Transmitting device and electronic device

Abstract

To provide a transmission device capable of outputting a transmission signal in a frequency band exceeding the upper limit frequency of a semiconductor device, and an electronic apparatus.SOLUTION: The transmission device includes: a signal source that outputs a local signal of a first frequency; a first amplifier for amplifying the local signal output from the signal source; a first mixer that outputs a first output signal while mixing the first input signal of intermediate frequency and the local signal amplified by the first amplifier; and a second mixer that outputs a second output signal while mixing the first output signal output from the first mixer and the local signal amplified by the first amplifier.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a transmitting device and an electronic device. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there has been a transmitting device that includes a first modulation unit that mixes a first baseband signal with an intermediate frequency signal to generate a second baseband signal, and a second modulation unit that mixes the second baseband signal with a local oscillation signal to generate a high frequency signal, wherein the frequency of the local oscillation signal is the sum or difference of the carrier frequency of the high frequency signal and the frequency of the intermediate frequency signal (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-236491 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Although semiconductor devices are often used in circuits such as amplifiers in such transmitters, there is an upper limit to the frequency at which the semiconductor devices can operate. Therefore, if there is a need to operate the transmitter in a frequency band that exceeds the upper limit frequency of the semiconductor devices, conventional transmitters cannot be used.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a transmitting device and electronic equipment that can output a transmission signal in a frequency band that exceeds the upper limit frequency of a semiconductor device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The transmitting device of the present disclosure includes a signal source that outputs a local signal of a first frequency, a first amplifier that amplifies the local signal output from the signal source, a first mixer that mixes a first input signal of an intermediate frequency with the local signal amplified by the first amplifier to output a first output signal, and a second mixer that mixes the first output signal output from the first mixer with the local signal amplified by the first amplifier to output a second output signal. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] It is possible to provide a transmitting device and an electronic device that can output a transmission signal in a frequency band that exceeds the upper limit frequency of a semiconductor device. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electronic device 10 including a transmission device 100 according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a circuit configuration of a mixer 130. [Figure 3] 2 is a diagram showing output signals RF1 and RF2 of mixers 130 and 140. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electronic device 10M including a transmission device 100M according to a modification of the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of an electronic device 20 including a transmission device 200 according to a second embodiment. [Figure 6] 10 is a diagram showing an output signal RF1 of a mixer 130 and a transmission signal RF output from an HPF 150. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electronic device 20M1 including a transmission device 200M1 according to a first modified example of the second embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electronic device 20M2 including a transmission device 200M2 according to a second modification of the second embodiment. [Figure 9] 10 is a diagram showing an output signal RF1 of a mixer 130 and a transmission signal RF output from an HPF 150. FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a simulation model of the transmission device 100 according to the first embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a simulation result for the transmission device 100 of the first embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a simulation model of a transmission device 100M according to a modified example of the first embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a simulation result for a transmission device 100M according to a modified example of the first embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electronic device 30 including a transmission device 300 according to a third embodiment. [Figure 15] 3A to 3C are diagrams showing examples of waveforms of signals obtained at each section of the transmitting device 300. [Figure 16] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electronic device 30M including a transmission device 300M according to a modification of the third embodiment. [Figure 17] 3A to 3C are diagrams showing examples of waveforms of signals obtained at various parts of the transmitting device 300M. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment to which a transmitting device and an electronic device according to the present disclosure are applied will be described.

[0010] <Embodiment 1> 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an electronic device 10 including a transmission device 100 according to embodiment 1. The electronic device 10 includes a data output unit 50 and the transmission device 100. The electronic device 10 is, for example, a smartphone, a tablet computer, or any other portable device having a communication function.

[0011] The data output unit 50 is realized by a computer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), an input / output interface, an internal bus, etc. The data output unit 50 has an output terminal 51, which is connected to an input terminal 101 of the transmitting device 100. The data output unit 50 generates an IF (Intermediate Frequency) signal based on data generated in accordance with the operation of the electronic device 10, and outputs the IF signal from the output terminal 51. The frequency of the IF signal is, for example, 10 GHz. The IF signal is an example of a first intermediate frequency input signal.

[0012] The transmitting device 100 has an input terminal 101, an output terminal 102, a signal source 110, amplifiers 121 and 122, mixers 130 and 140, and an HPF (High Pass Filter) 150. The amplifiers 121 and 122 are examples of first amplifiers. Here, a form in which the first amplifier has two amplifiers 121 and 122 will be described. The mixers 130 and 140 are examples of a first mixer and a second mixer, respectively. The mixers 130 and 140 are provided in two stages for the IF signal.

[0013] The input terminal 101 is connected to the output terminal 51 of the data output unit 50 outside the transmitting device 100, and receives an IF signal from the data output unit 50. The input terminal 101 is connected to one input terminal of the mixer 130 inside the transmitting device 100.

[0014] The output terminal 102 is connected to the output terminal of the HPF 150 inside the transmitting device 100, and is connected to an antenna 103 outside the transmitting device 100. The output terminal 102 is a terminal that outputs a transmission signal RF (Radio Frequency) obtained by the transmitting device 100 performing frequency conversion and amplification on the IF signal. The transmission signal RF is transmitted from the antenna 103. Note that a circuit that performs, for example, impedance matching or other processing may be provided between the output terminal 102 and the antenna 103.

[0015] Signal source 110 outputs a local signal (LO). The frequency of the local signal is, for example, 150 GHz. The frequency of the local signal is an example of a first frequency. 150 GHz is close to the upper limit of the frequency of a signal that can be amplified by amplifiers 121 and 122 realized by HEMTs (High Electron Mobility Transistors), but is a frequency at which HEMTs can operate as amplifiers 121 and 122 with good amplification characteristics. An output terminal of signal source 110 is connected to the input terminals of amplifiers 121 and 122. For example, a PLL (Phase Locked Loop) synthesizer can be used as such signal source 110.

[0016] The amplifier 121 has an input terminal connected to the signal source 110 and an output terminal connected to the other input terminal of the mixer 130, and amplifies the local signal input from the signal source 110 and outputs the amplified signal to the mixer 130. The amplifier 121 is realized by a HEMT, for example.

[0017] Amplifier 122 has an input terminal connected to signal source 110 and an output terminal connected to one input terminal of mixer 140, and amplifies the local signal input from signal source 110 and outputs the amplified signal to mixer 140. Note that amplifier 122 can be realized by a HEMT, for example, similar to amplifier 121. The amplification factor (gain) of amplifier 122 may be equal to or different from the amplification factor of amplifier 121.

[0018] Although the present embodiment describes a configuration in which local signals amplified by two amplifiers 121 and 122 are input to mixers 130 and 140, a single amplifier may be used. Alternatively, the local signal output from signal source 110 may be amplified by a single amplifier, branched, and input to mixers 130 and 140.

[0019] Mixer 130 has two input terminals connected to input terminal 101 and the output terminal of amplifier 121, and an output terminal connected to the other input terminal of mixer 140. Mixer 130 mixes the IF signal input from input terminal 101 with the local signal amplified by amplifier 121, and outputs the resulting signal to mixer 140 as output signal RF1. Output signal RF1 is an example of a first output signal. Therefore, if the frequency of the local signal is LO and the frequency of the IF signal is IF, the frequency of output signal RF1 is LO±IF. The frequencies LO±IF are in a band including 150 GHz. Mixer 130 is realized, for example, by a HEMT.

[0020] The mixer 140 has two input terminals connected to the output terminal of the mixer 130 and the output terminal of the amplifier 122, and an output terminal connected to the input terminal of the HPF 150. The mixer 140 mixes the output signal RF1 input from the mixer 130 with the local signal amplified by the amplifier 122, and outputs the resulting signal to the HPF 150 as an output signal RF2. The output signal RF2 is an example of a second output signal. Therefore, the frequency of the output signal RF2 is 2×LO±IF. The frequency 2×LO±IF is a band including 300 GHz. The band including 300 GHz is an example of a band including a second frequency that is twice the first frequency. The mixer 140 is realized, for example, by a HEMT.

