Resonators, filters and multiplexers

Abstract

The present application discloses a resonator, a filter and a multiplexer, the resonator comprising an LC resonator unit including a resonator element, the LC resonator unit having a first part, a second part and an interface between the first part and the second part for connecting the first part and the second part, and an embedded resonator unit connected to be embedded in the LC resonator unit via the interface.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This application claims priority to a Chinese patent application bearing application number 202210305981.5, filed with the China Patent Office on March 25, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments of the present application relate to the technical field of signal processing, for example resonators, filters and multiplexers. [Background technology]

[0003] Filters are widely applied in integrated circuits. A problem with filters in conventional integrated circuits is that the space for mounting the filter in the integrated circuit is limited, making it difficult to improve the performance of the filter. A resonator is a basic unit in designing a filter, that is, a filter may include multiple resonators. In general, a resonator is a two-port device. For example, FIG. 1 is a circuit schematic diagram of a resonator according to the related art. As shown in FIG. 1, the resonator includes a first inductor L1 and a first capacitor C1, and the first inductor L1 and the first capacitor C1 are connected in series to form a resonator. FIG. 2 is a circuit schematic diagram of another resonator according to the related art. As shown in FIG. 2, the resonator includes a first inductor L1 and a first capacitor C1, and the first inductor L1 and the first capacitor C1 are connected in parallel to form a resonator. Fig. 3 is a circuit diagram of another resonator according to the related art, and as shown in Fig. 3, the resonator includes a first inductor L1, a first capacitor C1, and a second capacitor C2, and the first inductor L1 and the first capacitor C1 are connected in parallel and then connected in series with the second capacitor C2 to form a resonator. Among them, Fig. 1 to Fig. 3 are only one example of a resonator, and in other resonators, an extra inductor or capacitor may be added on the first inductor L1 and the first capacitor C1 to form a resonator.

[0004] When a filter includes multiple resonators, the resonators can be connected in series or in parallel. FIG. 4 is a circuit schematic diagram of a filter according to the related art. As shown in FIG. 4, the filter may include a first resonator A and a second resonator B, where the first resonator A is connected in series between a first end IN and a second end OUT of the filter, and the second resonator B is connected in parallel to the second end OUT of the filter. Therefore, the resonators may be connected in series or in parallel in the filter, and the connection manner of the resonators in the filter is fixed, and the filtering performance of the first resonator A and the second resonator B directly affects the filtering performance of the filter. At the same time, when different resonators are connected in series or in parallel in the filter, the connection structure between the resonators occupies a large space, which is disadvantageous to the integration of the filter. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a resonator, a filter and a multiplexer to improve the filtering effect of the resonator and at the same time save the occupied space of the resonator.

[0006] The embodiment of the present application is an LC resonant unit including a resonant element having a first portion, a second portion, and an interface between the first portion and the second portion for connecting the first portion and the second portion; and an embedded resonator unit connected to the LC resonator unit via the interface so as to be embedded therein.

[0007] Preferably, the resonant element is an inductive element having the interface at a central location and divided into the first and second portions by said interface.

[0008] Preferably, the resonant element comprises at least a first capacitive element and a second capacitive element connected in series and forming the interface at a series connection point, the first capacitive element being the first part and the second capacitive element being the second part.

[0009] Preferably, the interface comprises a first interface and a second interface, and the embedded resonating unit is in series between the first interface and the second interface.

[0010] Preferably, the embedded resonator unit has a first end connected to the interface and a second end connected to a reference potential end.

[0011] Preferably, the resonant element in the LC resonant unit and the resonant element in the embedded resonant unit are the same or different.

[0012] Preferably, the embedded resonating unit comprises at least an inductive element and / or a capacitive element, or at least one of a surface acoustic wave resonator and a thin film bulk acoustic resonator.

[0013] The present embodiment further provides a filter comprising the resonator according to the embodiment of the present application.

