wound around the first metal layer and arranged close to the first opening, the projection of the first opening on the first surface is located within the projection of the second metal wire on the first surface, and the first surface is perpendicular to the first direction.

[0011] Optionally, among the primary coil, the secondary coil and the coupling coil, the coil including the first metal wire is a first coil, and the remaining coils are second coils;

[0012] The second coil is provided with a second opening. The first coil further includes a connecting wire provided on the first metal layer. A first end of the connecting wire is connected to the first metal wire, and a second end of the connecting wire passes through the second opening and is connected to the first element.

[0013] Optionally, the first opening passes through the first sealing ring along a first direction parallel to the first metal layer, the second opening passes through the second coil along the first direction, the projection of the second opening on the first surface and the projection of the first opening on the first surface do not overlap, and the first surface is perpendicular to the first direction.

[0014] Optionally, the primary coil includes a first winding portion wound on the first metal layer, the secondary coil includes a second winding portion wound on the first metal layer, the coupling coil includes a third winding portion wound on the first metal layer, and one of the first winding portion, the second winding portion, and the third winding portion includes the first metal wire;

[0015] The RF chip includes multiple layers of the first metal layers stacked in sequence in the second direction, and the first winding portion, the second winding portion and the third winding portion are provided on each layer of the first metal layer. The first winding portion, the second winding portion and the third winding portion provided on the same first metal layer are coupled, the first winding portions located on different first metal layers are connected in parallel, the second winding portions located on different first metal layers are connected in parallel, and the third winding portions located on different first metal layers are connected in parallel.

[0016] Optionally, the primary coil is configured to be connected to a first element, the secondary coil is configured to be connected to a second element, and the coupling coil is configured to be connected to a third element;

[0017] The end portions of the first winding portion are arranged closer to the first element than to the second element and the third element, the end portions of the second winding portion are arranged closer to the second element than to the first element and the third element, and the end portions of the third winding portion are arranged closer to the third element than to the first element and the second element.

[0018] Optionally, the primary coil includes a first winding portion wound on the first metal layer, the secondary coil includes a second winding portion wound on the first metal layer, and the coupling coil includes a third winding portion wound on the first metal layer;

[0019] In which, the primary coil includes a plurality of first winding portions wound on the same first metal layer and arranged at intervals, the first winding portion arranged near the edge of the RF chip among the plurality of first winding portions includes the first metal wire, the second winding portion and the third winding portion are arranged between two adjacent first winding portions, and the two adjacent first winding portions are connected in series through a first connector; and / or, the secondary coil includes a plurality of second winding portions wound on the same first metal layer and arranged at intervals, the second winding portion arranged near the edge of the RF chip among the plurality of second winding portions includes the first metal wire, the first winding portion and the third winding portion are arranged between two adjacent second winding portions, and the two adjacent second winding portions are connected in series through a second connector; and / or, the coupling coil includes a plurality of third winding portions wound on the same first metal layer and arranged at intervals, the third winding portion arranged near the edge of the RF chip among the plurality of third winding portions includes the first metal wire, the first winding portion and the second winding portion are arranged between two adjacent third winding portions, and the two adjacent third winding portions are connected in series through a third connector.

[0020] Optionally, the radio frequency chip includes multiple first metal layers and a substrate arranged below the multiple first metal layers, and a metal layer in the multiple first metal layers that is arranged close to the substrate is a bottom metal layer;

[0021] The first sealing ring is arranged on the bottom metal layer.

[0022] Optionally, the radio frequency chip further includes:

[0023] a second metal layer stacked on the first metal layer in a second direction; and

[0024] The second sealing ring is wound on the second metal layer and is arranged around the edge of the radio frequency chip.

[0025] Optionally, the primary coil is configured to be connected to a power amplification unit, the power amplification unit includes a first amplification transistor provided on the first metal layer, a first end of the primary coil is configured to be connected to the first amplification transistor, and a second end of the primary coil is configured to be grounded;

[0026] The first end of the secondary coil is configured to be connected to the first circuit, and the second end of the secondary coil is configured to be grounded;

[0027] The first end of the coupling coil is configured to be connected to the input end of the second circuit, and the second end of the coupling coil is configured to be grounded.

[0028] Optionally, the primary coil is configured to be connected to a power amplification unit, the power amplification unit includes a second amplification transistor and a third amplification transistor, the second amplification transistor and the third amplification transistor are both provided on the first metal layer, the first end of the primary coil is configured to be connected to the second amplification transistor, and the second end of the primary coil is configured to be connected to the third amplification transistor;

[0029] The first end of the secondary coil is configured to be connected to the first circuit, and the second end of the secondary coil is configured to be grounded;

[0030] The first end of the coupling coil is configured to be connected to the second circuit, and the second end of the coupling coil is configured to be grounded.

