U.S. patent application number 12/321482 was filed with the patent office on 2009-07-30 for rf-front-end for a radar system.
This patent application is currently assigned to Infineon Technologies AG. Invention is credited to Hans Peter Forstner, Rudolf Lachner.
Application Number | 20090189801 12/321482 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40028005 |
Filed Date | 2009-07-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090189801 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Forstner; Hans Peter ; et
al. |
July 30, 2009 |
RF-front-end for a radar system
Abstract
An RF sender/receiver front-end is disclosed comprising a
terminal for receiving an oscillator signal, at least one
distribution unit for distributing the oscillator signal into
different signal paths, two or more mixer-arrangements for sending
a transmit-signal or for receiving an receive-signal, where each
mixer-arrangement comprises a mixer and an amplifier for amplifying
the oscillator signal and generating the transmit-signal.
Inventors: |
Forstner; Hans Peter;
(Steinhoering, DE) ; Lachner; Rudolf; (Ingolstadt,
DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Maginot, Moore & Beck;Chase Tower
Suite 3250, 111 Monument Circle
Indianapolis
IN
46204
US
|
Assignee: |
Infineon Technologies AG
Neubiberg
DE
|
Family ID: |
40028005 |
Appl. No.: |
12/321482 |
Filed: |
January 21, 2009 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
11803343 |
May 14, 2007 |
|
|
|
12321482 |
|
|
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
342/175 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 2224/48247
20130101; G01S 7/032 20130101; H01L 2224/48091 20130101; H01L
2223/6677 20130101; G01S 13/931 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
342/175 |
International
Class: |
G01S 13/00 20060101
G01S013/00 |
Claims
1. An RF sender/receiver front-end comprising: a terminal for
receiving an oscillator signal, at least one distribution unit
configured to distribute the oscillator signal into different
signal paths, two or more mixer arrangements configured to send a
transmit-signal or to receiving an receive-signal, at least one of
said mixer arrangements configured to transmit a transmit-signal
and receive a receive-signal each mixer arrangement operably
coupled to receive the oscillator signal, each mixer arrangement
comprising a mixer and an amplifier configured to amplify the
oscillator signal and generate the transmit-signal, wherein the
amplifier is controllably enabled when and disabled.
2. The RF sender/receiver front-end of claim 1, further comprising
an oscillator.
3. The RF sender/receiver front-end of claim 1, further comprising
a terminating impedance operably coupled to inhibit reflections of
a received signal.
4. The RF sender/receiver front-end of claim 1, wherein the RF
sender/receiver front-end is integrated in one semiconductor
body.
5. The RF sender/receiver front-end of claim 4, wherein an antenna
is arranged together with the semiconductor body in a single chip
package.
6. An arrangement for use in an RF transceiver, comprising: a
terminal operably coupled to receive an oscillator signal, at least
one distribution unit configured to distribute the oscillator
signal into different signal paths, two or more mixer arrangements
configured to send a transmit signal or receive a receive signal,
each mixer arrangement is operably coupled in one of the different
signal paths, each mixer arrangement comprising a mixer and an
amplifier configured to amplify the oscillator signal.
7. The arrangement of claim 6, further comprising an oscillator
coupled to the terminal.
8. The arrangement of claim 6, wherein the amplifier can be
controllably enabled and disabled.
9. The arrangement of claim 6, wherein: a first mixer arrangement
is coupled in a first of the different signal paths and is
configured to transmit or receive RF signals in a first frequency
band; and a second mixer arrangement is coupled in a second of the
different signal paths and is configured to transmit or receive RF
signals in a second frequency band that is different than the first
frequency band.
10. The arrangement of claim 9, wherein the first frequency band is
employed for near area radar location, and the second frequency
band is employed for far area radar location.
11. The arrangement of claim 9, wherein the amplifier can be
controllably enabled and disabled.
Description
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 11/803,343, filed May 14, 2007, which is incorporated
herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The invention relates to a radio frequency sender/receiver
front-end for a radar system.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Known radar systems which are currently used for distance
measurement in vehicles essentially comprise two separate radars
which operate in different frequency bands. For distance
measurements in a near area (short range radar), radars which
operate in a frequency band around a mid-frequency of 24 GHz are
commonly used. In this case, the expression "near area" means
distances in the range from 0 to about 20 meters from the vehicle
(short range radar). The frequency band from 76 GHz to 77 GHz is
currently used for distance measurements in the "far area", that is
for measurements in the range from about 20 meters to around 200
meters (long range radar). These different frequency bands are
antithetical to the concept of one single radar system for both
measurement areas and often require two separate radar devices.