[0014] The present embodiment further provides a multiplexer comprising the filter according to the present embodiment. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic circuit diagram of a resonator according to a related art. [Diagram 2] FIG. 13 is a schematic circuit diagram of another resonator according to the related art. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a schematic circuit diagram of another resonator according to the related art. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a schematic circuit diagram of a filter according to a related art. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic circuit diagram of a resonator according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a circuit schematic diagram of another resonator according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a schematic circuit diagram of another resonator according to the related art. [Figure 8]FIG. 11 is a circuit schematic diagram of another resonator according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 9] 9 is a schematic diagram for comparing the filtering performance of the resonator according to FIG. 7 with that of the resonator according to FIG. 8. FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a circuit schematic diagram of another resonator according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a circuit schematic diagram of another resonator according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 12] 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a multiplexer according to an embodiment of the present application; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] The present application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings and examples. It is understood that the specific examples described herein are merely for the purpose of interpreting the present application and do not limit the present application. Note that the drawings show only parts related to the present application, not all structures.

[0017] Fig. 5 is a circuit schematic diagram of a resonator according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Fig. 5, the resonator includes at least one LC resonator unit 110 and at least one embedded resonator unit 120, the at least one LC resonator unit 110 includes at least one resonator element 111, the at least one resonator element 111 includes a first part 111A, a second part 111B, and an interface D between the first part 111A and the second part 111B, the interface D connects the first part 111A and the second part 111B, and the at least one embedded resonator unit 120 is connected to be embedded in the at least one LC resonator unit 110 through the interface D.

[0018] FIG. 5 exemplarily shows that the resonator includes one LC resonant unit 110 and one embedded resonant unit 120. The LC resonant unit 110 is composed of an inductive element and a capacitive element. Exemplarily, the LC resonant unit 110 is composed of one inductive element and one capacitive element in parallel. The resonant element 111 may be an inductive element or a capacitive element connected in series. The resonant element 111 may be divided into a first part 111A and a second part 111B by an interface D, and the first part 111A and the second part 111B are connected via the interface D, so that the resonant element 111 becomes an integral one. When the resonator element 111 has an interface D, the embedded resonator unit 120 may be connected to the interface D, thereby allowing the embedded resonator unit 120 to be embeddedly connected to the LC resonator unit 110 via the interface D. At this time, the LC resonator unit 110 and the embedded resonator unit 120 simultaneously act as part of the resonator to filter the input signal, not only ensuring the filtering performance of the resonator, but also the embedded resonator unit 120 is embeddedly connected to the LC resonator unit 110 via the interface D, so that the elements in the embedded resonator unit 120 and the elements in the LC resonator unit 110 form a new resonator unit, and the new resonator unit filters the input signal, which not only improves the filtering effect of the resonator, but also increases the transmission zero point of the signal of the filter, and further improves the filtering performance of the filter.

[0019] It should be noted that FIG. 5 is only one example of the resonator. In other embodiments, the LC resonator unit 110 may be configured by connecting one inductive element and one capacitive element in series. The resonator may include a plurality of LC resonator units 110 and / or a plurality of embedded resonator units 120, and the plurality of LC resonator units 110 may be connected in series and / or in parallel, and the embedded resonator units 120 may be embedded in different LC resonator units 110, or the different embedded resonator units 120 may be connected to each other and then embedded in the LC resonator unit 110. In addition, the number and connection relationship of the inductive and capacitive elements in each LC resonator unit 110 may be the same or different, and similarly, the number and connection relationship of the resonator elements in each embedded resonator unit 120 may be the same or different.

[0020] The technical solution of this embodiment provides an interface on the resonant element in the LC resonant unit, and connects the embedded resonant unit to be embedded in the LC resonant unit through the interface, so that the LC resonant unit and the embedded unit can simultaneously filter the input signal, which not only ensures the filtering performance of the resonator, but also allows the element in the embedded resonant unit and the element in the LC resonant unit to form a new resonant unit, and the new resonant unit can filter the input signal, which not only improves the filtering effect of the resonator, but also increases the transmission zero point of the filter signal, and further improves the filtering performance of the filter.

[0021] For example, Fig. 6 is a circuit diagram of another resonator according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Fig. 6, the resonator element 111 is an inductive element, and an interface D is provided at the center of the inductive element, and the inductive element is divided into a first part 111A and a second part 111B by the interface D.