[0031] Optionally, the transformer is configured to be connected to a power amplification unit, the power amplification unit including a first differential amplification circuit and a second differential amplification circuit, the first differential amplification circuit including a fourth amplification transistor and a fifth amplification transistor, the second differential amplification circuit including a sixth amplification transistor and a seventh amplification transistor, and the fourth amplification transistor, the fifth amplification transistor, the sixth amplification transistor, and the seventh amplification transistor are all provided in the first metal layer;

[0032] The transformer includes two primary coils and one secondary coil, both of the primary coils are coupled to the secondary coil, the two primary coils are respectively a first primary coil and a second primary coil, a first end of the first primary coil is configured to be connected to the fourth amplifying transistor, a second end of the first primary coil is configured to be connected to the fifth amplifying transistor, a first end of the second primary coil is configured to be connected to the sixth amplifying transistor, a second end of the second primary coil is configured to be connected to the seventh amplifying transistor, a first end of the secondary coil is configured to be connected to the first circuit, and a second end of the secondary coil is configured to be grounded;

[0033] The first end of the coupling coil is configured to be connected to the second circuit, and the second end of the coupling coil is configured to be grounded;

[0034] The first section of the multiple sections of metal wires includes the first metal wire, the second section of the multiple sections of metal wires includes the third metal wire, the first primary coil includes the first metal wire, the second primary coil includes the third metal wire, the secondary coil and the coupling coil are wound around the side of the first metal wire and the third metal wire away from the edge of the RF chip and are coupled to the first metal wire and the third metal wire respectively; or, the secondary coil includes the first metal wire, the first primary coil, the second primary coil and the coupling coil are all wound around the side of the first metal wire away from the edge of the RF chip and are coupled to the first metal wire respectively; or, the coupling coil includes the first metal wire, the first primary coil, the second primary coil and the secondary coil are all wound around the side of the first metal wire away from the edge of the RF chip and are coupled to the first metal wire respectively.

[0035] An embodiment of the present application provides a radio frequency front-end module, comprising the radio frequency chip provided by any of the above embodiments.

[0036] The RF chip and RF front-end module provided in the embodiments of the present application are provided with multiple first openings on the first sealing ring to divide the first sealing ring into multiple sections of metal wires, the multiple sections of metal wires include the first metal wire, and one of the mutually coupled primary coil, secondary coil and coupling coil includes the first metal wire. Through the above implementation, part of the structure of the first sealing ring, that is, the first metal wire, is reused as at least part of the structure of one of the multiple mutually coupled coils, so that the first metal wire not only has the function of waterproofing and vapor proofing, but can also be coupled with other coils to form a mutual inductance structure to achieve functions such as balanced-unbalanced conversion and signal coupling. Therefore, while meeting the waterproofing and vapor proofing requirements, the structural reuse of the first sealing ring is used to replace the coils that originally needed to be designed separately. There is no need to layout metal routing separately for each coil, saving chip area. While taking into account the performance of the RF chip, the chip area utilization is improved, which is more conducive to the miniaturization development of the RF front-end module.

[0037] These and other aspects of the present application will become more readily apparent from the description of the following embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of the radio frequency chip provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0039] Figure 2 A schematic structural diagram of the radio frequency chip provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0040] Figure 3 A schematic structural diagram of the radio frequency chip provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0041] Figure 4 A schematic structural diagram of the radio frequency chip provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0042] Figure 5 A schematic structural diagram of the radio frequency chip provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0043] Figure 6 A schematic structural diagram of the radio frequency chip provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0044] Figure 7 A schematic structural diagram of the radio frequency chip provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0045] Figure 8 A schematic structural diagram of the radio frequency chip provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0046] Figure 9 A schematic structural diagram of the radio frequency chip provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0047] Figure 10 A schematic structural diagram of the radio frequency chip provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0048] Figure 11 A schematic structural diagram of the radio frequency chip provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0049] Figure 12 A schematic structural diagram of the radio frequency chip provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0050] Figure 13 A schematic structural diagram of the radio frequency chip provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0051] Figure 14 A schematic structural diagram of the radio frequency chip provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0052] Figure 15 A schematic structural diagram of the radio frequency chip provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0053] Figure 16 A schematic structural diagram of the radio frequency chip provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0054] Figure 17 A schematic structural diagram of the radio frequency chip provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0055] Figure 18 A schematic structural diagram of the radio frequency chip provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0056] Figure 19A schematic structural diagram of the radio frequency chip provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0057] Figure 20 The figure shows a structural block diagram of the RF front-end module provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0058] The embodiments of the present application are described in detail below. Examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present application and are not to be construed as limiting the present application.

[0059] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the solutions of the present application, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0060] In the embodiments of the present application, it should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as first and second, etc., are merely used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations.

[0061] Moreover, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variations thereof are intended to encompass non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that includes a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. In the absence of further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising a ..." does not preclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes the element.

[0062] In the description of the embodiments of this application, words such as "example" or "for example" are used to indicate an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design described as "for example" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application is not to be construed as being preferred or having more advantages than another embodiment or design. The use of words such as "example" or "for example" is intended to clearly present relative concepts.

[0063] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, "plurality" refers to two or more. In view of this, in the embodiments of the present application, "plurality" can also be understood as "at least two". "At least one" can be understood as one or more, for example, one, two, or more. For example, "including at least one" means including one, two, or more, and does not limit which ones are included. For example, "including at least one of A, B, and C" means including A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A, B, and C.

[0064] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, "and / or" describes the association relationship between associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent three situations: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / ", unless otherwise specified, generally indicates that the associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0065] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, "connection" can be understood as electrical connection, and the connection between two electrical components can be a direct or indirect connection between the two electrical components. For example, the connection between A and B can be either a direct connection between A and B or an indirect connection between A and B through one or more other electrical components.