[0004] The frequency band from 77 GHz to 81 GHz is likewise
suitable for short range radar applications. A single multirange
radar system which carries out distance measurements in the near
area and far area using a single radio-frequency transmission
module (RF front-end) has, however, not yet been feasible for
various reasons. One reason is that circuits which are manufactured
using III/V semiconductor technologies (for example
gallium-arsenide technologies) are used at the moment to construct
known radar systems. Gallium-arsenide technologies are admittedly
highly suitable for the integration of radio-frequency components,
but it is not possible to achieve a degree of integration which is
as high, for example, of 5 that which would be possible with
silicon integration, as a result of technological restrictions.
Furthermore, only a portion of the required electronics are
manufactured using GaAs technology, so that a large number of
different components are required to construct the overall
system.
[0005] However, a high number of components is not desirable, since
losses and reflections arise in each component, especially in the
signal path downstream to the RF power amplifier. These losses and
reflections have an undesired negative impact on the efficiency of
the overall system. Thus there is a general need for a RF
sender/receiver front-end which provides for high flexibility at
high integration level and high efficiency.
SUMMARY
[0006] The RF sender/receiver frontend according to one example of
the invention comprises a terminal for receiving an oscillator
signal, at least one distribution unit for distributing the
oscillator signal into different signal paths, two or more
mixer-arrangements for sending a transmit-signal or for receiving
an receive-signal, where each mixer-arrangement comprises a mixer
and an amplifier for amplifying the oscillator signal and
generating the transmit-signal.
[0007] One aspect of at least some embodiments of the invention
relates to a mixer-arrangement. An exemplary embodiment of the
mixer-arrangement comprises an oscillator terminal for receiving an
oscillator signal, an RF terminal for connecting an antenna, a
base-band terminal for providing a base-band signal, a mixer having
a first input which is connected to the oscillator terminal, a
second input, and an output which is connected with the base-band
terminal, a directional coupler which is connected with the
oscillator-terminal and the RF terminal for coupling the oscillator
signal to the antenna and for coupling a signal received from the
antenna to the second input of the mixer, and a disconnecting
device for interrupting the signal.
[0008] The amplifier of the sender/receiver front-end may be able
to be enabled and disabled by a control signal. In this case the
amplifier may also serve as the disconnecting device of the mixer
arrangement.
[0009] With the help of the mixer arrangement the RF
sender/receiver front-end may be configured to operate either in a
pure receive-mode or in a combined send-and-receive-mode of an
antenna which is connected to the RF front-end.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] The invention can be better understood with reference to the
following drawings and description. The components in the figures
are not necessarily to scale, instead emphasis being placed upon
illustrating the principles of the invention. Moreover, in the
figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts. In
the drawings:
[0011] FIG. 1 shows a radar system in which the same antenna is
used for long-range and short-range measurements,
[0012] FIG. 2 shows a radar system with different antennas for
long-range and short-range measurements,
[0013] FIG. 3 shows a more detailed illustration of the system
shown in FIG. 2,
[0014] FIG. 4 shows a more detailed illustration of the system
illustrated in FIG. 3,
[0015] FIG. 5 shows an alternative to the system illustrated in
FIG. 4,
[0016] FIG. 6 shows the internal design of the transmission
oscillator in the form of a block diagram,
[0017] FIG. 7A shows a mixer-arrangement for mixing a RF
receive-signal into the base-band,
[0018] FIG. 7B shows a mixer-arrangement for a combined
send-and-receive-mode of operation of a connected antenna,
[0019] FIG. 8A shows a mixer-arrangement which is configured to a
combined send-and-receive mode of operation, the mixer-arrangement
being configurable by a control signal and comprising an amplifier
which can be enabled and disabled by the control signal,
[0020] FIG. 8B shows a mixer-arrangement which is configured to a
pure receive mode of operation, the mixer-arrangement being
configurable by a control signal and comprising an amplifier which
can be enabled and disabled by the control signal,
[0021] FIG. 9A shows a mixer-arrangement which is configurable by
laser fuses,
[0022] FIG. 9B shows a mixer-arrangement which is configurable by
laser fuses, the mixer-arrangement being configured to a pure
receive mode of operation,
[0023] FIG. 9C shows a mixer-arrangement which is configurable by
laser fuses, the mixer-arrangement being configured to a combined
send-and-receive mode of operation,
[0024] FIG. 10 shows one example of the switchable amplifier of
FIG. 8A or 8B, and
[0025] FIG. 11 shows one example of the inventive RF
sender/receiver front-end comprising the configurable mixer of FIG.
8A or 8B.
[0026] FIG. 12a shows a cross-section of an example of the
invention, where RF-front-end of FIG. 11 and an antenna are
arranged in one common package.