[0021] In this way, by mixing the local signal twice with the IF signal in two-stage mixers 130 and 140, an output signal RF2 having twice the frequency of the local signal output from signal source 110 is obtained. The output sources of the local signals mixed twice with the IF signal are both the same signal source 110, and local signals of the same frequency are mixed twice, thereby suppressing the generation of extraneous frequency components and obtaining output signal RF2 with a bandwidth of 300 GHz, twice the original local signal. If the signal sources of the local signals mixed twice were different, there is a possibility that extraneous frequency components would be included in output signal RF2 due to errors in the frequencies of the local signals output by the two signal sources 110. However, by combining the local signal output from one signal source 110 twice, it is possible to obtain output signal RF2 with a frequency that is doubled with high precision.

[0022] HPF 150 has an input terminal connected to the output terminal of mixer 140, and an output terminal connected to output terminal 102. HPF 150 has a cutoff frequency that can pass the frequency of output signal RF2, 2×LO±IF (300 GHz band). The cutoff frequency is slightly lower than 2×LO-IF. By using such an HPF 150, it is possible to remove components in the 150 GHz band that may be included in output signal RF2 and other unnecessary frequency components, and to efficiently extract components in the 2×LO±IF frequency band (300 GHz band).

[0023] 2 is a diagram showing an example of the circuit configuration of mixer 130. Since mixers 130 and 140 have the same circuit configuration, only mixer 130 will be described here. As shown in FIG. 2A as an example, mixer 130 has a HEMT 130A, two input terminals 131 and 132, one output terminal 133, an LPF (Low Pass Filter) 134, and an HPF 135.

[0024] An input terminal 131 is connected to the drain D of the HEMT via an LPF 134, and an input terminal 132 is connected via an HPF 135. An output terminal 133 is connected to the gate G of the HEMT 130A, and the source S of the HEMT 130A is grounded. A mixer 130 having such a connection structure of the HEMT 130A constitutes a drain local injection mixer.

[0025] The input terminal 131 is connected to the input terminal 101 (see FIG. 1) and receives an IF signal, while the input terminal 132 is connected to the output terminal of the amplifier 121 (see FIG. 1) and receives a local signal (LO) amplified by the amplifier 121. The output terminal 133 is connected to the other input terminal of the mixer 140. The HEMT 130A shown in FIG. 2(A) receives an IF signal and a local signal at its drain D and outputs an output signal RF1 from its gate G. The frequency of the output signal RF1 is LO±IF. Such a drain local injection mixer may be used as the mixers 130 and 140.

[0026] 2(A) may be replaced with a mixer 130 shown in FIG. 2(B). The mixer 130 shown in FIG. 2(B) has a configuration in which the input terminal 132 and the output terminal 133 shown in FIG. 2(A) are interchanged. The HEMT 130A shown in FIG. 2(B) constitutes a resistive mixer. Note that the input terminals 131, 132, and 133 are connected to the input terminal 101, the output terminal of the amplifier 121 (see FIG. 1), and the other input terminal of the mixer 140, respectively, similar to the HEMT 130A in FIG. 2(A).

[0027] 2B, an IF signal is input to a drain D, and a local signal is input to a gate G, and an output signal RF1 is output from the drain D. The frequency of the output signal RF1 is LO±IF. Such a resistive mixer may be used as the mixers 130 and 140.

[0028] 3 is a diagram showing output signals RF1 and RF2 of mixers 130 and 140. In FIG. 3, the horizontal axis represents frequency, and the vertical axis represents signal strength. The output signals RF1 and RF2 also contain a 10 GHz component of the IF signal, but this is omitted here.

[0029] 3, mixer 130 generates an output signal RF1 (LO±IF) around 150 GHz, and mixer 140 generates an output signal RF2 (2×LO±IF) around 300 GHz. In this way, by mixing the IF signal twice with local signals of the same frequency in two stages of mixers 130 and 140, it is possible to obtain output signal RF2 in the 300 GHz band. Output signal RF2 passes through HPF 150, whereby unnecessary frequency components are removed, and is output from output terminal 102 as transmit signal RF in the 300 GHz band.

[0030] As described above, two local signals of the same frequency output from the same signal source 110 are mixed with an IF signal in two stages of mixers 130 and 140, respectively, to obtain an output signal RF2 in the 300 GHz band using a 150 GHz local signal. Because the local signals output from the same signal source 110 and amplified by amplifiers 121 and 122 are supplied to mixers 130 and 140, the two local signals supplied to mixers 130 and 140 have the exact same frequency of 150 GHz. Therefore, the output signal RF2 in the 300 GHz band can be generated with high precision using a 150 GHz local signal, which is below the upper limit frequency that amplifiers 121 and 122, realized using HEMTs, can amplify. The output signal RF2 can then be output from output terminal 102 as a transmit signal RF after unnecessary frequency components contained in the output signal RF2 are removed by HPF 150.

[0031] Therefore, it is possible to provide the transmitting device 100 and the electronic device 10 that are capable of outputting a transmission signal RF in a frequency band that exceeds the upper limit frequency of the semiconductor device.

[0032] Furthermore, to obtain the output signal RF2 in the mixer 140, two 150 GHz local signals with completely equal frequencies that are output from the same signal source 110 and amplified by amplifiers 121 and 122, respectively, are supplied to the mixers 130 and 140. This suppresses the generation of unnecessary frequency components, and enables the output signal RF2 and transmission signal RF of 300 GHz to be obtained with high precision and little error.

[0033] The 300 GHz band is a promising frequency band for 6G (Sixth Generation) next-generation communications. However, it is difficult to realize semiconductor circuits that operate at such high frequencies. Even if high-electron-mobility transistors such as HEMTs are used, the upper limit of the signal frequency that can be amplified with good amplification characteristics by amplifiers 121 and 122 is only slightly higher than 150 GHz.

[0034] For this reason, it is difficult to combine an IF signal and a 300 GHz local signal using a single mixer, because it is not realistic to realize an amplifier that can amplify a 300 GHz local signal.

[0035] Another possible circuit is one that amplifies a 100 GHz or 150 GHz local signal using a HEMT amplifier, mixes the IF signal and the amplified local signal in a single mixer, and then triples or doubles the frequency of the resulting output signal using a multiplier to output a 300 GHz transmit signal. However, in this case, the bandwidth of the IF signal is also tripled or doubled (3×IF or 2×IF), making it impossible to obtain an output signal RF2 with a frequency of 2×LO±IF as in the first embodiment. Instead, the IF signal components become ±3IF or ±2IF. Another problem with multipliers is their large conversion loss. For example, the conversion loss of mixers 130 and 140 is −10 dB, while the conversion loss of the multiplier is −20 dB.

[0036] From this perspective, it can be said that transmitting device 100, which supplies two 150 GHz local signals with completely equal frequencies that are output from the same signal source 110 and amplified by amplifiers 121 and 122, respectively, to mixers 130 and 140, achieves very efficient frequency conversion and amplification. Furthermore, with this configuration, it is possible to obtain a 300 GHz output signal RF2 and a transmission signal RF with high accuracy and little error.

[0037] Furthermore, since the mixer 140 includes an HPF 150 provided on the output side thereof, it is possible to efficiently and easily remove components in the 150 GHz band that may be contained in the output signal RF2, and to output a high-quality transmission signal RF in the 300 GHz band.

[0038] 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of an electronic device 10M including a transmission device 100M according to a modification of the first embodiment. The electronic device 10M includes a data output unit 50 and the transmission device 100M. Like the electronic device 10, the electronic device 10M is, for example, a smartphone, a tablet computer, or other portable device having a communication function.

[0039] The transmitting device 100M differs from the transmitting device 100 of the first embodiment in that an amplifier 160 is added between the mixer 130 and the mixer 140. The other configurations are the same as those of the transmitting device 100 of the first embodiment, so only the differences will be described here.

[0040] The amplifier 160 is an example of a second amplifier. The amplifier 160 has an input terminal connected to the output terminal of the mixer 130 and an output terminal connected to the input terminal of the mixer 140. The amplifier 160 is realized by a HEMT, for example, similar to the amplifiers 121 and 122. The amplifier 160 further amplifies the output signal RF1 output from the mixer 130 and outputs the amplified signal to the mixer 140. After being combined by the mixer 140, the operation is the same as that of the transmitting device 100 of the first embodiment.

[0041] Therefore, it is possible to provide a transmitting device 100M and an electronic device 10M that can output a transmission signal RF in a frequency band that exceeds the upper limit frequency of the semiconductor device. Furthermore, since the transmitting device 100M includes an amplifier 160 between the mixer 130 and the mixer 140, the output of the transmission signal RF can be further increased. The amplification factor of the amplifier 160 may be set to an appropriate value depending on the application of the transmitting device 100M, etc.