[0066] Please refer to Figures 1 to 3 An embodiment of the present application provides a radio frequency chip 100, comprising a first metal layer 110, a first sealing ring 120, a transformer 130, and a coupling coil 140. The first sealing ring 120 is wound on the first metal layer 110, and the first sealing ring 120 is arranged around the edge of the radio frequency chip 100. The first sealing ring 120 is provided with a plurality of first openings 121, and the plurality of first openings 121 divide the first sealing ring 120 into a plurality of metal wire segments, and the plurality of metal wire segments include a first metal wire 122. The primary coil 131 of the transformer 130, the secondary coil 132 of the transformer 130, and the coupling coil 140 are coupled to each other, and one of the primary coil 131, the secondary coil 132, and the coupling coil 140 includes the first metal wire 122.

[0067] In an embodiment of the present application, the first sealing ring 120 is wound on the first metal layer 110 and arranged around the edge of the RF chip 100, which can prevent water vapor from entering the RF chip 100. Part of the structure of the first sealing ring 120, namely the first metal wire 122, is reused as at least part of the structure of one of the multiple coils coupled to each other, so that the first metal wire 122 not only has the function of preventing water vapor, but can also be coupled with other coils to form a mutual inductance structure to achieve functions such as balanced-unbalanced conversion and signal coupling. Therefore, while meeting the water vapor requirement, the structural reuse of the first sealing ring replaces the coil that originally needed to be designed separately, and there is no need to layout metal routing separately for each coil, saving chip area. While taking into account the performance of the RF chip, the chip area utilization is improved, which is more conducive to the miniaturization development of the RF front-end module.

[0068] In some embodiments, see Figure 1 The coupling coil 140 includes a first metal wire 122. Since the coupling coil 140 relies solely on electromagnetic induction of the metal wire and does not rely on complex active circuits or power supplies, even if the coupling coil 140 comes into direct contact with water vapor, the water vapor will not adversely affect the function of the coupling coil 140.

[0069] It should be noted that, in other embodiments, Figure 2 The primary coil 131 of the transformer 130 is shown to include a first metal wire 122, or as Figure 3 Shown is a secondary winding 132 of the transformer 130 including the first metal wire 122 .

[0070] In some embodiments, see Figure 4 Among the primary coil, secondary coil, and coupling coil, the coil including the first metal wire 122 is the first coil 151, and the remaining coils are the second coils 152. The first opening 121 penetrates the first sealing ring 120 along a first direction, and the first direction is parallel to the first metal layer 110. At least one second coil 152 includes a second metal wire 1521, which is wound around the first metal layer 110. The second metal wire 1521 is arranged near the first opening 121, and the projection of the first opening 121 on the first surface is located within the projection of the second metal wire 1521 on the first surface, and the first surface is perpendicular to the first direction.

[0071] Because the first opening 121 penetrates the first sealing ring 120 along the first direction, in the absence of the second metal wire 1521, water vapor can enter the RF chip 100 along the first direction through the first opening 121. In this embodiment, the second metal wire 1521 is arranged close to the first opening 121 and can completely block the first opening 121 in the first direction, thereby effectively blocking the water vapor from penetrating along the first opening 121 into the interior of the RF chip 100. Therefore, even if the first sealing ring 120 is provided with the first opening 121, the overall water vapor resistance of the RF chip 100 can still be guaranteed.

[0072] As an example, please refer to Figure 5 The coupling coil 140 includes a first metal wire 122, so the coupling coil 140 is configured as a first coil 151, the primary coil 131 and the secondary coil 132 do not include the first metal wire 122, so the primary coil 131 and the secondary coil 132 are configured as a second coil 152, the first opening 121 penetrates the first sealing ring 120 along the first direction, the primary coil 131 includes a second metal wire 1521a, and the secondary coil 132 includes a second metal wire 1521b. The second metal wire 1521a and the second metal wire 1521b are arranged close to the first opening 121, and the projection of the first opening 121 on the first surface is located within the projection of the second metal wire 1521a on the first surface, and the projection of the first opening 121 on the first surface is located within the projection of the second metal wire 1521b on the first surface.

[0073] In this embodiment, both primary coil 131 and secondary coil 132 include a second metal wire that can shield first opening 121. This further reduces the risk of water vapor penetration compared to a single coil including a second metal wire. Furthermore, even if the second metal wire of one coil shifts or wears out due to process variations or long-term use, the second metal wire of the other coil can still shield first opening 121 from water vapor, thus avoiding the risk of water vapor penetration caused by a single shielding failure.

[0074] It should be noted that, in other embodiments, one of the second coils may include the second metal wire, that is, one of the primary coil and the secondary coil may include the second metal wire. This can be set according to actual conditions and will not be described in detail here.

[0075] As an implementation, please refer to Figure 6, a second opening 1522 is provided on the second coil 152, and the first coil 151 further includes a connecting wire 1511, which is provided on the first metal layer 110, and a first end of the connecting wire 1511 is connected to the first metal wire 122, and a second end of the connecting wire 1511 passes through the second opening 1522 to connect to the first element 210. As an example, the connecting wire 1511 can be a metal wire provided on the first metal layer 110, that is, the connecting wire 1511 is a routing wire of the first metal layer 110. Compared with the connecting wire being a bonding wire, the connecting wire 1511 is a routing wire of the first metal layer 110 and does not require cross-layer connection, which not only avoids the additional introduction of parasitic inductance and capacitance, making the RF signal transmission more stable, but also avoids the risk of wire breakage, and at the same time, the layout is more flexible.