[0022] The resonator element 111 may be an inductive element. By providing an interface D at the center of the inductive element, the inductive element can be divided into a first part 111A and a second part 111B, and by connecting the embedded resonator unit 120 to the interface D, the embedded resonator unit 120 is embedded and connected to the LC resonator unit 110 through the interface D in the inductive element, so that the elements in the embedded resonator unit 120 and the elements in the LC resonator unit 110 form a new resonator unit, and the new resonator unit filters the input signal, which not only improves the filtering effect of the resonator, but also increases the transmission zero point of the filter signal, and further improves the filtering performance of the filter. At the same time, since the first part 111A and the second part 111B of the inductive element are connected through the interface D, the overall inductive value of the inductive element remains unchanged, and the performance of the resonator is guaranteed, which is advantageous for the design of the resonator.

[0023] Exemplarily, the inductive element may be an inductor. In the LC resonant unit 110, the inductor and the capacitive element are connected in parallel, and when designing the LC resonant unit 110, an inductor may be designed and an interface D may be formed at the center of the inductor for connecting the embedded resonant unit 120 to be embedded, thereby reducing the overall occupied space of the inductor and the embedded resonant unit 120, and further saving the occupied space of the resonator. Exemplarily, when forming the inductor, if the inductor is a three-dimensional inductor structure, the inductor may have at least two conductive layers, and the multiple conductive layers are electrically connected to form the inductor, and at this time, the interface D may be provided at the connection point between different conductive layers. If the inductor is a two-dimensional inductor structure, the inductor may have multiple coils, and the interface D may be provided at the connection point between different coils.

[0024] If the interface D is provided at the central location of the inductive element, the embedded resonant unit 120 can be connected to the LC resonant unit 110 in a series or parallel manner.

[0025] Continuing to refer to FIG. 6, FIG. 6 exemplarily shows that the interface D comprises a first interface D1 and a second interface D2, and the embedded resonating unit 120 is connected in series between the first interface D1 and the second interface D2.

[0026] The embedded resonant unit 120 may be connected to the LC resonant unit 110 in a series manner, in which the first interface D1 is connected to the first end of the embedded resonant unit 120, and the second interface D2 is connected to the second end of the embedded resonant unit 120. The first part 111A and the second part 111B are connected by the embedded resonant unit 120, and the total inductive value of the first part 111A and the second part 111B is the sum of the inductive value of the first part 111A and the inductive value of the second part 111B, i.e., the first part 111A and the overall inductive value of the second part 111B remains unchanged, and by connecting the embedded resonant unit 120 in an embedded manner, the elements in the embedded resonant unit 120 and the elements in the LC resonant unit 110 can form a new resonant unit, and by filtering the signal input by the new resonant unit, not only can the filtering effect of the resonator be improved, but at the same time, the transmission zero point of the filter signal can be increased, and the filtering performance of the filter can be further improved.

[0027] Illustratively, Fig. 7 is a circuit diagram of another resonator according to the related art, Fig. 8 is a circuit diagram of another resonator according to the embodiment of the present application, and Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram comparing the filtering performance of the resonator according to Fig. 7 and the resonator according to Fig. 8. In the diagram, the abscissa is frequency and the ordinate is insertion loss. Curve 1 is the performance curve of the resonator according to the related art, and Curve 2 is the performance curve of the resonator according to the embodiment of the present application. As shown in Fig. 7 to Fig. 9, the LC resonant unit 110 in the resonator includes an A inductor LA and an A capacitor CA connected in parallel, and the embedded resonant unit 120 includes a B capacitor CB, a C capacitor CC, a D capacitor CD, an E capacitor CE, and a B inductor LB, and the B capacitor CB and the C capacitor CC are connected in series between the first and second ends of the embedded resonant unit 120, the D capacitor CD, the B capacitor CB, and the C capacitor CC are connected in parallel, the first end of the E capacitor CE is connected to the series connection point of the B capacitor CB and the C capacitor CC, the second end of the E capacitor CE is connected to the first end of the B inductor LB, and the second end of the B inductor LB is connected to one reference potential end, and Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 exemplarily show that the reference potential end is the reference ground GND. In the related art, as shown in Fig. 7, the LC resonant unit 110 and the embedded resonant unit 120 are connected in series. In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 8, the A inductor LA of the LC resonator unit 110 is provided with a first interface D1 and a second interface D2, and the embedded resonator unit 120 is connected in series between the first interface D1 and the second interface D2. As can be seen from the curves 1 and 2, on one side larger than the frequency range of the passband, the roll-off slope of the curve 2 is larger than that of the curve 1, that is, the steepness of the curve 2 is larger than that of the curve 1, so that the filtering effect of the resonator according to this embodiment is better than that of the resonator according to the related art. Furthermore, compared with the curve 1, the transmission zeros are additionally increased in the curve 2, which further improves the filtering effect of the resonator according to this embodiment.As can be seen from this, by connecting the embedded resonator unit 120 to be embedded in the LC resonator unit 110 via the interface D, not only can the filtering effect of the resonator be improved based on the resonator in the related art, but also the transmission zero point of the filter signal can be increased, and the filtering performance of the filter can be further improved.