[0042] <Embodiment 2> 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of an electronic device 20 including a transmission device 200 according to the second embodiment. The electronic device 20 includes a data output unit 50 and the transmission device 200. Like the electronic device 10, the electronic device 20 is, for example, a smartphone, a tablet computer, or other portable device having a communication function.

[0043] In the second embodiment, the data output unit 50 has two output terminals 51A and 51B, which output an I signal and a Q signal, respectively. The I signal is a real component of the IF signal, and the Q signal is an imaginary component of the IF signal. The Q signal is delayed in phase by 90 degrees relative to the I signal. The I signal is an example of a first input signal, and the Q signal is an example of a second input signal of an intermediate frequency that has a phase that differs by 90 degrees from the first input signal.

[0044] The transmitting device 200 has input terminals 201A and 201B, an output terminal 202, a signal source 110, amplifiers 221, 222, 223, and 224, mixers 130, 140, 230, and 240, an HPF 150, a phase shifter 270, and an adder 280. The mixers 130, 140, 230, and 240 are provided in two stages with two systems for the I signal and the Q signal. Here, the same components as those in the transmitting device 100 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their description will be omitted.

[0045] Amplifiers 221, 222, 223, and 224 are examples of first amplifiers. Here, a configuration will be described in which the first amplifier includes four amplifiers 221, 222, 223, and 224. Mixers 130, 140, 230, and 240 are examples of a first mixer, a second mixer, a third mixer, and a fourth mixer, respectively.

[0046] The input terminal 201A is connected to the output terminal 51A of the data output unit 50 outside the transmitting device 200, and receives the I signal from the data output unit 50. The input terminal 201A is connected to one input terminal of the mixer 130 inside the transmitting device 200.

[0047] The input terminal 201B is connected to the output terminal 51B of the data output unit 50 outside the transmitting device 200, and receives the Q signal from the data output unit 50. The input terminal 201B is connected to one input terminal of the mixer 230 inside the transmitting device 200.

[0048] The output terminal 202 is connected to the output terminal of the HPF 150 inside the transmitting device 200, and is connected to the antenna 103 outside the transmitting device 200. The output terminal 202 is a terminal that outputs a transmission signal RF obtained by the transmitting device 200 performing frequency conversion and amplification on the IF signal. Note that a circuit that performs, for example, impedance matching or other processing may be provided between the output terminal 202 and the antenna 103.

[0049] Signal source 110 outputs a local signal (LO). The frequency of the local signal is, for example, 150 GHz. 150 GHz is close to the upper limit of the frequency of signals that can be amplified by amplifiers 221, 222, 223, and 224 realized by HEMTs, but it is a frequency at which HEMTs can operate as amplifiers 221, 222, 223, and 224 with good amplification characteristics. The output terminal of signal source 110 is connected to the input terminals of amplifiers 221, 222, 223, and 224.

[0050] The amplifier 221 is similar to the amplifier 121 of the first embodiment, and has an input terminal connected to the signal source 110 and an output terminal connected to the other input terminal of the mixer 130, and amplifies the local signal input from the signal source 110 and outputs the amplified signal to the mixer 130. The amplifier 221 is realized by a HEMT.

[0051] The amplifier 222 is similar to the amplifier 122 of the first embodiment, and has an input terminal connected to the signal source 110 and an output terminal connected to one of the input terminals of the mixer 140, and amplifies the local signal input from the signal source 110 and outputs the amplified signal to the mixer 140. The amplifier 222 can be realized by a HEMT, similar to the amplifier 221. The amplification factor of the amplifier 222 may be equal to or different from the amplification factor of the amplifier 221.

[0052] Amplifier 223 has an input terminal connected to signal source 110 and an output terminal connected to the other input terminal of mixer 230, and amplifies the local signal input from signal source 110 and outputs the amplified signal to mixer 230. Amplifier 223 is realized by a HEMT. It is preferable that the gain of amplifier 223 be set to the same value as the gain of amplifier 221, taking into account the symmetry of the circuit.

[0053] Amplifier 224 has an input terminal connected to signal source 110 and an output terminal connected to one of the input terminals of mixer 240, and amplifies the local signal input from signal source 110 and outputs the amplified signal to mixer 240. Note that it is preferable to set the gain of amplifier 224 to the same value as that of amplifier 221 in consideration of the symmetry of the circuit.

[0054] Although the present embodiment describes a configuration in which local signals amplified by four amplifiers 221, 222, 223, and 224 are input to mixers 130, 140, 230, and 240, the number of amplifiers may be one. Alternatively, the local signal output from signal source 110 may be amplified by one amplifier, branched, and input to mixers 130, 140, 230, and 240.

[0055] Mixer 130 has two input terminals connected to input terminal 201A and the output terminal of amplifier 221, and an output terminal connected to the other input terminal of mixer 140. Mixer 130 mixes the I signal input from input terminal 201A with the local signal amplified by amplifier 221, and outputs the result as output signal RF1 to mixer 140. Output signal RF1 is an example of a first output signal. Therefore, the frequency of output signal RF1 is LO±IF. The frequencies LO±IF are a band including 150 GHz. The frequency of the I signal is IF.

[0056] Mixer 140 has two input terminals connected to the output terminal of mixer 130 and the output terminal of amplifier 222, and an output terminal connected to one input terminal of adder 280. Mixer 140 mixes output signal RF1 input from mixer 130 with the local signal amplified by amplifier 222, and outputs the resulting signal to adder 280 as output signal RF2. Output signal RF2 is an example of a second output signal. Therefore, the frequency of output signal RF2 is 2×LO±IF. The frequency 2×LO±IF is a band including 300 GHz.

[0057] Mixer 230 has two input terminals connected to input terminal 201B and the output terminal of amplifier 223, and an output terminal connected to the other input terminal of mixer 240. Mixer 230 mixes the Q signal input from input terminal 201B with the local signal amplified by amplifier 223, and outputs the result as output signal RF3 to mixer 140. Output signal RF3 is an example of a third output signal. Therefore, the frequency of output signal RF3 is LO±IF. The frequencies LO±IF are a band including 150 GHz. The frequency of the Q signal is IF.

[0058] Mixer 240 has two input terminals connected to the output terminal of mixer 230 and the output terminal of amplifier 224, and an output terminal connected to the input terminal of phase shifter 270. Mixer 240 mixes output signal RF3 input from mixer 230 with the local signal amplified by amplifier 224, and outputs the resulting signal to phase shifter 270 as output signal RF4. Output signal RF4 is an example of a fourth output signal. Therefore, the frequency of output signal RF4 is 2×LO±IF. The frequency 2×LO±IF is a band including 300 GHz.

[0059] The phase shifter 270 has an input terminal connected to the output terminal of the mixer 240 and an output terminal connected to the other input terminal of the adder 280, and outputs the output signal RF4 input from the mixer 240 with the phase advanced by 90 degrees. As a result, the output signal RF4, which is phase-shifted by the phase shifter 270 and output, is in phase with the output signal RF2. In this way, the phase shifter 270 aligns the phases of the output signals RF4 and RF2. Note that, as an example, a transmission line having a length of ¼ the wavelength at the frequency of the output signal RF4 can be used as the phase shifter 270. It is sufficient to advance the phase by 90 degrees using such a transmission line.

[0060] Adder 280 has two input terminals connected to the output terminal of mixer 140 and the output terminal of phase shifter 270, and an output terminal connected to the input terminal of HPF 150. Adder 280 adds output signal RF2 input from mixer 140 and output signal RF4 input after its phase has been advanced by 90 degrees by phase shifter 270.

[0061] Here, the angular velocity of the IF signal is ω IF , the angular velocity of the local signal is ω LO Let the angular velocity ω LO The frequency obtained is 150GHz. IF t), and the Q signal is sin(ω IF ·t), the output signal RF1 is cos(ω LO +ω IF )t+cos(ω LO -ωIF )t, and the output signal RF2 is cos(2ω LO +ω IF )t+cos(2ω LO -ω IF )t+cos(2ω IF )t. The output signal RF2 cos(2ω IF )t is cos(2ω LO +ω IF )t+cos(2ω LO -ω IF )t, so it is ignored.