[0076] In this embodiment, the connecting line 1511 can directly pass through the second opening 1522 of the second coil 152 to connect the first metal wire 122 and the first element 210. The second opening 1522 provides a direct passage path for the connecting line 1511, thereby shortening the length of the connecting line 1511 as much as possible, improving signal transmission efficiency, and making the RF chip layout more compact.

[0077] For some examples, see Figure 6 , the first opening 121 penetrates the first sealing ring 120 along the first direction, and the second opening 1522 penetrates the second coil 152 along the first direction. The projection of the second opening 1522 on the first surface does not overlap with the projection of the first opening 121 on the first surface, and the first surface is perpendicular to the first direction. In other words, the second opening 1522 and the first opening 121 are staggered in the first direction, so that water vapor cannot directly pass through the first opening 121 and the second opening 1522 along the first direction to enter the RF chip 100. Even if water vapor passes through the first opening 121 along the first direction, it still cannot enter the RF chip 100 due to the blocking effect of the second coil 152. Therefore, even if the RF chip 100 has the first opening 121 and the second opening 1522, the overall water vapor resistance of the RF chip can still be guaranteed.

[0078] In some embodiments, see Figure 7The primary coil 131 includes a first winding portion 1311 wound around the first metal layer 110, the secondary coil 132 includes a second winding portion 1321 wound around the first metal layer 110, and the coupling coil 140 includes a third winding portion 141 wound around the first metal layer 110. One of the first winding portion 1311, the second winding portion 1321, and the third winding portion 141 includes a first metal wire 122. The RF chip 100 includes multiple first metal layers 110, which are stacked sequentially in a second direction. By way of example, the second direction may be the thickness direction of the chip. A first winding portion 1311, a second winding portion 1321 and a third winding portion 141 are provided on each first metal layer 110. The first winding portion 1311, the second winding portion 1321 and the third winding portion 141 provided on the same first metal layer 110 are coupled, the first winding portions 1311 located in different first metal layers 110 are connected in parallel, the second winding portions 1321 located in different first metal layers 110 are connected in parallel, and the third winding portions 141 located in different first metal layers 110 are connected in parallel.

[0079] In this embodiment, each layer of the first metal layer 110 is provided with a first winding portion 1311, a second winding portion 1321 and a third winding portion 141, wherein the first winding portion 1311, the second winding portion 1321 and the third winding portion 141 arranged on the same layer are coupled with each other, the first winding portions 1311 of different layers are connected in parallel with each other, the second winding portions 1321 of different layers are connected in parallel with each other, and the third winding portions 141 of different layers are connected in parallel with each other, which effectively reduces the overall equivalent inductance, reduces the loss in RF signal transmission, and significantly improves the performance of the RF chip.

[0080] It should be noted that, in other embodiments, the first winding portions 1311 located on different metal layers can be connected in series. The equivalent inductance of the first winding portions 1311 connected in series is greater, and a larger impedance conversion ratio can be achieved. Similarly, the second winding portions 1321 located on different metal layers can also be connected in series, and the third winding portions 141 located on different metal layers can also be connected in series. This can be configured according to actual conditions and is not described in detail here.

[0081] As an example, please refer to Figure 7 In the first winding portion 1311, the second winding portion 1321, and the third winding portion 141, the first winding portion 1311 includes the first metal wire 122. In other embodiments, in the first winding portion, the second winding portion, and the third winding portion, either the second winding portion or the third winding portion may include the first metal wire. This can be configured based on actual conditions and is not described in detail here.

[0082] In some embodiments, see Figure 8The primary coil 131 is configured to be connected to the first element 210, the secondary coil 132 is configured to be connected to the second element 220, and the coupling coil 140 is configured to be connected to the third element 230. Both ends of the first winding portion 1311 are disposed closer to the first element 210 than to the second element 220 and the third element 230. Both ends of the second winding portion 1321 are disposed closer to the second element 220 than to the first element 210 and the third element 230. Both ends of the third winding portion 141 are disposed closer to the third element 230 than to the first element 210 and the second element 220.

[0083] In this embodiment, the end portions of the first winding portion 1311 are arranged closer to the first element 210 than the second element 220 and the third element 230, the end portions of the second winding portion 1321 are arranged closer to the second element 220 than the first element 210 and the third element 230, and the end portions of the third winding portion 141 are arranged closer to the third element 230 than the first element 210 and the second element 220, thereby shortening the signal transmission path from the primary coil 131 to the first element 210, the signal transmission path from the secondary coil 132 to the second element 220, and the signal transmission path from the coupling coil 140 to the second element 220, thereby reducing redundant wiring as much as possible, which not only reduces losses but also makes the RF chip layout more compact.