[0027] FIG. 12b shows a bottom-view of the arrangement of FIG.
12a.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0028] FIG. 1 uses a block diagram to show the basic structure of
one example of a radar system. The actual multirange radar MRR has
a control and processing unit 110 which is connected to the other
vehicle components 100 via a specific interface, for example the
vehicle bus. The multirange radar MRR also comprises a
radio-frequency (RF) transmission module 120 and an antenna module
130 which comprises one or more individual antennas. The control
and processing unit 110 may be designed predominantly using CMOS
technology, whereas the RF transmission module 120 may be designed
predominantly using bipolar technology. However, it is also
possible to integrate both parts jointly using BiCMOS technology.
The multirange radar comprises at least two range measurement
zones, a near area for ranges between 0 and about 20 meters
(short-range radar), and a far area with ranges from around 20
meters to about 200 meters (long-range radar). Since both the
transmission and reception characteristics of the active antennas
as well as the required bandwidth of the transmitted radar signal
are different in these two measurement ranges, both the antenna
module 130 and the radio-frequency transmission module 120 can be
configured by means of control signals CF0 and CF1, which are
provided by the control and processing unit 110, in accordance with
the desired measurement range. The details of this configuration
capability will be explained in more detail further below.
[0029] An antenna with a fairly broad emission angle is desirable
for a measurement in the short range and an antenna with a narrow
emission angle and a high antenna gain is desirable for measurement
in the long range. For this reason, phased-array antennas may be
used, by way of example, in the antenna module 130, whose
transmission reception angle can be varied by driving different
antenna elements with the same antenna signal, but with a different
phase angle of the antenna signal. Variation of the transmission
and reception characteristics of antennas by means of an
appropriate driver is also referred to as electronic beam-control
or digital beam-forming.
[0030] The RF transmission module 120 also comprises the
radio-frequency front-end which is required for the reception of
the reflected radar signals. The received radar signals are mixed
to baseband with the aid of a mixer, the baseband signal IF is then
supplied from the radio-frequency transmission module 120 to the
control and processing unit 110, which digitizes the baseband
signal IF and processes it further by digital signal processing. It
is not only possible to provide a separate transmitting antenna and
receiving antenna (bistatic radar), but also a common antenna for
transmission and reception of radar signals (monostatic radar). In
the second case, a directional coupler is required to separate the
transmitted signals and the received signals. The internal design
of the RF transmission module 120 and of the antenna modules 130
will likewise be described in more detail later.
[0031] Electronic beam control (digital beam-forming) allows a
minimal number of components, but requires considerably greater
control logic complexity. For this reason, different antennas 130a
and 130b may be used for the different measurement ranges, as is
shown in the example illustrated in FIG. 2. The block diagram in
FIG. 2 differs from that in FIG. 1 only in that two antenna modules
130a and 130b are provided instead of the antenna module 130 which
can be configured via the control signal CF1, and their emission
and reception characteristics are not adjustable. For example, the
antenna 130a is designed only for measurements in the short range,
and the antenna 130b is designed only for measurements in the long
range. However, the transmission signals are generated and the
received signals are mixed in a common radio-frequency
sender/receiver front-end 120. In principle, when using two
antennas, it is also possible to simultaneously carry out
measurements in the short range and in the long range (frequency
multiplexing mode) instead of alternate measurement (time
multiplexing mode).
[0032] FIG. 3 shows essentially the same example as illustrated in
FIG. 2, but with the control and processing unit 110 and the RF
sender/receiver front-end 120 being illustrated in more detail. The
control and processing unit 110 comprises a computation unit 111, a
digital/analog converter 114, an analog/digital converter 113 with
an upstream distribution block 112 which, for example, may be in
the form of a multiplexer. The RF sender/receiver front-end 120
comprises a radio-frequency oscillator 121, which produces the
transmission signal, a distribution unit 122 which distributes the
signal power, depending on the operating mode, to a first
transmitting/receiving circuit 123a or to a second
transmitting/receiving circuit 123b (time multiplexing mode), or
else between both transmitting/receiving circuits 123a and 123b
(frequency multiplexing mode).
[0033] As already mentioned, the multirange radar comprises a first
operating mode for measurement of distances in the short range, and
a second operating mode for measurement of distances in the long
range. The operating mode is elected by the computation unit 111 by
providing the appropriate control signals CT0, CT1 and CT2. The
control signals CT1 and CT2 respectively activate and deactivate
the respective transmitting/receiving circuits 123A and 123B, and
the control signal CT0 configures the distribution unit 122 in
accordance with the desired operating mode. The computation unit
111 additionally provides a digital reference signal REF, which is
supplied to the oscillator 121 via a digital/analog converter 114.