[0062] In addition, the output signal RF3 is sin(ω LO +ω IF )t-sin(ω LO -ω IF )t, and the output signal RF4 is sin(2ω LO +ω IF )t-sin(2ω LO -ω IF )t+sin(2ω IF )t. The sin(2ω IF )t is sin(2ω LO +ω IF )t-sin(2ω LO -ω IF )t, so it is ignored.

[0063] The phase shifter 270 advances the phase of the output signal RF4 output from the mixer 240 by 90 degrees, so that the output signal RF4 output from the phase shifter 270 is cos(2ω LO +ω IF )t-cos(2ω LO -ω IF )t.

[0064] Therefore, the output of adder 280 is the cos(2ω) of output signal RF2. LO +ω IF )t+cos(2ω LO -ω IF )t and cos(2ω LO +ω IF )t-cos(2ω LO -ωIF )t and 2cos(2ω LO +ω IF )t. Angular velocity ω LO is 150 GHz, the frequency of the output of adder 280 is in the 300 GHz band. That is, the frequency of the output signal RF output from adder 280 is 2×LO+IF, which is in the band obtained by adding the frequency IF of the I signal and the Q signal to 300 GHz.

[0065] In the second embodiment, the HPF 150 has an input terminal connected to the output terminal of the adder 280, and an output terminal connected to the output terminal 202. The HPF 150 outputs the 300 GHz band component of the output of the adder 280 as a transmission signal RF (2×LO+IF).

[0066] 6 is a diagram showing the output signal RF1 of the mixer 130 and the transmission signal RF output from the HPF 150. In Fig. 6, the horizontal axis represents frequency and the vertical axis represents signal strength. The output signal RF1 also includes a 10 GHz component of the IF signal, but this is omitted here.

[0067] 6, the 150 GHz band contains the +IF band and the -IF band, which are the output signal RF1 (LO±IF) of mixer 130, and the 300 GHz band contains only the +IF band, which is the transmit signal RF (2×LO+IF), and no -IF band. In this way, by mixing local signals of the same frequency twice for the I signal and the Q signal in two systems and two stages of mixers 130, 230 and mixers 140, 240, a transmit signal RF in the 300 GHz band can be obtained.

[0068] As described above, by mixing four local signals of the same frequency output from the same signal source 110 in two systems for the I and Q signals using two-stage mixers 130, 140 and mixers 230, 240, it is possible to obtain output signals RF2 and RF4 in the 300 GHz band using a 150 GHz local signal. Because local signals output from the same signal source 110 and amplified by amplifiers 221, 222, 223, and 224 are supplied to mixers 130, 140, 230, and 240, respectively, the four local signals supplied to mixers 130, 140, 230, and 240 have the exact same frequency of 150 GHz. Therefore, it is possible to generate output signals RF2 and RF4 in the 300 GHz band with high accuracy using a 150 GHz local signal, which is below the upper limit frequency that amplifiers 221, 222, 223, and 224 realized by HEMTs can amplify. Then, the output signal RF2 and the output signal RF4, whose phase has been advanced by 90 degrees to match the phase of the output signal RF2 by the phase shifter 270, are added by the adder 280, and then the unnecessary frequency components are removed by the HPF 150, and the signal can be output from the output terminal 202 as the transmission signal RF.

[0069] Therefore, it is possible to provide the transmitting device 200 and the electronic device 20 that are capable of outputting a transmission signal RF in a frequency band that exceeds the upper limit frequency of the semiconductor device.

[0070] Furthermore, to obtain output signal RF2 at mixer 140, two 150 GHz local signals with completely equal frequencies that are output from the same signal source 110 and amplified by amplifiers 221 and 222, respectively, are supplied to mixers 130 and 140. Similarly, to obtain output signal RF4 at mixer 240, two 150 GHz local signals with completely equal frequencies that are output from the same signal source 110 and amplified by amplifiers 223 and 224, respectively, are supplied to mixers 230 and 240. This makes it possible to suppress the generation of unnecessary frequency components and obtain 300 GHz output signals RF2 and RF4 with high precision and little error.

[0071] Furthermore, the phase of the output signal RF4 output from mixer 240 is advanced by 90 degrees by phase shifter 270 to match it with output signal RF2, and then added by adder 280, so that the -IF band is canceled out and an output signal RF(2×LO+IF) can be obtained in which only the +IF band is selectively left.As a result, it is possible to output an output signal RF(2×LO+IF) in which only the +IF band is selectively left.In other words, the frequency of the output signal RF that is finally output can be set to 2×LO+IF.

[0072] Furthermore, the HPF 150 removes unnecessary frequency components contained in the output signal RF (2×LO+IF) output from the adder 280, and the resultant signal can be output as a transmission signal RF from the output terminal 202. The frequency of the transmission signal RF is 2×LO+IF, which includes the +IF band but not the −IF band, so the frequency band of the transmission signal RF that is finally output can be selectively set to the +IF band at 300 GHz.

[0073] The 300 GHz band is a promising frequency band for next-generation 6G communications. However, it is difficult to realize semiconductor circuits that operate at such high frequencies. Even if high-electron-mobility transistors such as HEMTs are used, the upper limit of signals that can be amplified with good amplification characteristics by amplifiers 221, 222, 223, and 224 is approximately 150 GHz.

[0074] As explained in the first embodiment, it is difficult to combine an IF signal and a 300 GHz local signal using one mixer. Furthermore, if a multiplier is used, the band of the IF signal is also expanded by three or two times (3×IF or 2×IF), so it is not possible to obtain output signals RF2 and RF4 with frequencies of 2×LO±IF as in the second embodiment.

[0075] From this perspective, it can be said that transmitting device 200, which supplies four 150 GHz local signals output from the same signal source 110, amplified by amplifiers 221, 222, 223, and 224, and having completely equal frequencies, to mixers 130, 140 and mixers 230, 240, achieves very efficient frequency conversion and amplification. Furthermore, with this configuration, 300 GHz output signals RF2, RF4, RF, and transmission signal RF can be obtained with high precision and little error.

[0076] Furthermore, since the adder 280 includes an HPF 150 provided on the output side thereof, it is possible to efficiently and easily remove components in the 150 GHz band that may be included in the output signal RF output from the adder 280, and to output a high-quality transmission signal RF in the 300 GHz band.

[0077] <First Modification of Second Embodiment> 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of an electronic device 20M1 including a transmission device 200M1 according to a first modified example of embodiment 2. The electronic device 20M1 includes a data output unit 50 and the transmission device 200M1. Like the electronic device 20, the electronic device 20M1 is, for example, a smartphone, a tablet computer, or other portable device having a communication function.

[0078] The transmitting device 200M1 differs from the transmitting device 200 of the second embodiment in that an amplifier 260A is added between the mixer 130 and the mixer 140, and an amplifier 260B is added between the mixer 230 and the mixer 240. The other configurations are the same as those of the transmitting device 200 of the second embodiment, so only the differences will be described here.

[0079] Amplifier 260A is an example of a second amplifier, and amplifier 260B is an example of a third amplifier. Amplifier 260A has an input terminal connected to the output terminal of mixer 130 and an output terminal connected to the input terminal of mixer 140. Amplifier 260B has an input terminal connected to the output terminal of mixer 230 and an output terminal connected to the input terminal of mixer 240.

[0080] The amplifiers 260A and 260B are realized by HEMTs, for example, similar to the amplifiers 221, 222, 223, and 224. The amplifier 260A further amplifies the output signal RF1 output from the mixer 130 and outputs it to the mixer 140, and the amplifier 260B further amplifies the output signal RF3 output from the mixer 230 and outputs it to the mixer 240. After being combined by the mixers 140 and 240, the operation is the same as that of the transmitting device 200 of the second embodiment.

[0081] Therefore, it is possible to provide a transmitting device 200M1 and an electronic device 20M1 that can output a transmission signal RF in a frequency band that exceeds the upper limit frequency of the semiconductor device. Furthermore, the transmitting device 200M1 includes an amplifier 260A between the mixers 130 and 140, and an amplifier 260B between the mixers 230 and 240, so that the output of the transmission signal RF can be further increased. The amplification factors of the amplifiers 260A and 260B may be set to appropriate values ​​depending on the application of the transmitting device 200M1, etc.