[0084] As an implementation, please refer to Figure 9 The first end of the primary coil 131 is connected to the first element 210a, the second end of the primary coil 131 is connected to the first element 210b, the first end of the secondary coil 132 is connected to the second element 220a, the second end of the secondary coil 132 is connected to the second element 220b, the first end of the coupling coil 140 is connected to the third element 230a, and the second end of the coupling coil 140 is connected to the third element 230b. Please refer to Figure 9 The first end of the first winding portion 1311 is closest to the first element 210a, the second end of the first winding portion 1311 is closest to the first element 210b, the first end of the second winding portion 1321 is closest to the second element 220a, the second end of the second winding portion 1321 is closest to the second element 220b, the first end of the third winding portion 141 is closest to the third element 230a, and the second end of the third winding portion 141 is closest to the third element 230b, thereby reducing redundant wiring as much as possible, which not only reduces losses but also makes the RF chip layout more compact.

[0085] In some embodiments, see Figure 10The primary coil 131 includes a plurality of first winding portions 1311, and the plurality of first winding portions 1311 are wound on the same first metal layer 110, and the plurality of first winding portions 1311 are arranged at intervals. Among the plurality of first winding portions 1311, the first winding portion 1311 arranged near the edge of the RF chip 100 includes a first metal wire 122, and the second winding portion 1321 and the third winding portion 141 are arranged between two adjacent first winding portions 1311, and the two adjacent first winding portions 1311 are connected in series through a first connector. As an example, the first connector can be arranged on the same first metal layer 110 as the first winding portion 1311. The first connector can be a metal trace. Alternatively, the first connector can include a first metal through-hole and a metal trace located in other metal layers. The first metal through-hole is used to connect the metal trace of other metal layers with the first winding portion 1311, and can be set according to actual conditions, which will not be elaborated here.

[0086] In this embodiment, the primary coil 131 includes multiple first winding sections 1311. These multiple first winding sections 1311 are arranged within the same first metal layer 110 and connected in series. This effectively increases the coil density per unit area and the inductance of the primary coil 131, thereby improving the chip's integration. Furthermore, the second winding section 1321 and the third winding section 141 are arranged between two adjacent first winding sections 1311. These second winding sections 1321 and the third winding section 141 can couple with the first winding sections 1311 on either side, improving coupling efficiency.

[0087] It should be noted that the first metal layer 110 in this embodiment does not refer to a specific metal layer, and can be any metal layer on the chip. The number of first metal layers 110 can be one or more.

[0088] In some embodiments, see Figure 11 The secondary coil 132 includes a plurality of second winding parts 1321, and the plurality of second winding parts 1321 are wound on the same first metal layer 110, and the plurality of second winding parts 1321 are arranged at intervals. Among the plurality of second winding parts 1321, the second winding part 1321 arranged near the edge of the RF chip 100 includes a first metal wire 122, and the first winding part 1311 and the third winding part 141 are arranged between two adjacent second winding parts 1321, and the two adjacent second winding parts 1321 are connected in series through a second connector. As an example, the second connector can be arranged on the same first metal layer 110 as the second winding part 1321. The second connector can be a metal trace. Alternatively, the second connector can include a second metal through-hole and a metal trace located in other metal layers. The second metal through-hole is used to connect the metal trace of other metal layers with the second winding part 1321, and can be set according to actual conditions, which will not be described here.

[0089] In this embodiment, the secondary coil 132 includes multiple second winding portions 1321. These multiple second winding portions 1321 are arranged within the same first metal layer 110 and connected in series. This effectively increases the coil density per unit area and the inductance of the secondary coil 132, thereby improving the chip's integration. Furthermore, the first winding portion 1311 and the third winding portion 141 are arranged between two adjacent second winding portions 1321. These first winding portions 1311 and third winding portions 141 can couple with the second winding portions 1321 on either side, improving coupling efficiency.

[0090] It should be noted that the first metal layer 110 in this embodiment does not refer to a specific metal layer, and can be any metal layer on the chip. The number of first metal layers 110 can be one or more.

[0091] In some embodiments, see Figure 12 , the coupling coil 140 includes a plurality of third winding parts 141, and the plurality of third winding parts 141 are wound on the same first metal layer 110, and the plurality of third winding parts 141 are arranged at intervals. Among the plurality of third winding parts 141, the third winding part 141 arranged near the edge of the RF chip 100 includes a first metal wire 122, and the first winding part 1311 and the second winding part 1321 are arranged between two adjacent third winding parts 141, and the two adjacent third winding parts 141 are connected in series through a third connector. As an example, the third connector can be arranged on the same first metal layer 110 as the third winding part 141. Among them, the third connector can be a metal trace. Alternatively, the third connector can include a third metal through-hole and a metal trace located in other metal layers, and the third metal through-hole is used to connect the metal traces of other metal layers with the third winding part 141, and can be set according to actual conditions, which will not be elaborated here.

[0092] In this embodiment, the coupling coil 140 includes multiple third winding sections 141. These sections are arranged within the same first metal layer 110 and connected in series. This effectively increases the coil density per unit area and the inductance of the coupling coil 140, thereby improving the chip's integration. Furthermore, the first winding section 1311 and the second winding section 1321 are arranged between two adjacent third winding sections 141. These first winding sections 1311 and the second winding section 1321 can couple with the third winding sections 141 on either side, improving coupling efficiency.

[0093] It should be noted that the first metal layer 110 in this embodiment does not refer to a specific metal layer, and can be any metal layer on the chip. The number of first metal layers 110 can be one or more.