This reference signal REF governs the oscillation frequency of the
output signal OSZ of the oscillator 121, which is supplied to the
distribution unit 122. For a measurement in the short range, the
distribution unit 122 is configured in such a manner that the
transmission signal is supplied only to the transmitting/receiving
circuit 123a, which is activated by the control signal CT1. The
second transmitting/receiving circuit 123b is deactivated by the
control signal CT2. The transmitting/receiving circuits 123a and
123b essentially also comprise a transmission amplifier output
stage via which the transmission signal is supplied to the
respective antenna modules 1230a and 130b.
[0034] In addition, the transmitting/receiving circuit 123a
contains one or more mixers with the aid of which the radar signals
which are received by the receiving antennas are mixed to baseband.
The baseband signal IF1 is then made available by the
transmitting/receiving circuit 123a to the distributor block 112 in
the control and processing unit 110. Depending on the number of
receiving antennas, the baseband signal IF1 comprises a plurality
of signal elements. The baseband signal IF1 is distributed by the
distributor block 112 to an analog/digital converter 113, which has
one or more channels, and is made available from this
analog/digital converter 113 in digital form to the computation
unit 111. This computation unit 111 can then use the digitized
baseband signals IF1 to identify objects in the "field of view" of
the radar, and to calculate the distance between them and the
radar. This data is then made available via an interface, for
example a vehicle bus BS, to the rest of the vehicle.
[0035] For a measurement in the long range, all that is necessary
is switching in the distributor unit 122, activation of the
transmitting/receiving circuit 123b and deactivation of the
transmitting/receiving circuit 123a by means of the control signals
CT0, CT1 and CT2. The transmission and reception then take place
via the antennas 130b, which in the present case are in the form of
common transmitting and receiving antennas. For this reason, a
directional coupler is also required to separate the transmission
signal and the received signal. What has been said for the first
transmitting/receiving circuit 123a also, of course, applies
analogously to the second transmitting/receiving circuit 123b. The
detailed design of the transmitting/receiving circuits 123a and
123b will be explained with reference to a further figure.
[0036] The transmitting/receiving circuits 123a and 123b can be
deactivated in various ways. In the simplest case, the circuits (or
else only circuit elements) are disconnected from the supply
voltage. It is also possible to switch off the mixers in the
transmitting/receiving circuits. Irrespective of the specific
manner in which the deactivation is accomplished, it is, however,
necessary to ensure that the power of the transmission signal is
not reflected, and therefore does not interfere with any other
circuit components.
[0037] FIG. 4 essentially shows the example of FIG. 3, with the
computation unit 111, the distributor block 122 and the
transmitting/receiving circuits 123a and 123b being illustrated in
more detail. The transmitting/receiving circuits 123a and 123b each
comprise an amplifier 126 to which the transmission signal is
supplied. These amplifiers 126 have a plurality of outputs, at
least one of which is connected to a transmitting antenna, and at
least a second of which is connected to a mixer 127. If disturbance
or interference signals which have to be filtered out are present,
a filter 125 may be in each case arranged between the amplifier 126
and the transmitting antenna, and between the amplifier 126 and the
mixer 127. In the transmitting/receiving circuit 123a, the mixers
127 are connected not only to the amplifier 126 but also to the
receiving antenna, so that the received signal is mixed to baseband
by the mixer 127 with the aid of the transmission signal.
[0038] In the illustrated example, one transmitting antenna and two
receiving antennas are provided in the antenna module 130a. This
should be regarded only by way of example, and in principle any
desired combination of transmitting and receiving antennas is
possible. Instead of separate transmitting and receiving antennas,
it would also be possible to use bidirectional antennas, as is the
case with the antenna module 130b.
[0039] The transmitting/receiving circuit 123b differs from the
transmitting/receiving circuit 123a described above by comprising
the directional couplers 128 which allow the antennas in the
antenna module 138 to be used both as transmitting antennas and as
receiving antennas. The directional couplers 128 have four
connections, of which a first connection is connected to the
amplifier 126, a second connection is connected to a terminating
impedance, a third connection is connected to a mixer 127 and a
fourth connection is connected to one antenna of the antenna module
130b. The transmission signal is passed from the amplifier 126
through the directional coupler to the antenna, where the signal
power is emitted from. A received signal is passed from the antenna
through the directional coupler to the mixer 127, where it is mixed
to baseband with the aid of the transmission signal, which is
likewise supplied to the mixer 127. The output signals from the
mixers, i.e. the baseband signals IF0, IF1 are then multiplexed by
the distributor block 112, and are digitized by the analog/digital
converter 113. These digitized signals are buffered in a FIFO
memory 119 and are processed further by a digital signal processor
118. The FIFO memory 119 and the digital signal processor 118 are
components of the computation unit 111, as is the clock generator
117, which provides a clock signal for the digital signal processor
112 and for the analog/digital converter 113. The control logic 116
provides the control signals CT0, CT1 and CT2 and likewise controls
a reference signal generator 115, which produces the digital
reference signal REF for the oscillator 121 (see above).