[0082] <Second Modification of Second Embodiment> 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of an electronic device 20M2 including a transmitting device 200M2 according to a second modified example of embodiment 2. The electronic device 20M2 includes a data output unit 50 and the transmitting device 200M2. Like the electronic device 20, the electronic device 20M2 is, for example, a smartphone, a tablet computer, or other portable device having a communication function.

[0083] The transmitting device 200M2 differs from the transmitting device 200 of the second embodiment in that a subtractor 290 is provided instead of the adder 280. The other configurations are the same as those of the transmitting device 200 of the second embodiment, so only the differences will be described here.

[0084] The output of the subtractor 290 is the cos(2ω) of the output signal RF2. LO +ω IF )t+cos(2ω LO -ω IF )t and cos(2ω LO +ω IF )t-cos(2ω LO-ω IF )t, which is the difference between 2cos(2ω LO -ω IF )t. Angular velocity ω LO Since the frequency obtained by is 150 GHz, the frequency of the output of subtractor 290 is in the 300 GHz band. In other words, the frequency of the output signal RF output from subtractor 290 is 2×LO-IF, which is in the band obtained by subtracting the frequency IF of the I signal and Q signal from 300 GHz.

[0085] In the second modification of the second embodiment, the HPF 150 outputs the 300 GHz band component of the output of the subtractor 290 as the transmission signal RF (2×LO-IF).

[0086] 9 is a diagram showing the output signal RF1 of the mixer 130 and the transmission signal RF output from the HPF 150. In FIG. 9, the horizontal axis represents frequency and the vertical axis represents signal strength. The output signal RF1 also includes a 10 GHz component of the IF signal, but this is omitted here.

[0087] 9, output signal RF1 (LO±IF) of mixer 130 is generated around 150 GHz, and transmit signal RF (2×LO-IF) is generated in a band lower than 300 GHz by the frequency of the IF signal. In this way, by mixing local signals of the same frequency twice for the I signal and Q signal in two systems and two stages of mixers 130, 230 and mixers 140, 240, a transmit signal RF in the 300 GHz band can be obtained.

[0088] Therefore, it is possible to provide a transmitting device 200M2 and an electronic device 20M2 that are capable of outputting a transmission signal RF in a frequency band that exceeds the upper limit frequency of the semiconductor device.

[0089] For output signal RF4 output from mixer 240, phase shifter 270 advances the phase by 90 degrees to match output signal RF2, and then subtractor 290 finds the difference, so that the +IF band is canceled out to obtain output signal RF(2×LO-IF) in which only the −IF band is selectively left. As a result, output signal RF(2×LO-IF) in which only the −IF band is selectively left can be output. In other words, the frequency of output signal RF that is finally output can be set to 2×LO-IF.

[0090] Furthermore, the HPF 150 removes unnecessary frequency components contained in the output signal RF (2×LO-IF) output from the subtractor 290, and the resultant signal can be output as a transmission signal RF from the output terminal 202. The frequency of the transmission signal RF is 2×LO-F, which includes the −IF band but not the +IF band, so the frequency band of the transmission signal RF that is finally output can be selectively set to the −IF band at 300 GHz.

[0091] <Simulation results> Fig. 10 is a diagram showing a simulation model of the transmitting device 100 of the first embodiment. The simulation model shown in Fig. 10 corresponds to the transmitting device 100 shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 10 shows the input terminal 101, the output terminal 102, the signal source 110, and the mixers 130 and 140, but omits the amplifiers 121 and 122 and the HPF 150. A signal of 10 GHz and 10 dBm was input as the IF signal, and a signal of 150 GHz and 20 dBm was input as the local signal.

[0092] As a condition for the simulation, only the +IF components (LO+IF, 2×LO+IF) were calculated, and the -IF components (LO-IF, 2×LO-IF) were not calculated. Furthermore, amplifiers 121 and 122 were omitted, and instead the output of the local signal was increased by the amplification factor of amplifiers 121 and 122. Furthermore, the conversion loss of mixers 130 and 140 was set to -20 dB.

[0093] 11 is a diagram showing the simulation results for the transmitting device 100 of the first embodiment. When an IF signal (10 GHz, 10 dBm) and a local signal (150 GHz, 20 dBm) were input, the output signal RF1 was 160 GHz, -11.1 dBm, and the output signal RF2 was 310 GHz, -31.1 dBm. Although the output power of the output signal RF2 was low, it was confirmed that the output signal RF2 of 310 GHz was obtained.

[0094] Fig. 12 is a diagram showing a simulation model of a transmitting device 100M according to a modified example of embodiment 1. The simulation model shown in Fig. 12 is obtained by adding an amplifier 160 with an amplification factor (gain) of 40 dB to the simulation model shown in Fig. 10. The other simulation conditions are the same as those of the simulation model shown in Fig. 10.

[0095] 13 is a diagram showing the results of a simulation of a transmitting device 100M according to a modified example of the first embodiment. When an IF signal (10 GHz, 10 dBm) and a local signal (150 GHz, 20 dBm) were input, the output signal RF1 was 160 GHz and -11.1 dBm, which is the same as the result shown in FIG. 11. The output signal RF2, which is affected by the amplification of the amplifier 160, was 310 GHz and 8.85 dBm. It was confirmed that the output increased by approximately 40 dB compared to the simulation result shown in FIG. 11.

[0096] As described above, it was confirmed that a transmission signal RF of 8.85 dBM (approximately 7.67 mW) can be obtained at 310 GHz (300 GHz band) using a 150 GHz local signal. It is believed that a similar transmission signal RF can be obtained from the transmitting devices 200, 200M1, and 200M2 of the second embodiment.

[0097] <Embodiment 3> Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electronic device 30 including a transmitting device 300 according to the third embodiment. Fig. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the waveform of a signal obtained in each section of the transmitting device 300. In Fig. 15, the horizontal axis represents frequency, and the vertical axis represents amplitude.

[0098] 14, the electronic device 30 includes a data output unit 50MM and a transmission device 300. Like the electronic device 10 of the first embodiment, the electronic device 30 is, for example, a smartphone, a tablet computer, or other portable device having a communication function.

[0099] In the third embodiment, the data output unit 50M has two output terminals 51A and 51B, which output an intermediate frequency IF signal and an IF bar signal, respectively. The IF bar signal is a signal whose phase is 180 degrees different from that of the IF signal, and is a signal obtained by inverting the phase of the IF signal. The IF signal and the IF bar signal are differential input signals, which are generated inside the data output unit 50M and output from the output terminals 51A and 51B. The IF signal is an example of a first input signal, and the IF bar signal is an example of a second input signal.

[0100] The transmitting device 300 has input terminals 301A and 301B, an output terminal 302, a signal source 110, a balun 310, amplifiers 321 and 322, mixers 331, 332, 333, and 334, matching circuits 340A and 340B, a connection unit 350, and an adder 360. The mixers 331, 332, 333, and 334 are provided in two stages for two systems for the IF signal and the IF bar signal.

[0101] Balun 310 is an example of a differential output unit. Amplifier 321 is an example of a first amplifier. Amplifier 322 is an example of a second amplifier. Mixers 331, 332, 333, and 334 are examples of a first mixer, a second mixer, a third mixer, and a fourth mixer, respectively.

[0102] The input terminal 301A is connected to an output terminal 51A of a data output unit 50M outside the transmitting device 300, and receives an IF signal from the data output unit 50M. The input terminal 301A is connected to one input terminal of a mixer 331 inside the transmitting device 300.

[0103] The input terminal 301B is connected to the output terminal 51B of the data output unit 50M outside the transmitting device 300, and receives the IF bar signal from the data output unit 50M. The input terminal 301B is connected to one input terminal of the mixer 332 inside the transmitting device 300.

[0104] The output terminal 302 is connected to the output terminal of the adder 360 inside the transmitting device 300, and is connected to the antenna 103 outside the transmitting device 300. The output terminal 302 is a terminal that outputs a transmission signal RF obtained by the transmitting device 300 performing frequency conversion and amplification on the IF signal and the IF bar signal. Note that a circuit that performs, for example, impedance matching or other processing may be provided between the output terminal 302 and the antenna 103.

[0105] The signal source 110 outputs a local signal (LO). The signal source 110 is the same as the signal source 110 in the first and second embodiments. The frequency LO of the local signal LO is, for example, 150 GHz. 150 GHz is close to the upper limit of the frequency of signals that can be amplified by the amplifiers 321 and 322 realized by HEMTs, but it is a frequency at which the HEMTs can operate as the amplifiers 321 and 322 with good amplification characteristics. The output terminal of the signal source 110 is connected to the unbalanced side winding 311 of the balun 310 and the connection part 350.