[0094] In some embodiments, see Figure 13The RF chip 100 includes a substrate 160 and a multi-layer first metal layer 110. The substrate 160 is arranged below the multi-layer first metal layer 110. A metal layer in the multi-layer first metal layer 110 that is arranged close to the substrate 160 is the bottom metal layer 110a. The first sealing ring 120 is arranged on the bottom metal layer 110a.

[0095] In this embodiment, in the multi-layer first metal layer 110, a first sealing ring 120 is provided on at least the bottom metal layer 110a, which can effectively solve the problem that the bottom metal layer 110a is susceptible to water vapor corrosion. Moreover, it can also enhance the bonding strength between the bottom metal layer 110a and the substrate 160, thereby improving the stability of the RF chip 100 structure.

[0096] It should be noted that, in other embodiments, in addition to Figure 13 In addition to the first sealing ring 120 being provided on the bottom metal layer 110 a shown in the figure, the first sealing ring 120 may also be provided on other first metal layers 110 . The configuration may be based on actual conditions and will not be described in detail here.

[0097] In some embodiments, see Figure 14 The RF chip 100 also includes a second metal layer 170 and a second sealing ring 180. The second metal layer 170 and the first metal layer 110 are stacked in the second direction. The second sealing ring 180 is wound on the second metal layer 170, and the second sealing ring 180 is arranged around the edge of the RF chip 100.

[0098] In this embodiment, the RF chip 100 not only includes a first sealing ring 120 that can be reused as a primary coil or a secondary coil or a coupling coil, but the RF chip 100 also includes a second sealing ring 180 that is not reused as a coil. That is to say, only some of the multiple sealing rings of the RF chip 100 can be reused as coils, which can be set according to actual conditions and used more flexibly. It should be noted that in this embodiment, the sealing rings set on the same metal layer are defined as the same sealing ring, and the sealing rings set on different metal layers are defined as different sealing rings. Multiple sealing rings are respectively set on multiple different metal layers, and one of the sealing rings set on any one of the layers can be reused as a coil, or multiple sealing rings set on different metal layers can be reused as coils.

[0099] In some embodiments, the primary coil 131 is configured to be connected to the power amplification unit 300. The power amplification unit 300 is a single-ended architecture. The power amplification unit 300 includes a first amplification transistor 310. The first amplification transistor 310 is disposed on the first metal layer 110. Figure 15, the first end of the primary coil 131 is configured to be connected to the first amplifying transistor 310, and the second end of the primary coil 131 is configured to be grounded. The first end of the secondary coil 132 is configured to be connected to the first circuit 410, and the second end of the secondary coil 132 is configured to be grounded. The first end of the coupling coil 140 is configured to be connected to the input end of the second circuit 420, and the second end of the coupling coil 140 is configured to be grounded. As an example, the above-mentioned transistors can be metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) field effect transistors or bipolar junction transistors (bipolar junction transistor, BJT) or heterojunction bipolar transistors (Heterojunction bipolar transistor, HBT). The first circuit 410 can be an impedance matching circuit, and the second circuit 420 can be a power detection circuit.

[0100] In some embodiments, the primary coil 131 is configured to be connected to the power amplification unit 300, which is a differential architecture. Figure 16 The power amplification unit 300 includes a second amplifying transistor 320 and a third amplifying transistor 330, both of which are disposed on the first metal layer 110. The first end of the primary coil 131 is configured to be connected to the second amplifying transistor 320, and the second end of the primary coil 131 is configured to be connected to the third amplifying transistor 330. The first end of the secondary coil 132 is configured to be connected to the first circuit 410, and the second end of the secondary coil 132 is configured to be grounded. The first end of the coupling coil 140 is configured to be connected to the second circuit 420, and the second end of the coupling coil 140 is configured to be grounded. As an example, the above-mentioned transistors may be metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) field effect transistors, bipolar junction transistors (BJTs), or heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs). The first circuit 410 may be an impedance matching circuit, and the second circuit 420 may be a power detection circuit.

[0101] In some embodiments, the transformer is configured to be connected to a power amplifier unit, and the power amplifier unit is a dual differential architecture. Figures 17 to 19The power amplification unit includes a first differential amplification circuit 300a and a second differential amplification circuit 300b. The first differential amplification circuit 300a includes a fourth amplification transistor 340 and a fifth amplification transistor 350. The second differential amplification circuit 300b includes a sixth amplification transistor 360 and a seventh amplification transistor 370. The fourth amplification transistor 340, the fifth amplification transistor 350, the sixth amplification transistor 360, and the seventh amplification transistor 370 are all disposed on the first metal layer 110. By way of example, the above-mentioned transistors may be metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) field effect transistors, bipolar junction transistors (BJTs), or heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs). The transformer includes two primary coils and a secondary coil 132. Both primary coils are coupled to the secondary coil 132. The two primary coils are a first primary coil 131a and a second primary coil 131b. The first end of the first primary coil 131a is connected to the fourth amplifying transistor 340, the second end of the first primary coil 131a is connected to the fifth amplifying transistor 350, the first end of the second primary coil 131b is connected to the sixth amplifying transistor 360, and the second end of the second primary coil 131b is connected to the seventh amplifying transistor 370. The first end of the secondary coil 132 is connected to the first circuit 410, and the second end of the secondary coil 132 is grounded. As an example, the first circuit 410 can be an impedance matching circuit. The first end of the coupling coil 140 is connected to the second circuit 420, and the second end of the coupling coil 140 is grounded. As an example, the second circuit 420 can be a power detection circuit.