[0040] The distribution unit 122, which distributes the oscillator
signal OSZ to the transmitting/receiving circuits 123a and 123b,
has only one switch SW in the illustrated situation, which may, for
example, be in the form of a semiconductor switch or a
micromechanical switch. This switch connects the oscillator 121
either to the first transmitting/receiving circuit 123a or to the
second transmitting/receiving circuit 123b. Filters 125 are
likewise arranged between the switch SW and the
transmitting/receiving circuits 123a, 123b, provided that
disturbing signals are present. It is also possible to connect the
oscillator directly to the two transmitting/receiving circuits 123a
and 123b (that is to say without the provision of a switch SW), or
to provide a passive power splitter. The oscillator power is then
split between the two transmitting/receiving circuits. As already
mentioned, it is important in this case to prevent reflections when
one of the transmitting/receiving circuits 123a, 123b is
deactivated. Suitable terminating impedances must therefore be
provided at an appropriate circuit node.
[0041] The example illustrated in FIG. 4 is designed for a
so-called time multiplexing mode, i.e. switching takes place
alternately from the first operating mode to the second operating
mode, and back again. The frequency ranges for measurements in the
near area in the first operating mode and for measurements in the
far area in the second operating mode may in this case in principle
overlap, since only one of the two antenna modules 130a or 130b is
ever active.
[0042] FIG. 5 shows a very similar exemplary embodiment which
operates using the frequency multiplexing mode. This differs from
the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4 only by having a modified
distributor unit 122, the additional reference signal generator
115' with the additional digital/analog converter 114'. Since
measurements are carried out simultaneously in the near area and in
the far area in the frequency-division multiplexing mode, the
multiplexer 112 may not be required in this case, but the
analog/digital converters 113 would then have to comprise a
plurality of channels in order to allow the received signals, which
have been mixed to baseband, to be digitized in parallel.
[0043] In the example of FIG. 5, instead of a switch, the
distributor unit 122 has an additional mixer 127 and an additional
oscillator 129. The output signal OSZ from the oscillator 121 is on
the one hand supplied to the mixer 127 in the distributor unit 122,
and is on the other hand passed on via an optional filter 125 to
the transmitting/receiving circuit 123b as well. The spectrum of
the signal component of the oscillator signal OSZ supplied to the
mixer 127 is frequency shifted by the oscillator frequency of the
auxiliary oscillator 129, and is supplied via a filter 125 to the
transmitting/receiving circuit 123a. The auxiliary oscillator 129
is likewise controlled by the computation unit 111 with the aid of
the reference signal generator 115' and the digital/analog
converter 114', which is connected to it and whose output signal is
supplied to the auxiliary oscillator 129. The mixer 127 and the
auxiliary oscillator 129 thus result in the production of a second,
frequency-shifted transmission signal, so that the two
transmitting/receiving circuits 123a can transmit and receive at
the same at different frequencies via the two antenna modules 130a
and 130b, respectively. This allows simultaneous measurement in the
near area and in the far area.
[0044] FIG. 6 shows one possible configuration of the
radio-frequency oscillator 121, with whose aid the transmission
signal is produced. This essentially comprises a phase locked loop
(PLL) to which the analog reference signal REF' which is produced
by the digital/analog converter 114 is supplied. The major element
of the phase locked loop is a voltage-controlled radio-frequency
oscillator 143 whose output signal is supplied on the one hand to a
frequency divider 145, and on the other hand to a filter 125. The
output signal from the filter 125 represents the output signal OSZ
from the phase-locked loop. The output signal from the frequency
divider 145 is supplied to a mixer 127 which uses an auxiliary
oscillator 144 to shift the spectrum of the frequency-divided
oscillator signal by the magnitude of the frequency of the
auxiliary oscillator 144 towards a lower value. The output signal
from the mixer is divided down once again by a further frequency
divider 146.