[0106] The balun 310 has an unbalanced side winding 311 and a balanced side winding 312. One end of the balanced side winding 312 is connected to the input terminal of the amplifier 321, and the other end is connected to the input terminal of the amplifier 322. The balun 310 generates and outputs local signals +LO and −LO from the local signal LO input from the signal source 110. The local signal +LO has the same amplitude, frequency, and phase as the local signal LO. The local signal +LO is identical to the local signal LO. The local signal −LO is a signal with the phase of the local signal +LO inverted, and is 180 degrees out of phase with the local signal +LO. The local signals +LO and −LO form a differential signal.

[0107] As shown in FIG. 15(A), the local signal +LO is a signal having a positive amplitude, and is expressed as cosω LO 15B, the local signal -LO is a signal having a negative amplitude, and can be expressed as -cosω LO It can be expressed as t.

[0108] Amplifier 321 has an input terminal connected to one end of balanced side winding 312 and an output terminal connected to the other input terminal of mixer 331, and amplifies the local signal +LO input from balun 310 and outputs it to mixer 331. Amplifier 321 is realized by a HEMT.

[0109] Amplifier 322 has an input terminal connected to the other end of balanced side winding 312 and an output terminal connected to the other input terminal of mixer 332, and amplifies the local signal -LO input from balun 310 and outputs the amplified signal to mixer 332. Amplifier 322 is realized by a HEMT. It is preferable to set the gain of amplifier 322 to the same value as the gain of amplifier 321, taking into account the symmetry of the circuit.

[0110] Mixer 331 has two input terminals connected to input terminal 301A and the output terminal of amplifier 321, and an output terminal connected to the input terminal of matching circuit 340A. Mixer 331 mixes the IF signal input from input terminal 301A with the local signal +LO amplified by amplifier 321, and outputs the result as output signal RF1 to matching circuit 340A. Output signal RF1 is an example of a first output signal.

[0111] Therefore, the frequency of the output signal RF1 is LO±IF. The frequencies LO±IF are a band that includes 150 GHz. Also, as shown in Figure 15(C), the waveform of the output signal RF1 is a waveform in which an IF signal with a positive amplitude and a frequency of LO±IF exists before and after a local signal +LO with a positive amplitude and a frequency of LO.

[0112] Mixer 332 has two input terminals connected to input terminal 301B and the output terminal of amplifier 322, and an output terminal connected to the input terminal of matching circuit 340B. Mixer 332 mixes the IF bar signal input from input terminal 301B with the local signal -LO amplified by amplifier 322, and outputs the result as output signal RF2 to matching circuit 340B. Output signal RF2 is an example of a second output signal.

[0113] Therefore, the frequency of the output signal RF2 is LO±IF. The frequencies LO±IF are in a band that includes 150 GHz. Also, as shown in Fig. 15(D), the waveform of the output signal RF2 is such that an IF signal with a positive amplitude and a frequency of LO±IF exists before and after a local signal -LO with a negative amplitude and a frequency of LO.

[0114] Matching circuit 340A has an input terminal connected to the output terminal of mixer 331 and an output terminal connected to one input terminal of mixer 333. Matching circuit 340A is an example of a first matching circuit. Matching circuit 340A is provided to achieve impedance matching between mixers 331 and 333, and passes output signal RF1 output from mixer 331 as is.

[0115] Matching circuit 340B has an input terminal connected to the output terminal of mixer 332 and an output terminal connected to one input terminal of mixer 334. Matching circuit 340B is an example of a second matching circuit. Matching circuit 340B is provided to achieve impedance matching between mixers 332 and 334, and passes output signal RF2 output from mixer 332 without modification.

[0116] Mixer 333 has two input terminals connected to the output terminal of matching circuit 340A and connection unit 350, and an output terminal connected to one input terminal of adder 360. Mixer 333 mixes output signal RF1 input from matching circuit 340A with local signal LO input from connection unit 350, and outputs the result as output signal RF3 to adder 360. Output signal RF3 is an example of a third output signal.

[0117] Therefore, the frequency of the output signal RF3 is 2×LO±IF. The frequency 2×LO±IF is a band that includes 300 GHz. As shown in FIG. 15(E), the waveform of the output signal RF3 is a waveform that is a combination of a local signal +2LO having a frequency of 2LO and a positive amplitude, and an IF signal having a frequency of 2LO±IF and a positive amplitude.

[0118] Mixer 334 has two input terminals connected to the output terminal of matching circuit 340B and connection unit 350, and an output terminal connected to the other input terminal of adder 360. Mixer 334 mixes output signal RF2 input from matching circuit 340B with local signal LO input from connection unit 350, and outputs the result as output signal RF4 to adder 360. Output signal RF4 is an example of a fourth output signal.

[0119] Therefore, the frequency of the output signal RF4 is 2×LO±IF. The frequency 2×LO±IF is a band that includes 300 GHz. As shown in FIG. 15(F), the waveform of the output signal RF4 has a local signal -2LO with a negative amplitude at frequency 2LO and an IF signal with a positive amplitude at frequency 2LO±IF.

[0120] Adder 360 has two input terminals connected to the output terminal of mixer 333 and the output terminal of mixer 334, and an output terminal connected to output terminal 302. Adder 360 adds output signal RF3 input from mixer 333 and output signal RF4 input from mixer 334.

[0121] Adding output signals RF3 and RF4 results in the result shown in Figure 15(G). By adding output signal RF3, which has a local signal +2LO with a frequency of 2LO and a positive amplitude, and an IF signal with a frequency of 2LO±IF and a positive amplitude, to output signal RF4, which has a local signal -2LO with a frequency of 2LO and a negative amplitude, and an IF signal with a frequency of 2LO±IF and a positive amplitude, the local signals +2LO and -2LO cancel each other out, resulting in an IF signal with a frequency of 2LO±IF and a positive amplitude. The frequency of the IF signal shown in Figure 15(G) is 300 GHz±IF, and its amplitude is twice that of the IF signals shown in Figures 15(C) to 15(F).

[0122] Here, the angular velocity of the IF signal is ω IF , the angular velocity of the local signal is ω LO Let the angular velocity ω LO The frequency obtained is 150GHz. The local signal + LO is cosω LO ·t, local signal -LO is -cosω LO ·t, IF signal is cos(ω IF ·t), IF bar signal is -cos(ω IF ·t) to.

[0123] The output signal RF1 is cosω LO t+cos(ω LO +ω IF )t+cos(ω LO -ω IF )t, and the output signal RF2 is -cosω LO t+cos(ω LO +ω IF )t+cos(ω LO -ω IF )t.

[0124] The output signal RF3 is cos2ω LO t+cos(2ω LO +ω IF )t+cos(2ω LO -ω IF )t, and the output signal RF4 is -cos2ω LO t+cos(2ω LO +ω IF)t+cos(2ω LO -ω IF )t.

[0125] Therefore, the output of adder 360 is the cos2ω of the output signal RF3. LO t+cos(2ω LO +ω IF )t+cos(2ω LO -ω IF )t and -cos2ω of the output signal RF4 LO t+cos(2ω LO +ω IF )t+cos(2ω LO -ω IF )t and 2cos(2ω LO +ω IF )t+2cos(2ω LO -ω IF )t. The output of summer 360 is the transmit signal RF.

[0126] angular velocity ω LO 15(G), an IF signal having a frequency of 300 GHz±IF and an amplitude twice that of the IF signal shown in FIGS. 15(C) to 15(F) is obtained.

[0127] As described above, the local signals +LO and -LO obtained by the balun 310 are amplified and then mixed with the IF signal and the IF bar signal to generate the output signals RF1 and RF2. The local signal LO is then added to the output signals RF1 and RF2 to obtain the output signals RF3 and RF4. When the output signals RF3 and RF4 are added, the local signal +2LO(cos2ω LO ·t) and the local signal -2LO(-cos2ω LO t) cancel each other out, and an IF signal with a frequency of 2LO±IF and an amplitude twice that of the original IF signal is obtained as the transmit signal RF. 2LO±IF is 300 GHz±IF.

