Radio frequency front-end module and electronic product

Abstract

The utility model discloses a radio frequency front-end module and an electronic product. The radio frequency front-end module can comprise a 3D stacked and packaged substrate and an embedded unit circuit, wherein the embedded unit circuit can comprise a control circuit, a power supply circuit and a radio frequency circuit; the radio frequency circuit can comprise a plurality of groups of same low-noise amplifier circuits and a group of radio frequency switches electrically connected with the plurality of groups of low-noise amplifier circuits; wherein the plurality of groups of low noise amplifier circuits can receive input signals without distinguishing frequency bands, and the radio frequency switch can provide a common output of the input signals. Compared with the prior art, the design of the broadband low-noise amplification circuit is adopted, all inputs do not need to distinguish low-frequency, intermediate-frequency and high-frequency bands, input and output can be configured in any channel, and the flexibility is high.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of wireless communications, and in particular to a radio frequency front-end module composed of a broadband, multi-frequency, multi-mode LNA integrated module with the same receiving path, and an electronic product having the radio frequency front-end module. Background Art

[0002] With the iterative update of communication technology and the advent of the era of the Internet of Everything, RF front-end chips have ushered in huge development opportunities. At present, RF front-end modules use different integration methods (for example, LFEM, DiFEM, L_DiFEM, etc.) to meet the requirements of wireless communication signals for gain, receiving sensitivity, linearity and other indicators, improve integration and miniaturize the volume. Among them, L_DiFEM has the highest integration in the RF front-end receiving module. Due to the requirements of 5G RF circuits for EN-DC / CA / MIMO, the built-in gain of the platform cannot meet the requirements of receiving sensitivity, and multiple frequency bands such as HB / MB / LB need to be plugged in. Therefore, LNA Bank integrated with multiple different frequency bands LNA + switches, and L_DiFEM modules integrated with RF switches and filters have been widely used and become key core products in RF front-end module chips. The LNABank in an existing L_DiFEM module is composed of five groups of receiving channels of LNAs of different frequency bands (HB / MB / LB), and five output ports corresponding to the receiving channels of specific frequency bands. This means that the connection between the front and rear stages of the LNA Bank needs to be frequency-band-specific, making routing difficult in the L_DiFEM module, resulting in low flexibility and poor channel consistency.

[0003] As the requirements of 5G communication systems for RF front-end modules continue to increase, while maintaining high performance, the cascading between modules must also take into account high flexibility. For existing L_DiFEM modules, they cannot be compatible with the performance and flexibility requirements of modern communication systems at the same time. Utility Model Content

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the embodiments of the present application is how to improve the performance and flexibility of the RF front-end module.

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, the present application discloses a radio frequency front-end module and an electronic product having the same. The radio frequency circuit of the radio frequency front-end module does not distinguish between frequency bands for receiving input signals and has flexible output options. It is possible to improve flexibility while ensuring performance.

[0006] On the one hand, the present application provides a radio frequency front-end module. The radio frequency front-end module may include: a substrate with 3D stacked packaging and buried unit circuits; wherein, the buried unit circuits may include a control circuit, a power supply circuit, and a radio frequency circuit; the radio frequency circuit may include multiple groups of identical low-noise amplifier circuits, and a group of radio frequency switches electrically connected to the multiple groups of low-noise amplifier circuits; wherein, the multiple groups of low-noise amplifier circuits may receive input signals without distinguishing frequency bands, and the radio frequency switches may provide a common output of the input signals.

[0007] According to some embodiments of the present application, the control circuit may be constructed based on the MIPI protocol and have multiple USID addresses.

[0008] According to some embodiments of the present application, the power supply circuit may be composed of a reference current source and be controlled by the control circuit.

[0009] According to some embodiments of the present application, the low-noise amplifier circuit may include multiple groups of bias circuits, radio frequency amplifiers, and radio frequency input / output ports; the bias circuit may include a sampling circuit and a voltage control circuit.