[0102] The power amplification unit in this embodiment may be any type of power amplification circuit, such as single-ended, differential, Doherty, or double differential. This embodiment does not specifically limit the type of the power amplification unit.

[0103] As an implementation, please refer to Figure 17 The first metal wire segment among the multiple metal wire segments includes the first metal wire 122, the second metal wire segment among the multiple metal wire segments includes the third metal wire 123, the first primary coil 131a includes the first metal wire 122, the second primary coil 131b includes the third metal wire 123, the secondary coil 132 and the coupling coil 140 are wound around the side of the first metal wire 122 and the third metal wire 123 away from the edge of the RF chip 100 and are coupled to the first metal wire 122 and the third metal wire 123 respectively.

[0104] As an implementation, please refer to Figure 18The secondary coil 132 includes a first metal wire 122 , and the first primary coil 131 a , the second primary coil 131 b and the coupling coil 140 are all wound around a side of the first metal wire 122 away from the edge of the RF chip 100 and are coupled to the first metal wire 122 respectively.

[0105] As an implementation, please refer to Figure 19 The coupling coil 140 includes a first metal wire 122 , and the first primary coil 131 a , the second primary coil 131 b and the secondary coil 132 are all wound around a side of the first metal wire 122 away from an edge of the RF chip 100 and are coupled to the first metal wire 122 respectively.

[0106] The embodiment of the present application provides a radio frequency front-end module 1000, including the radio frequency chip 100 provided in any of the above embodiments, please refer to Figure 20 .

[0107] In an embodiment of the present application, the first sealing ring 120 is wound on the first metal layer 110 and arranged around the edge of the RF chip 100, which can prevent water vapor from entering the RF chip 100. Part of the structure of the first sealing ring 120, namely the first metal wire 122, is reused as at least part of the structure of one of the multiple coils coupled to each other, so that the first metal wire 122 not only has the function of preventing water vapor, but can also be coupled with other coils to form a mutual inductance structure to achieve functions such as balanced-unbalanced conversion and signal coupling. Therefore, while meeting the water vapor requirement, the structural reuse of the first sealing ring replaces the coil that originally needed to be designed separately, and there is no need to layout metal routing separately for each coil, saving chip area. While taking into account the performance of the RF chip, the chip area utilization is improved, which is more conducive to the miniaturization development of the RF front-end module.

[0108] The above is only an implementation method of the present application. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this field, improvements can be made without departing from the creative concept of the present application, but these all fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A radio frequency chip, characterized in that: include: a first metal layer; A first sealing ring is wound on the first metal layer and is disposed around the edge of the RF chip. The first sealing ring is provided with a plurality of first openings to divide the first sealing ring into a plurality of metal wire segments, wherein the metal wires include first metal wires; and A transformer and a coupling coil, wherein the primary coil of the transformer, the secondary coil of the transformer and the coupling coil are coupled to each other, and one of the primary coil, the secondary coil and the coupling coil comprises the first metal wire.

2. The radio frequency chip according to claim 1, wherein: The coupling coil includes the first metal wire.

3. The radio frequency chip according to claim 1, wherein: Among the primary coil, the secondary coil, and the coupling coil, the coil including the first metal wire is a first coil, and the remaining coils are second coils; The first opening passes through the first sealing ring along a first direction parallel to the first metal layer, wherein at least one of the second coils includes a second metal wire wound around the first metal layer and arranged close to the first opening, the projection of the first opening on the first surface is located within the projection of the second metal wire on the first surface, and the first surface is perpendicular to the first direction.

4. The radio frequency chip according to claim 1, wherein: Among the primary coil, the secondary coil, and the coupling coil, the coil including the first metal wire is a first coil, and the remaining coils are second coils; The second coil is provided with a second opening. The first coil further includes a connecting wire provided on the first metal layer. A first end of the connecting wire is connected to the first metal wire, and a second end of the connecting wire passes through the second opening and is connected to the first element.

5. The radio frequency chip according to claim 4, wherein: The first opening passes through the first sealing ring along a first direction parallel to the first metal layer, the second opening passes through the second coil along the first direction, the projection of the second opening on the first surface and the projection of the first opening on the first surface do not overlap, and the first surface is perpendicular to the first direction.

6. The radio frequency chip according to claim 1, wherein: The primary coil includes a first winding portion wound on the first metal layer, the secondary coil includes a second winding portion wound on the first metal layer, the coupling coil includes a third winding portion wound on the first metal layer, and one of the first winding portion, the second winding portion, and the third winding portion includes the first metal wire; The RF chip includes multiple layers of the first metal layers stacked in sequence in the second direction, and the first winding portion, the second winding portion and the third winding portion are provided on each layer of the first metal layer. The first winding portion, the second winding portion and the third winding portion provided on the same first metal layer are coupled, the first winding portions located in different first metal layers are connected in parallel, the second winding portions located in different first metal layers are connected in parallel, and the third winding portions located in different first metal layers are connected in parallel.