[0128] Therefore, it is possible to provide the transmitting device 300 and the electronic device 30 that are capable of outputting a transmission signal RF in a frequency band that exceeds the upper limit frequency of the semiconductor device.

[0129] Furthermore, since the transmission signal RF does not include the local signal +2LO and the local signal −2LO, only an IF signal with a frequency of 300 GHz±IF and an amplitude twice that of the original IF signal can be obtained.

[0130] Furthermore, as in the first and second embodiments, the band of the IF signal is doubled without using a multiplier, so that a highly accurate and error-free output signal RF of 300 GHz can be obtained.

[0131] Fig. 16 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of electronic device 30M including transmitting device 300M according to a modification of embodiment 3. Fig. 17 is a diagram showing an example of waveforms of signals obtained at each section of transmitting device 300M. In Fig. 17, the horizontal axis represents frequency, and the vertical axis represents amplitude.

[0132] 16, the electronic device 30M includes a data output unit 50MM and a transmission device 300M. Like the electronic device 30, the electronic device 30M is, for example, a smartphone, a tablet computer, or other portable device with a communication function.

[0133] The transmitting device 300M has input terminals 301A and 301B, an output terminal 302, a signal source 110M, a balun 310, amplifiers 321 and 322, mixers 331, 332, 333M, and 334M, matching circuits 340MA and 340MB, a connection unit 350, and an adder 360. The mixers 331, 332, 333M, and 334M are provided in two stages with two systems for the IF signal and the IF bar signal. The following description will focus on the differences from the transmitting device 300 shown in FIG. 14. The mixers 333M and 334M are examples of a third mixer and a fourth mixer, respectively.

[0134] 14 in that signal source 110M outputs a local signal (LO) of 100 GHz. In the modification of embodiment 3, the frequency of local signal LO is 100 GHz. Therefore, signal source 110M has a larger margin than signal source 110 of embodiment 1 with respect to the upper limit of the frequency of a signal that can be amplified by amplifiers 321 and 322 realized by HEMTs, and amplifiers 321 and 322 realized by HEMTs can operate with good amplification characteristics.

[0135] As shown in FIG. 17(A), the local signal +LO is a signal having a positive amplitude, and is expressed as cosω LO 17B, ​​the local signal -LO is a signal having a negative amplitude, and can be expressed as -cosω LO It can be expressed as t. The LO frequency is 100 GHz.

[0136] The frequency of the output signal RF1 output from the mixer 331 is LO±IF, and the LO±IF frequencies are in a band that includes 100 GHz. Also, as shown in Fig. 17(C), the waveform of the output signal RF1 is such that an IF signal having a positive amplitude at the frequency LO±IF exists before and after a local signal +LO having a positive amplitude at the frequency LO.

[0137] Similarly, the frequency of the output signal RF2 output by the mixer 332 is LO±IF, and the frequencies LO±IF are in a band that includes 100 GHz. Also, as shown in Fig. 17(D), the waveform of the output signal RF2 is a waveform in which an IF signal having a positive amplitude and a frequency of LO±IF exists before and after a local signal -LO having a negative amplitude and a frequency of LO.

[0138] Mixer 333M differs from mixer 333 shown in Fig. 14 in that it is a harmonic mixer. Mixer 333M as a harmonic mixer creates a 200 GHz signal using internal distortion components (nonlinear components) based on local signal LO input from connection unit 350, and mixes the 200 GHz signal with output signal RF1 to output output signal RF3 of 300 GHz. Output signal RF3 output by mixer 333M is an example of a third output signal.

[0139] Therefore, the frequency of the output signal RF3 is 3×LO±IF. The frequency 3×LO±IF is a band that includes 300 GHz. As shown in FIG. 17(E), the waveform of the output signal RF3 has a local signal +3LO having a frequency of 3LO and a positive amplitude, and an IF signal having a frequency of 3LO±IF and a positive amplitude.

[0140] 14 in that it is a harmonic mixer. Mixer 334M as a harmonic mixer creates a 200 GHz signal using internal distortion components (nonlinear components) based on local signal LO input from connection unit 350, and mixes the 200 GHz signal with output signal RF2 to output output signal RF4 at 300 GHz. Output signal RF4 output by mixer 334M is an example of a fourth output signal.

[0141] Therefore, the frequency of the output signal RF4 is 3×LO±IF. The frequency 3×LO±IF is a band that includes 300 GHz. As shown in FIG. 17(F), the waveform of the output signal RF4 has a local signal −3LO with a negative amplitude at frequency 3LO and an IF signal with a positive amplitude at frequencies 3LO±IF.

[0142] Adder 360 has two input terminals connected to the output terminal of mixer 333M and the output terminal of mixer 334M, and an output terminal connected to output terminal 302. Adder 360 adds output signal RF3 input from mixer 333M and output signal RF4 input from mixer 334M.

[0143] Adding output signals RF3 and RF4 results in the result shown in Figure 17(G). By adding output signal RF3, which has a local signal +3LO with a frequency of 3LO and a positive amplitude, and an IF signal with a frequency of 3LO±IF and a positive amplitude, to output signal RF4, which has a local signal -3LO with a frequency of 3LO and a negative amplitude, and an IF signal with a frequency of 3LO±IF and a positive amplitude, the local signals +3LO and -3LO cancel each other out, resulting in an IF signal with a frequency of 3LO±IF and a positive amplitude. The frequency of the IF signal shown in Figure 17(G) is 300 GHz±IF, and its amplitude is twice that of the IF signals shown in Figures 17(C) to 17(F).

[0144] Here, the angular velocity ω LO The frequency obtained is 100GHz. The local signal + LO is cosω LO ·t, local signal -LO is -cosω LO ·t, IF signal is cos(ω IF ·t), IF bar signal is -cos(ω IF ·t) to.

[0145] The output signal RF1 is cosω LO t+cos(ω LO +ω IF )t+cos(ω LO -ω IF )t, and the output signal RF2 is -cosω LO t+cos(ω LO +ω IF )t+cos(ω LO -ω IF )t.

[0146] The output signal RF3 is cos3ω LO t+cos(3ω LO +ω IF )t+cos(3ω LO -ω IF )t, and the output signal RF4 is -cos3ω LO t+cos(3ω LO +ω IF )t+cos(3ω LO -ω IF )t.

[0147] Therefore, the output of adder 360 is the cos 3ω of the output signal RF3. LO t+cos(3ω LO +ω IF )t+cos(3ω LO -ω IF )t and -cos3ω of the output signal RF4 LO t+cos(3ω LO +ω IF )t+cos(3ω LO -ω IF )t and 2cos(3ω LO +ω IF )t+2cos(3ω LO -ω IF )t.

[0148] angular velocity ω LO 17(G), an IF signal having a frequency of 300 GHz±IF and an amplitude twice that of the IF signal shown in FIGS. 17(C) to 17(F) is obtained.

[0149] As described above, the local signals +LO and -LO obtained by the balun 310 are amplified and then mixed with the IF signal and the IF bar signal to generate the output signals RF1 and RF2. The local signal LO is then added to the output signals RF1 and RF2 to obtain the output signals RF3 and RF4. When the output signals RF3 and RF4 are added, the local signal +3LO(cos3ω LO ·t) and the local signal -3LO (-cos3ω LO ·t) cancel each other out, resulting in an IF signal with a frequency of 300 GHz±IF and an amplitude twice that of the original IF signal.

[0150] Therefore, it is possible to provide a transmitting device 300M and an electronic device 30M that are capable of outputting a transmission signal RF in a frequency band that exceeds the upper limit frequency of the semiconductor device.

[0151] Furthermore, since the transmission signal RF does not include the local signal +3LO and the local signal −3LO, only an IF signal with a frequency of 300 GHz±IF and an amplitude twice that of the original IF signal can be obtained.

[0152] Furthermore, as in the first and second embodiments, the band of the IF signal is doubled without using a multiplier, so that a highly accurate and error-free output signal RF of 300 GHz can be obtained.

[0153] Furthermore, compared to the first to third embodiments, it is possible to use a signal source 110M that outputs a local signal LO of a lower frequency, and therefore the signal source 110M has a greater margin than the signal source 110 of the first embodiment with respect to the upper limit of the frequency of the signal that can be amplified by the amplifiers 321 and 322 realized by the HEMT, and the amplifiers 321 and 322 realized by the HEMT can operate with good amplification characteristics.