[0010] According to some embodiments of the present application, the sampling circuit may include a first sampling FET (26), a second sampling FET (27), a third sampling FET (28), a bias power input terminal (36), a reference current source input terminal (37), a power supply VG3 input terminal (24), and a first power supply VG2 input terminal (25). The drain, gate, and source of the second sampling FET (27) may be respectively coupled to the bias power input terminal (36), the first power supply VG2 input terminal (25), and the power supply reference ground.

[0011] According to some embodiments of the present application, the voltage control circuit may include an FET (38). The drain, gate of the FET (38) are coupled to the bias power input terminal (36) and the reference current source input terminal (37), and the source of the FET (38) may be coupled to the gate of the third sampling FET (28).

[0012] According to some embodiments of the present application, the radio frequency amplifier may include a first radio frequency FET (17), a second radio frequency FET (18), a third radio frequency FET (23), a feedback circuit, an output impedance transformation circuit, and a radio frequency input node (5); the gate of the radio frequency FET (23) may be coupled to the radio frequency input node (5) and the gate of the third sampling FET (28), the gate of the second radio frequency FET (18) may be coupled to a second power supply VG2 input terminal (16), and the source of the third radio frequency FET (23) is grounded.

[0013] According to some embodiments of the present application, the feedback circuit may include a resistor (34) and a capacitor (35), as well as a first channel selection switch (29), a second channel selection switch (30), a third channel selection switch (31), a fourth channel selection switch (32), and a fifth channel selection switch (33); the output impedance transformation circuit may include a coupled transmission line impedance converter (44), a power supply VCC input terminal (45), and a radio frequency output node (47).

[0014] According to some embodiments of the present application, the radio frequency switch may include an SP5T switch.

[0015] Another aspect of the present application provides an electronic product, which may include the radio frequency front-end module as described above.

[0016] In the radio frequency front-end module disclosed in the present application, the LNA Bank has a wideband, so its receiving path can not distinguish different frequency bands, and it does not need to have an output port corresponding to the receiving path of a specific frequency band. Due to its wideband performance without frequency band distinction, the input and output can be flexibly selected, which improves the flexibility of the entire module while taking into account the performance. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The present application will be further described by way of exemplary embodiments, which will be described in detail through the drawings. These embodiments are not restrictive. In these embodiments, the same numbers represent the same structures, where:

[0018] Figure 1 is an exemplary structural schematic diagram of a radio frequency front-end module shown in some embodiments of the present application;

[0019] Figure 2 is an exemplary circuit structure diagram of a low-noise amplifier circuit shown in some embodiments of the present application;

[0020] Figure 3 is an example functional block diagram of a low-noise amplifier circuit combined with a radio frequency switch shown in some embodiments of the present application;

[0021] Figure 4 shows a functional block diagram of a low-noise amplifier circuit combined with a radio frequency switch in a radio frequency front-end module in the prior art;

[0022] Figure 5 is an exemplary functional block diagram of a radio frequency front-end module shown in some embodiments of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0023] To make the above objects, features, and advantages of the present application more apparent and understandable, the following provides a detailed description of the specific embodiments of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings. A lot of specific details are set forth in the following description to facilitate a full understanding of the present application. However, the present application can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar improvements without departing from the spirit of the present application. Therefore, the present application is not limited by the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0024] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used in the present application have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the technical field to which the present application belongs. The terms used in the description of the present application in this specification are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present application. The term "and / or" used in the present application includes any and all combinations of one or more of the related listed items.

[0025] Some embodiments of the present application are described below. It should be noted that the following description is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to limit the protection scope of the present application.

[0026] Figure 1 is an exemplary structural schematic diagram of a radio frequency front-end module shown in some embodiments of the present application. As Figure 1 shown, the radio frequency front-end module 100 may include a 3D stacked package substrate and an embedded unit circuit embedded in the substrate. Exemplarily, a first redistribution layer 110 can be formed by wiring on the substrate. Subsequently, encapsulation is performed to obtain an encapsulation layer on top of the first redistribution layer 110. Continuing to perform wiring on top of the encapsulation layer can obtain a second redistribution layer 120. The encapsulation layer can be processed such as punching to form conductive vias connecting the first redistribution layer 110 and the second redistribution layer 120. The second redistribution layer 120 can be continuously encapsulated, and circuit patterning can be performed on the encapsulation layer to obtain the embedded unit circuit 130. Alternatively, an additional substrate can be provided on top of the second redistribution layer 120, and circuit patterning can be performed on the additional substrate to obtain the embedded unit circuit 130. Among them, the first redistribution layer 110 and the second redistribution layer 120 can be electrically connected through copper pillars 140. Similarly, the embedded unit circuit 130 can also be electrically connected to the second redistribution layer 120 through copper pillars 150 or directly by electroplating.