[0045] The output signal from this further frequency divider 146
thus represents the oscillator signal of the radio-frequency
oscillator 143, which is compared with the previously mentioned
reference signal REF' with the aid of the phase/frequency detector
141. This phase/frequency detector 141 produces a control voltage
as a function of the frequency and phase difference between the
output signal from the frequency divider 146 and the reference
signal REF'. This control voltage is supplied to a loop filter 142,
whose output is connected directly to the voltage-controlled
radio-frequency oscillator 143. The voltage-controlled
radio-frequency oscillator 143 is thus dependent on the phase
difference and/or frequency difference between the output signal
from the frequency divider 146, which represents the oscillator
signal, and the reference signal REF'. The phase and the frequency
of the output signal OSZ from the phase locked loop thus have a
fixed relationship with the phase and the frequency of the
reference signal REF'. The voltage-controlled radio-frequency
oscillator 143 must be tunable over a broad frequency range, in the
present case in the range from 76 GHz to 81 GHz, that is to say
over a bandwidth of 5 GHz. Since the mid-frequency can also be
shifted by temperature effects and other parasitic effects, a
bandwidth of 8 GHz or more is required in practice, and this can be
achieved only by using the modern bipolar or BiCMOS technology that
has already been mentioned further above.
[0046] As it can be seen in FIGS. 3 to 5 the antennas 130, 130a and
130b may either configured to be used as receiving antennas, as
transmitting antennas, or as common transmitting/receiving
antennas. With "transmitting-only" antennas the transmitting signal
TX is generated from the oscillator signal OSZ of the voltage
control oscillator by amplification, and the transmitting signal TX
is supplied to the antenna. With the "receiving-only" antenna a
mixer 127 is needed for receiving, the mixer is adapted for mixing
a received signal RX into baseband and for providing the respective
baseband signal IF. With a common transmitting/receiving antenna a
directional coupler 128 is necessary for separating the received
signal RX from the transmitting signal TX. The antennas--dependent
on the application--may be arranged together with the RF front on
one common lead frame in one common chip-package. FIGS. 12a and 12b
refer to such an example.
[0047] As it can be seen from the example of FIG. 4 or 5, the
oscillator signal OSZ in the transmitting/receiving circuit 123b
(123a respectively) is amplified for providing the necessary signal
power. The amplified RF oscillator signal is than supplied to the
antennas and the mixers, wherein at each component (splitter,
coupler, mixer, etc.) reflections and losses occur, which has a
negative impact on the efficiency of the overall system.
[0048] Several different mixer arrangements 300 each comprising a
directional coupler 128 and a mixer 127 are illustrated in FIG. 7
to 9. Such mixer arrangements 300 may be used, for example for
designing a transmitting/receiving circuit similar to circuit 123b.
Each of these mix arrangements 300 comprises an RF terminal 301, an
oscillator terminal 302, and a baseband terminal 303. The
oscillator signal OSZ (or alternatively an amplified oscillator
signal) is supplied to the oscillator terminal 302; the RF terminal
is connected to the antenna, which either emits a transmitting
signal TX and/or receives an receiving signal RX. At the baseband
terminal 303 a baseband signal IF is provided for further
processing, wherein the baseband signal IF is generated by mixing
the received signal RX and the oscillator signal OSZ. A
transmitting/receiving circuit comprising such mixer arrangements
300 is depicted in FIG. 11 and labeled with the reference sign
123c. The transmitting/receiving circuit 123c may replace the
transmitting/receiving circuits 123a or 123b of FIGS. 3 or 4 for
improving the efficiency of the overall system.
[0049] The mixer arrangement depicted in FIG. 7a comprises a mixer
127 as its essential component. A first input of the mixer 127 is
connected with the oscillator terminal 302 of the mixer arrangement
300, the oscillator signal of the voltage controlled oscillator
being supplied to the oscillator terminal 302. A second input of
the mixer 127 is connected with the RF-terminal 301, the received
signal RX of the antenna being supplied to the RF-terminal 301. An
output of the mixer 127 is connected with the baseband terminal 303
thus providing a baseband signal IF. The mixer arrangement
described above obviously only can be employed for receiving; it is
not possible to transmit signals.
[0050] If the antenna is supposed to be used as a common
transmitting/receiving antenna, a directional coupler 128 has to be
provided as depicted in FIG. 7b. The mixer arrangement 300 of FIG.
7b comprises an directional coupler 128 and a mixer 127 as its
essential components. The oscillator signal is supplied to the
oscillator terminal 302 of the mixer arrangement 300; the
oscillator terminal 302 is connected with a first terminal of the
directional coupler 128.
[0051] The oscillator signal OSZ is coupled by the directional
coupler 128 to both the antenna as well as the mixer 127 as
indicated by the arrows in FIG. 7b. The directional coupler 128
thus couples the oscillator signal OSZ incident at its first
terminal to a fourth terminal of the directional coupler 128 and to
a second terminal of the directional coupler 128. The fourth
terminal is connected to the RF-terminal 301 and therefore to the
antenna 130. The second terminal is connected with the first input
of the mixer 127.