[0028] FIG. 10 is a circuit schematic diagram of another resonator according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 10, a first end of the embedded resonator unit 120 is connected to the interface D, and a second end of the embedded resonator unit 120 is connected to the reference potential end V1.

[0029] The embedded resonant unit 120 may be connected to the resonator in a parallel connection manner, that is, the first end of the embedded resonant unit 120 is connected to the interface D, and the second end of the embedded resonant unit 120 is connected to the reference potential end V1. At this time, the first part 111A and the second part 111B are connected through the interface D, and the overall inductive value of the first part 111A and the second part 111B remains unchanged. By connecting the embedded resonant unit 120 in an embedded manner, the elements in the embedded resonant unit 120 and the elements in the LC resonant unit 110 can form a new resonant unit, and the new resonant unit can filter the input signal, thereby not only improving the filtering effect of the resonator, but also increasing the transmission zero point of the filter signal, and further improving the filtering performance of the filter. For example, the reference potential end V1 may be a reference ground or an input terminal of another reference potential.

[0030] In addition, the embedded resonator unit 120 may be connected to other circuits or elements by the reference potential terminal V1, so as to increase the filtering performance of the resonator. For example, the second terminal of the embedded resonator unit 120 may be connected to other resonators to form a filter, so as to improve the filtering performance of the filter.

[0031] FIG. 11 is a schematic circuit diagram of another resonator according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 11, the resonator element 111 has at least a first capacitive element C11 and a second capacitive element C12. The first capacitive element C11 and the second capacitive element C12 are connected in series. An interface D is formed at the series connection point. The first capacitive element C11 is the first part 111A, and the second capacitive element C12 is the second part 111B.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 11, when the resonator element 111 is a capacitive element, the capacitive element may be two serially connected capacitive elements. Then, an interface D is formed at the serial connection point of the two capacitive elements, and the embedded resonator unit 120 is connected to the LC resonator unit 110 so as to be embedded through the interface D between the capacitive elements, so that the elements in the embedded resonator unit 120 and the elements in the LC resonator unit 110 form a new resonator unit, and the new resonator unit performs filtering on the input signal, which not only improves the filtering effect of the resonator, but also increases the transmission zero point of the filter signal, thereby further improving the filtering performance of the filter. At the same time, the interface D is formed at the serial connection point of the first capacitive element C11 and the second capacitive element C12, which ensures that the capacitance value of the first capacitive element C11 and the second capacitive element C12 does not change, and further ensures that the total capacitance value of the first capacitive element C11 and the second capacitive element C12 does not change, which ensures the performance of the resonator, which is advantageous for the design of the resonator. Exemplarily, the first capacitive element C11 and the second capacitive element C12 may be capacitors.

[0033] When the first capacitive element C11 and the second capacitive element C12 are connected in series and an interface D is formed at the series connection point, the embedded resonant unit 120 can also be connected to the LC resonant unit 110 in a series or parallel manner. When the embedded resonant unit 120 is connected to the LC resonant unit 110 in a series connection manner, the interface D may include a first interface and a second interface, the embedded resonant unit 120 is connected in series between the first interface and the second interface, and the first capacitive element C11 and the second capacitive element C12 are connected by the embedded resonant unit 120. When the embedded resonant unit 120 is connected to the LC resonant unit 110 in a parallel connection manner, the first end of the embedded resonant unit 120 is connected to the interface D, and the second end of the embedded resonant unit 120 is connected to the reference potential end.

[0034] Based on the above technical solutions, the resonant elements in the LC resonant unit 110 and the embedded resonant unit 120 can be the same or different.