[0027] The embedded unit circuit 130 may include a control circuit, a power supply circuit, and a radio frequency circuit. The control circuit may be a MIPI control circuit built based on the MIPI protocol (e.g., MIPI 3.0). The control circuit may control the on / off of each input / output and the selection of the gain level. In some examples, the control circuit may have multiple USID addresses, for example, two USID addresses. The USID addresses can be flexibly used and distinguished for multiple LNA Banks integrated on the main board.

[0028] The power supply circuit may be composed of a reference current source. The reference current source may receive the control of the control circuit to accurately provide the current required for each gain level.

[0029] The radio frequency circuit may include multiple identical groups of low-noise amplifier circuits, and a group of radio frequency switches electrically connected to the multiple groups of low-noise amplifier circuits. Among them, a group of low-noise amplifier circuits may be referred to as an LNA Bank. Refer to Figure 2 , Figure 2 is an exemplary circuit structure diagram of a group of low-noise amplifier circuits shown in some embodiments of the present application. As Figure 2As shown, the low-noise amplifier circuit 200 has five inputs. Since the five inputs are the same, one path is taken as an example for illustration in this application. Each path includes a bias circuit, a radio-frequency amplifier, and a radio-frequency input / output port. The bias circuit may include a sampling circuit and a voltage control circuit. The sampling circuit may include a first sampling FET (26), a second sampling FET (27), a third sampling FET (28), a bias power input terminal (36), a reference current source input terminal (37), a power supply VG3 input terminal (24), and a first power supply VG2 input terminal (25). The drain, gate, and source of the second sampling FET (27) may be coupled to the bias power input terminal (36), the first power supply VG2 input terminal (25), and the power supply reference ground, respectively. The voltage control circuit includes an FET (38). The drain and gate of the FET (38) may be coupled to the bias power input terminal (36) and the reference current source input terminal (37), and the source of the FET (38) may be coupled to the gate of the third sampling FET (28). The radio-frequency amplifier may include a first radio-frequency FET (17), a second radio-frequency FET (18), a third radio-frequency FET (23), a feedback circuit, an output impedance transformation circuit, and a radio-frequency input node (5). The gate of the third radio-frequency FET (23) may be coupled to the radio-frequency input node (5) and the gate of the third sampling FET (28). The gate of the second radio-frequency FET (18) may be coupled to a second power supply VG2 input terminal (16). The source of the third radio-frequency FET (23) may be grounded. The feedback circuit may include a resistor (34) and a capacitor (35), as well as a first channel selection switch (29), a second channel selection switch (30), a third channel selection switch (31), a fourth channel selection switch (32), and a fifth channel selection switch (33). The output impedance transformation circuit may include a coupled transmission line impedance transformer (44), a power supply VCC input terminal (45), and a radio-frequency output node (47).

[0030] The low-noise amplifier circuit disclosed in the present application, when the drain current of the third RF FET (23) changes, is fed back to the gate of the third sampling FET (28) through its gate, causing the current of the third sampling FET (28) to change, and thus feeding back to the FET (38). The FET (38) feeds back the change to the gate of the sampling third FET (28) and the gate of the third RF FET (23) to control the current of the third RF FET (23) and achieve the stability of the static operating point current. The resistor (34) and capacitor (35) feed back the drain RF signal of the third RF FET (23) to its gate to form negative feedback, increase the bandwidth, and achieve a broadband LNA (600M - 2.7GHz) including HB / MB / LB, while improving the input and output impedances. Although the gain of the amplifier will be reduced, the third RF FET (23) and the second RF (18) implement a cascade FET, which will increase the gain and make up for the deficiency. In addition, the coupled transmission line impedance converter (44) can be replaced with a coupled transmission line impedance converter of a different operating frequency band, and the operating frequency band of the low-noise amplifier can be switched to the required frequency band. Due to the broadband of the low-noise amplifier circuit, there is no need to distinguish the received input signals by frequency band. That is, each low-noise amplifier circuit can receive inputs of high frequency / medium frequency / low frequency (HB / MB / LB) without the need for a specific input path. This will simplify the circuit design.