7. The radio frequency chip according to claim 6, wherein: The primary coil is configured to be connected to a first element, the secondary coil is configured to be connected to a second element, and the coupling coil is configured to be connected to a third element; The end portions of the first winding portion are arranged closer to the first element than to the second element and the third element, the end portions of the second winding portion are arranged closer to the second element than to the first element and the third element, and the end portions of the third winding portion are arranged closer to the third element than to the first element and the second element.

8. The radio frequency chip according to claim 1, wherein: The primary coil includes a first winding portion wound on the first metal layer, the secondary coil includes a second winding portion wound on the first metal layer, and the coupling coil includes a third winding portion wound on the first metal layer; In which, the primary coil includes a plurality of first winding portions wound on the same first metal layer and arranged at intervals, the first winding portion arranged near the edge of the RF chip among the plurality of first winding portions includes the first metal wire, the second winding portion and the third winding portion are arranged between two adjacent first winding portions, and the two adjacent first winding portions are connected in series through a first connector; and / or, the secondary coil includes a plurality of second winding portions wound on the same first metal layer and arranged at intervals, the second winding portion arranged near the edge of the RF chip among the plurality of second winding portions includes the first metal wire, the first winding portion and the third winding portion are arranged between two adjacent second winding portions, and the two adjacent second winding portions are connected in series through a second connector; and / or, the coupling coil includes a plurality of third winding portions wound on the same first metal layer and arranged at intervals, the third winding portion arranged near the edge of the RF chip among the plurality of third winding portions includes the first metal wire, the first winding portion and the second winding portion are arranged between two adjacent third winding portions, and the two adjacent third winding portions are connected in series through a third connector.

9. The radio frequency chip according to claim 1, wherein: The radio frequency chip includes multiple first metal layers and a substrate arranged below the multiple first metal layers, wherein a metal layer arranged close to the substrate in the multiple first metal layers is a bottom metal layer; The first sealing ring is arranged on the bottom metal layer.

10. The radio frequency chip according to claim 1, wherein: The radio frequency chip further includes: a second metal layer stacked on the first metal layer in a second direction; and The second sealing ring is wound on the second metal layer and is arranged around the edge of the radio frequency chip.

11. The radio frequency chip according to claim 1, wherein: The primary coil is configured to be connected to a power amplifying unit, the power amplifying unit includes a first amplifying transistor provided on the first metal layer, a first end of the primary coil is configured to be connected to the first amplifying transistor, and a second end of the primary coil is configured to be grounded; The first end of the secondary coil is configured to be connected to the first circuit, and the second end of the secondary coil is configured to be grounded; The first end of the coupling coil is configured to be connected to the input end of the second circuit, and the second end of the coupling coil is configured to be grounded.

12. The radio frequency chip according to claim 1, wherein: The primary coil is configured to be connected to a power amplifying unit, the power amplifying unit includes a second amplifying transistor and a third amplifying transistor, the second amplifying transistor and the third amplifying transistor are both provided on the first metal layer, a first end of the primary coil is configured to be connected to the second amplifying transistor, and a second end of the primary coil is configured to be connected to the third amplifying transistor; The first end of the secondary coil is configured to be connected to the first circuit, and the second end of the secondary coil is configured to be grounded; The first end of the coupling coil is configured to be connected to the second circuit, and the second end of the coupling coil is configured to be grounded.

13. The radio frequency chip according to claim 1, wherein: The transformer is configured to be connected to a power amplification unit, the power amplification unit including a first differential amplification circuit and a second differential amplification circuit, the first differential amplification circuit including a fourth amplification transistor and a fifth amplification transistor, the second differential amplification circuit including a sixth amplification transistor and a seventh amplification transistor, the fourth amplification transistor, the fifth amplification transistor, the sixth amplification transistor, and the seventh amplification transistor are all provided on the first metal layer; The transformer includes two primary coils and one secondary coil, both of the primary coils are coupled to the secondary coil, the two primary coils are respectively a first primary coil and a second primary coil, a first end of the first primary coil is configured to be connected to the fourth amplifying transistor, a second end of the first primary coil is configured to be connected to the fifth amplifying transistor, a first end of the second primary coil is configured to be connected to the sixth amplifying transistor, a second end of the second primary coil is configured to be connected to the seventh amplifying transistor, a first end of the secondary coil is configured to be connected to the first circuit, and a second end of the secondary coil is configured to be grounded; The first end of the coupling coil is configured to be connected to the second circuit, and the second end of the coupling coil is configured to be grounded; The first section of the multiple sections of metal wires includes the first metal wire, the second section of the multiple sections of metal wires includes the third metal wire, the first primary coil includes the first metal wire, the second primary coil includes the third metal wire, the secondary coil and the coupling coil are wound around the side of the first metal wire and the third metal wire away from the edge of the RF chip and are coupled to the first metal wire and the third metal wire respectively; or, the secondary coil includes the first metal wire, the first primary coil, the second primary coil and the coupling coil are all wound around the side of the first metal wire away from the edge of the RF chip and are coupled to the first metal wire respectively; or, the coupling coil includes the first metal wire, the first primary coil, the second primary coil and the secondary coil are all wound around the side of the first metal wire away from the edge of the RF chip and are coupled to the first metal wire respectively.

14. A radio frequency front-end module, characterized in that: Comprising the radio frequency chip according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

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