[0154] The above describes a transmitting device and electronic device according to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. However, the present invention is not limited to the specifically disclosed embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible without departing from the scope of the claims. The following additional notes are provided regarding the above-described embodiments. (Appendix 1) a signal source that outputs a local signal of a first frequency; a first amplifier that amplifies the local signal output from the signal source; a first mixer that mixes a first input signal of an intermediate frequency with the local signal amplified by the first amplifier to output a first output signal; a second mixer that mixes the first output signal output from the first mixer with a local signal amplified by the first amplifier to output a second output signal; a transmitting device including: (Appendix 2) The transmitting device described in Appendix 1 further includes a second amplifier provided between the first mixer and the second mixer, amplifying the first output signal output from the first mixer and outputting the amplified signal to the second mixer. (Appendix 3) The transmitting device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a high-pass filter provided on the output side of the second mixer, which passes signals in a band including a second frequency that is twice the first frequency. (Appendix 4) a third mixer that mixes a second input signal of the intermediate frequency, which has a phase difference of 90 degrees from that of the first input signal, with the local signal amplified by the first amplifier, and outputs a third output signal; a fourth mixer that mixes the third output signal output from the third mixer with the local signal amplified by the first amplifier to output a fourth output signal; a phase shifter that aligns the phases of the second output signal and the fourth output signal; an adder that adds the phase-aligned second output signal and the phase-aligned fourth output signal; 3. The transmitting device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: (Appendix 5) 5. The transmitting device according to claim 4, further comprising a high-pass filter provided on the output side of the adder, for passing signals in a band including a second frequency that is twice the first frequency. (Appendix 6) a third mixer that mixes a second input signal of the intermediate frequency, which has a phase difference of 90 degrees from that of the first input signal, with the local signal amplified by the first amplifier, and outputs a third output signal; a fourth mixer that mixes the third output signal output from the third mixer with the local signal amplified by the first amplifier to output a fourth output signal; a phase shifter that aligns the phases of the second output signal and the fourth output signal; a subtractor that outputs the difference between the second output signal and the fourth output signal whose phases have been aligned; 3. The transmitting device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: (Appendix 7) 7. The transmitting device according to claim 6, further comprising a high-pass filter provided on the output side of the subtractor, which passes signals in a band including a second frequency that is twice the first frequency. (Appendix 8) a second amplifier provided between the first mixer and the second mixer, amplifying the first output signal output from the first mixer and outputting the amplified first output signal to the second mixer; The transmitting device according to any one of appendixes 4 to 7, further comprising a third amplifier provided between the third mixer and the fourth mixer, amplifying the third output signal output from the third mixer and outputting the amplified signal to the fourth mixer. (Appendix 9) The first amplifier is an amplifier provided between the signal source and the first mixer, amplifying the local signal output from the signal source and outputting the amplified signal to the first mixer; an amplifier provided between the signal source and the second mixer, amplifying the local signal output from the signal source and outputting the amplified signal to the second mixer; 4. The transmitting device according to claim 1, further comprising: (Appendix 10) The first amplifier is an amplifier provided between the signal source and the first mixer, amplifying the local signal output from the signal source and outputting the amplified signal to the first mixer; an amplifier provided between the signal source and the second mixer, amplifying the local signal output from the signal source and outputting the amplified signal to the second mixer; an amplifier provided between the signal source and the third mixer, amplifying the local signal output from the signal source and outputting the amplified signal to the third mixer; an amplifier provided between the signal source and the fourth mixer, amplifying the local signal output from the signal source and outputting the amplified signal to the fourth mixer; 9. The transmitting device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 4 to 8, comprising: (Appendix 11) 11. The transmitter of claim 10, wherein the plurality of amplifiers of the first amplifier are implemented with high electron mobility transistors. (Appendix 12) a signal source that outputs a local signal of a first frequency; a differential output unit connected to an output side of the signal source and configured to output, from the local signal, a differential signal including a first local signal and a second local signal obtained by inverting the phase of the first local signal; a first amplifier connected to an output side of the differential output unit and amplifying the first local signal; a second amplifier connected to an output side of the differential output unit and configured to amplify the second local signal; a first mixer that mixes a first input signal of an intermediate frequency with the first local signal amplified by the first amplifier to output a first output signal; a second mixer that mixes a second input signal obtained by inverting the phase of the first input signal with the second local signal to output a second output signal; a third mixer that mixes the first output signal output from the first mixer with the local signal to output a third output signal; a fourth mixer that mixes the second output signal output from the second mixer with the local signal to output a fourth output signal; an adder that adds the third output signal output from the third mixer and the fourth output signal output from the fourth mixer; The transmitting device further includes: (Appendix 13) a first matching circuit provided between the first mixer and the third mixer, the first matching circuit passing signals in the first frequency band; a second matching circuit provided between the second mixer and the fourth mixer, the second matching circuit passing signals in the first frequency band; 13. The transmitting device of claim 12, further comprising: (Appendix 14) the third mixer is a harmonic mixer that mixes the first output signal output from the first mixer with the local signal to output the third output signal having a frequency three times the first frequency, The transmitting device according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the fourth mixer is a harmonic mixer that mixes the second output signal output from the second mixer with the local signal to output the fourth output signal having a frequency three times the first frequency. (Appendix 15) 15. The transmitter according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the first amplifier and the second amplifier are realized by high electron mobility transistors. (Appendix 16) 16. The transmitting device according to any one of Supplementary notes 1 to 15, wherein the first frequency is 150 GHz. (Appendix 17) a data output unit that outputs the first input signal as a data signal; A transmitting device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 3 and 9. Electronic devices, including: (Appendix 18) a data output unit that outputs the first input signal and the second input signal as data signals; A transmitting device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 4 to 8 and 10. Electronic devices, including: (Appendix 19) a data output unit that outputs the first input signal and the second input signal as data signals; A transmitting device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 12 to 15. Electronic devices, including: [Explanation of symbols]

[0155] 10, 10M electronic equipment 50 Data output section 100, 100M transmitter 101 Input terminal 102 Output terminal 110 Signal source 121, 122 amplifiers 130, 140 Mixer 150 HPF 160 amps 20, 20M1, 20M2 Electronic equipment 200, 200M1, 200M2 transmitter 201A, 201B input terminals 202 output terminal 110 Signal source 221, 222, 223, 224 Amplifiers 130, 140, 230, 240 mixer 150 HPF 260A, 260B amplifiers 270 Phase Shifter 280 Adder 290 Subtractor 50, 50M data output section 300, 300M transmitter 110M signal source 321, 322 amplifiers 331, 332, 333, 334 Mixers 350 Connection 360 Adder

Claims

1. a signal source that outputs a local signal of a first frequency; a differential output unit connected to an output side of the signal source and configured to output, from the local signal, a differential signal including a first local signal and a second local signal obtained by inverting the phase of the first local signal; a first amplifier connected to an output side of the differential output unit and amplifying the first local signal; a second amplifier connected to an output side of the differential output unit and amplifying the second local signal; a first mixer that mixes a first input signal of an intermediate frequency with the first local signal amplified by the first amplifier to output a first output signal; a second mixer that mixes a second input signal obtained by inverting the phase of the first input signal with the second local signal to output a second output signal; a third mixer that mixes the first output signal output from the first mixer with the local signal to output a third output signal; a fourth mixer that mixes the second output signal output from the second mixer with the local signal to output a fourth output signal; an adder that adds the third output signal output from the third mixer and the fourth output signal output from the fourth mixer; a transmitting device including:

2. a first matching circuit provided between the first mixer and the third mixer, the first matching circuit passing signals in the first frequency band; a second matching circuit provided between the second mixer and the fourth mixer, the second matching circuit passing signals in the first frequency band; The transmitting device of claim 1 further comprising:

3. the third mixer is a harmonic mixer that mixes the first output signal output from the first mixer with the local signal to output the third output signal having a frequency three times the first frequency, 3. The transmitting device according to claim 1, wherein the fourth mixer is a harmonic mixer that mixes the second output signal output from the second mixer with the local signal to output the fourth output signal having a frequency three times the first frequency.

4. 4. The transmitter according to claim 1, wherein the first amplifier and the second amplifier are realized by high electron mobility transistors.

5. a data output section that outputs the first input signal and the second input signal as data signals; A transmitting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, Electronic devices, including:

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