[0052] A received antenna signal RX arrives at the fourth terminal
of the directional coupler 128 via the RF terminal 301 and is
coupled by the directional coupler 128 to the mixer 127 via the
third terminal of the directional coupler 128. The mixer 127
generates the baseband signal IF from the received antenna signal
RX and the oscillator signal OSZ and provides the baseband signal
IF at the base-band terminal 303 for further processing.
[0053] If the antenna configuration is to be varied or different
applications require different system architectures (and therefore
a different antenna- and mixer-configuration), then it is
desirable, that these different mixer configurations do not require
different hardware solutions, and that one mixer-hardware is
configurable for a different applications. FIGS. 8a and 8b
illustrate a mixer arrangement which is configurable (by switching)
for a "receiving only" mode and a common transmitting/receiving
mode. FIG. 8a illustrates the configuration and the signal flow for
the common transmitting/receiving mode and FIG. 8b for the
receiving-only mode.
[0054] The configurable mixer arrangement 300 of FIGS. 8a and 8b
comprises a directional coupler 128, a mixer 127, a terminating
impedance R, and a switchable, respectively configurable amplifier
310. Analogues to the mixer arrangements of FIGS. 7a and 7b the
mixer arrangements 300 of FIGS. 8a and 8b comprise an RF-terminal
301, an oscillator terminal 302, and a baseband terminal 303. The
RF-terminal 301 is connected with both the antenna and the fourth
terminal of the directional coupler. The oscillator terminal 302 is
connected with both the input of the amplifier 310 and the first
input of the mixer 127, such that the oscillator signal OSZ, which
is received by the oscillator terminal 302, is coupled to the mixer
127 as well as to the amplifier 310. The baseband terminal 303 is
connected to the output of the mixer.
[0055] The output of the amplifier 310 is connected with the first
terminal of the directional coupler 128. In the example of FIG. 8
the amplifier 310 can be enabled (Spa=on) and disabled (Spa=off) by
a control signal Spa. The control signal Spa can assume two logic
levels (on or off), according to which the amplifier is either
activated or deactivated. With an activated amplifier 310 the
oscillator signal is amplified and coupled to the fourth terminal
of the directional coupler 128 and emitted as transmitting signal
TX via the antenna. A part of the power of the oscillator signal is
coupled to the terminating impedance R via the second terminal of
the directional coupler 128. This terminating impedance R has to be
chosen, such that no signal power is reflected.
[0056] The received signal RX received by the antenna is coupled
via the directional coupler 128 (as indicated by the arrows) to the
second input of the mixer 127, where the received signal RX is
mixed with the oscillator signal OSZ for providing a base-band
signal IF. A part of the signal power of the received signal RX is
coupled via the directional coupler 128 to the output of the
amplifier 310. The received signal RX has to be terminated at the
amplifier output by means of a suitable terminating impedance for
inhibiting undesired reflections.
[0057] FIG. 8b illustrates the case where the mixer arrangement 300
is configured as receiving-only mixer. Therefore, the amplifier 310
is deactivated by a corresponding level (Spa=off) of the control
signal Spa and no transmitting signal is coupled to the antenna.
The received signal RX is processed analogue to the case shown in
FIG. 8a.
[0058] The mixer arrangements depicted in FIGS. 8a and 8b allow for
a configuration of the operating mode of the mixer arrangement by a
control signal Spa, the operating mode can be either the combined
sending/receiving mode, or the receiving-only mode. Consequently,
the same hardware component can be used with different system
configurations. This is especially useful for chips comprising a
plurality of mixer arrangements which are employed in different
system configurations.
[0059] The example illustrated in FIGS. 9a, 9b and 9c does not
allow a repeatable configuration of the mixer arrangement 300 by
means of a control signal, but only a configuration being performed
once by fusing laser fuses 350 to 355, or by depositing an optional
(maybe final) metallisation layer thus providing the last missing
electrical connections. FIG. 9a illustrates the initial
configuration, starting from which the arrangement of FIG. 9b or
the arrangement of FIG. 9c is produced. The arrangement of FIG. 9b
corresponds to the arrangement of FIG. 7a, the arrangement of FIG.
9c corresponds to the arrangement of FIG. 7b.
[0060] In order to get a receiving-only mixer (cf. FIG. 7a or FIG.
9b) from the initial configuration, the fuses 350, 352, 353, and
355 have to be fused, for example by a laser-beam during the
production process. In order to get a combined
transmitting/receiving mixer (cf. FIG. 7b or FIG. 9c), the fuses
351 and 354 have to be fused.