[0031] The input of the RF switch can receive the outputs of multiple low-noise amplifier circuits. That is, the outputs of all low-noise amplifiers will be input to the same RF switch. For example, assuming there are 5 low-noise amplifier circuits, the RF switch can have five RF input ports. At the same time, the RF switch can also have multiple RF output ports, for example, five. The RF signal entering from a certain port can be input to the next stage through any one of the RF output ports. In some examples, the RF switch can be an SP5T switch. The SP5T switch has high isolation and low insertion loss throughout the bandwidth (600M - 2.7GHz), which can avoid the mutual interference between signals of different frequency bands and achieve high channel consistency.

[0032] Reference Figure 3 and Figure 4 Further description is made on the low-noise amplifier circuit of the RF front-end module disclosed in the present application. Figure 3 is an exemplary functional block diagram of a low-noise amplifier circuit combined with an RF switch according to some embodiments of the present application, Figure 4 while showing the functional block diagram of a low-noise amplifier circuit combined with an RF switch in the prior art RF front-end module. As Figure 3As shown, five examples of LNABank (LNA0 - LNA4) are given, and each LNABank has five identical receiving ports (IN0 - IN4). In this way, twenty - five identical receiving ports are output to a radio - frequency switch (Output 5×5MUX) through five low - noise amplifiers and then selected for output from five radio - frequency ports (RFOUT_LNA0 - RFOUT_LNA4). And as Figure 4 shown in the existing LNABank, LB has only one direct radio - frequency path (transmitting from LB0_IN0 - LB0_IN4 to LB0 and then directly outputting as REOUT_LB0), and radio - frequency signals in other frequency bands (including the MHB band, MB band, and HB band) cannot share the radio - frequency output with the LB signal.

[0033] Continue to refer to Figure 5 for further illustration of the operation of the radio - frequency front - end module. Figure 5 is an example functional block diagram of the radio - frequency front - end module shown in some embodiments of the present application. As Figure 5 shown, when the radio - frequency front - end module receives an antenna signal (input by LNA(01)), it performs carrier aggregation on three frequency bands, B3, B7, and B66, and outputs signals of three different frequency bands to the subsequent LNA Bank. The five groups of LNAs in the LNA Bank in the example are all broadband and do not distinguish between the LB, MB, and HB frequency bands. Even if the signals coming from the previous stage belong to different frequency bands, they can be connected to the subsequent stage with the shortest trace. When the signal enters the LNA circuit, as Figure 2 shown, it is amplified through a radio - frequency FET transistor, a feedback circuit, and an output impedance transformation circuit and then output to the subsequent radio - frequency switch. The incoming radio - frequency signal is flexibly selected for output through the radio - frequency switch acting as an SP5T switch, making the trace from the output of the LNA Bank to the next stage easier. Therefore, the radio - frequency front - end module disclosed in the present application has more input - output selection and broadband performance without distinguishing frequency bands, providing conditions for the product to balance high performance and flexibility.

[0034] The low - noise amplifier circuit disclosed in the present application adopts a broadband LNA design. All inputs do not need to distinguish between the LB, MB, and HB frequency bands, and the input and output can be configured arbitrarily for each channel, with high flexibility. At the same time, multiple identical radio - frequency paths composed of broadband LNAs can support carrier aggregation of multiple frequency bands and have good channel consistency. And this design improves the flexibility of the internal traces of the module, reduces the parasitic inductance between the connections, thereby reducing the electromagnetic interference generated during switching. The entire radio - frequency front - end module adopts 3D packaging technology, which better protects the buried unit circuit, the substrate, and the connection circuit between the two. While improving the integration of the finished product, the performance is also guaranteed.