[0035] The resonant element in the LC resonant unit 110 and the resonant element in the embedded resonant unit 120 can be the same or different according to the performance requirements of the resonator. If the resonant element in the LC resonant unit 110 and the resonant element in the embedded resonant unit 120 are the same, the resonant element in the embedded resonant unit 120 only includes an inductive element and a capacitive element, and the number and connection relationship of the inductive element and the capacitive element are the same as the number and connection relationship of the inductive element and the capacitive element in the LC resonant unit 110, that is, the LC resonant unit 110 and the embedded resonant unit 120 are completely the same. If the resonant element in the LC resonant unit 110 and the resonant element in the embedded resonant unit 120 are different, the embedded resonant unit 120 may include other elements other than the inductive element and the capacitive element, or the number and / or connection relationship of the inductive element and the capacitive element are different from the inductive element and the capacitive element in the LC resonant unit 110, which is not limited here.

[0036] Based on the above-mentioned technical solutions, the embedded resonating unit 120 comprises at least an inductive element and / or a capacitive element, or the embedded resonating unit 120 comprises at least one of a surface acoustic wave resonator and a thin film bulk acoustic resonator.

[0037] The embedded resonator unit 120 may include various types of resonator elements as long as the performance requirements of the resonator are met. For example, the embedded resonator unit 120 may include only an inductive element or a capacitive element, and the inductive element or the capacitive element may be embedded in the LC resonator unit 110 as a special resonator element. Or, the embedded resonator unit 120 may include both an inductive element and a capacitive element, and the embedded resonator unit 120 is an LC resonator. In another embodiment, the embedded resonator unit 120 may include at least one of a surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonator and a film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR).

[0038] An embodiment of the present application further provides a filter, the filter comprising a resonator according to any embodiment of the present application.

[0039] The filter has the effect of the resonator, which is not described here, since it includes at least the resonator according to any embodiment of the present application. In addition, the filter may include other filtering circuits to improve the filtering function of the filter. For example, the other filtering circuits may be a low-pass filtering circuit, a high-pass filtering circuit, or a band-pass filtering circuit, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto.

[0040] The present application further provides a multiplexer. Figure 12 is a structural schematic diagram of a multiplexer according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 12, the multiplexer includes a filter 210 according to any embodiment of the present application.

[0041] Continuing to refer to FIG. 12, the multiplexer has a first end IN and at least two second ends, and each filter 210 is connected in series between the first end IN and one of the second ends of the multiplexer.

[0042] 12, the multiplexer is exemplarily shown to have one first terminal IN and n second terminals, where the n second terminals are OUT1, OUT2, . . . OUTn. Each filter 210 is connected in series between the first terminal IN and one second terminal. For example, the first filter 210 is connected in series between the first terminal IN and the first second terminal OUT1, the second filter 210 is connected in series between the first terminal IN and the second second terminal OUT2, . . . by analogy. Since the multiplexer has the filter 210 according to any embodiment of the present application, it has the effect of the filter 210, which will not be described again here.

[0043] In addition, the multiplexer may further include another filtering circuit, which is connected in series between the first end IN and any second end, and which may be a low-pass filtering circuit, a high-pass filtering circuit, or a band-pass filtering circuit, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

Claims

1. an LC resonant unit including a resonant element having a first portion, a second portion, and an interface between the first portion and the second portion for connecting the first portion and the second portion; an embedded resonator unit connected to the LC resonator unit via the interface so as to be embedded therein; resonator.

2. the resonator element is an inductive element having the interface at a central location and being divided into the first portion and the second portion by the interface; The resonator according to claim 1 .

3. the resonator element includes a first capacitive element and a second capacitive element connected in series and forming the interface at a series connection point, the first capacitive element being the first part, and the second capacitive element being the second part; The resonator according to claim 1 .

4. the interface comprises a first interface and a second interface, and the embedded resonating unit is in series between the first interface and the second interface; The resonator according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The embedded resonator unit has a first end connected to the interface and a second end connected to a reference potential end. The resonator according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

6. The resonant element in the LC resonant unit and the resonant element in the embedded resonant unit are the same or different; The resonator according to claim 1 .

7. The embedded resonating unit comprises at least one of an inductive element and a capacitive element, or at least one of a surface acoustic wave resonator and a thin film bulk acoustic resonator. The resonator according to claim 6.

8. A resonator according to any one of claims 1 to 7, filter.

9. A filter according to claim 8, Multiplexer.

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