[0061] Instead of laser fuses 350 to 355 intermittent signal paths
in the metallization layer can be used. At the places, where in the
case described above the fuses are not fused, the interruptions of
the signal paths are closed by disposing a further metallization at
the place of the interruptions in the signal paths (e. g. strip
lines).
[0062] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of an amplifier which can be
activated or deactivated by a control signal Spa. The oscillator
signal OSZ and the transmitting signal TX are differential signals,
i. e. signals which are not ground related, in the example of FIG.
10. The oscillator signal OSZ is supplied to two corresponding
terminals as indicated by the arrow. The first stage 311 of the
amplifier is an emitter follower, whose output signal is again
amplified by the differential amplifier 313. The current mirror 314
thereby serves as current source for the differential amplifier
313. By switching of the current source the amplifier may be
deactivated. In order to do so, for example a switch may be
provided which switches off the current in the reference path of
the current mirror 314. The output signal (transmitting signal TX)
is provided at the two corresponding output terminals as a
symmetric differential signal.
[0063] FIG. 11 depicts, as one example of the invention, a
sender/receiver front-end 120, which has to be understood as a
possible alternative or supplement to the sender/receiver
front-ends 120 depicted in FIGS. 3 to 5. The transmitting/receiving
circuits 123a and 123b of FIGS. 4 and 5 may be replaced by the
sending/receiving circuit 123c of FIG. 11, which essentially
provide the same function. The sender/receiver front-end 120 of
FIG. 11 may comprise an RF-oscillator (e. g. a voltage controlled
local oscillator) which provides an oscillating signal OSZ
depending on the analog reference signal REF' (cf. FIG. 4). The
oscillator signal OSZ is supplied to the distribution unit 122
which distributes the single power, dependent on the mode of
operation, to the connected transmitting/receiving circuit. In the
present case only one transmitting/receiving circuit 123c is
depicted for the sake of simplicity and clarity. Of course two or
more transmitting/receiving circuits can be connected to the
distribution unit 122 (cf. FIGS. 3 to 5).
[0064] The transmitting/receiving circuit 123c comprises an
optional filter 125, whose output is connected to one or more of
the mixer arrangements 300 described with reference to FIGS. 8a and
8b. Instead of the (multi-output) filter 125 a further distribution
unit (RF-splitter) or a simple parallel connection of the mixer
arrangements 300 may be used as alternatives. The mixer arrangement
is connected with one or more antennas 130 and provides the
baseband signals IF0, IF1 by mixing the received signals RX with
the oscillator signal OSZ.
[0065] One important difference between the present example and the
example illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 is, that the RF-transmitting
signal is not once "centrally" amplified before being distributed
to the different signal paths each corresponding to an antenna (as
performed, for example, by the circuit 123b of FIG. 4), but the
amplification is performed "locally" in each mixer arrangement 300
after the distribution of the un-amplified (low power)
RF-transmitting signal. This entails a remarkable improvement of
the efficiency of the overall RF front-end 120 and an improvement
of flexibility. Only un-amplified RF signals are distributed to
different signal paths and since the amplification is performed in
each signal path closely to the antenna, the losses in the
splitters, mixers, couplers, etc. are remarkably reduced. Since the
mixer arrangements 300 are configurable via a control signal Spa
(which may depend or may be deducted from the control signal CT3),
the overall system is also improved in terms of scalability. For
example, even the antennas can be arranged together with the whole
RF front-end on one common lead frame of one common chip
package.
[0066] If a plurality of such chips are arranged on a PCB-board in
a defined distance, a phased-array for digital beam-forming can be
easily implemented due to the flexible configurability of the RF
front-end.
[0067] FIGS. 12a and 12b illustrate the common arrangement of RF
sender/receiver front-end 120 and one or more antennas on one
common wafer 503 and on one common lead frame 500. The pads 501
connecting the pins of a chip package are connected to the silicon
wafer 503 (and with the RF front-end integrated therein) via bond
wires 502. Additionally to the RF front-end 120 one or more
transmitting and/or receiving antennas are arranged on the wafer
503. In the present example only one antenna is shown for the sake
of simplicity and clarity.
[0068] Between antenna 130 and silicon wafer 503 a dielectric layer
510, for example a silicon-oxide-layer and/or a
silicon-nitride-layer, is arranged. The antenna 130 may be designed
as folder deep hole antenna, as patch-antenna, as leaky-wave
antenna, etc.
[0069] For providing a sufficient emission of radiation from the
antenna a cavity 540b can be etched into the silicon layer below
the antenna 130. If the radiation should be emitted in the
direction towards the lead frame 500, also the lead frame 500 may
have a cavity 504a below the antenna. The antenna is then located
on a thin membrane comprising the dielectric layer 510 and
optionally a thin residual of the silicon layer 503.
* * * * *