[0035] The present application also discloses an electronic product. The electronic product may have the radio frequency front-end module as described above.

[0036] The basic concepts of the present application have been described. Obviously, for those skilled in the art, the above detailed disclosure is only an example and does not constitute a limitation to this specification. Although not explicitly stated here, those skilled in the art may make various modifications, improvements, and corrections to this specification. Such modifications, improvements, and corrections are proposed in this specification, so such modifications, improvements, and corrections still fall within the spirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments of this specification.

[0037] It should be understood that the embodiments described in this specification are only used to illustrate the principles of the embodiments of this specification. Other variations may also fall within the scope of this specification. Therefore, by way of example and not limitation, alternative configurations of the embodiments of this specification may be regarded as consistent with the teachings of this specification. Accordingly, the embodiments of this specification are not limited to the embodiments explicitly introduced and described in this specification.

[0038] The technical features of the above-described embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. For the sake of brevity of description, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, it should be considered as falling within the scope described in this specification.

[0039] The above-described embodiments only represent several implementation manners of the present application. Their descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, but should not be construed as a limitation to the scope of the invention patent. It should be noted that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the concept of the present application, several modifications and improvements can still be made, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent of the present application should be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

1. A radio frequency front-end module, characterized in that: The radio frequency front-end module comprises: A substrate for a 3D stacked package and an embedded unit circuit embedded in the substrate; wherein: The embedded unit circuit includes a control circuit, a power supply circuit and a radio frequency circuit; The radio frequency circuit includes multiple identical low noise amplifier circuits and a group of radio frequency switches electrically connected to the multiple low noise amplifier circuits; wherein the multiple low noise amplifier circuits receive input signals in different frequency bands, and the radio frequency switch provides a common output for the input signals.

2. The RF front-end module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control circuit is constructed based on the MIPI protocol and has multiple USID addresses.

3. The RF front-end module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The power supply circuit is composed of a reference current source and is controlled by the control circuit.

4. The RF front-end module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The low noise amplifier circuit includes multiple groups of bias circuits, a radio frequency amplifier and a radio frequency input and output port; the bias circuit includes a sampling circuit and a voltage control circuit.

5. The RF front-end module according to claim 4, characterized in that: The sampling circuit comprises a first sampling FET tube (26), a second sampling FET tube (27), a third sampling FET tube (28), a bias power supply input terminal (36), a reference current source input terminal (37), a power supply VG3 input terminal (24) and a power supply VG2 first input terminal (25); a drain, a gate and a source of the second sampling FET tube (27) are respectively coupled to the bias power supply input terminal (36), the power supply VG2 first input terminal (25) and a power supply reference ground.

6. The RF front-end module according to claim 4, characterized in that: The voltage control circuit comprises a FET tube (38); the drain and gate of the FET tube (38) are coupled with a bias power supply input terminal (36) and a reference current source input terminal (37); and the source of the FET tube (38) is coupled with the gate of a third sampling FET tube (28).

7. The RF front-end module according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that: The radio frequency amplifier comprises a first radio frequency FET tube (17), a second radio frequency FET tube (18), a third radio frequency FET tube (23), a feedback circuit, an output impedance conversion circuit and a radio frequency input node (5); the gate of the third radio frequency FET tube (23) is coupled to the radio frequency input node (5) and the gate of the third sampling FET tube (28), the gate of the second radio frequency FET tube (18) is coupled to the second input terminal (16) of the power supply VG2, and the source of the third radio frequency FET tube (23) is grounded.

8. The RF front-end module according to claim 7, characterized in that: The feedback circuit comprises a resistor (34) and a capacitor (35), as well as a first channel selection switch (29), a second channel selection switch (30), a third channel selection switch (31), a fourth channel selection switch (32) and a fifth channel selection switch (33); the output impedance conversion circuit comprises a coupled transmission line impedance converter (44), a power supply VCC input terminal (45) and a radio frequency output node (47).

9. The RF front-end module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The radio frequency switch comprises an SP5T switch.

10. An electronic product, characterized in that: Comprising a radio frequency front-end module as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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