Switch circuit and method of switching radio frequency signals
US6804502B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 8, 2002 |
| Grant date | Oct 12, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 8, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH03K2017/0803
- WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A novel RF switch circuit and method for switching RF signals is described. The RF switch circuit is fabricated in a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology. The RF switch includes pairs of switching and shunting transistor groupings used to alternatively couple RF input signals to a common RF node. The switching and shunting transistor grouping pairs are controlled by a switching control voltage (SW) and its inverse (SW_). The switching and shunting transistor groupings comprise one or more MOSFET transistors connected together in a “stacked” or serial configuration. The stacking of transistor grouping devices, and associated gate resistors, increase the breakdown voltage across the series connected switch transistors and operate to improve RF switch compression. A fully integrated RF switch is described including digital control logic and a negative voltage generator integrated together with the RF switch elements. In one embodiment, the fully integrated RF switch includes a built-in oscillator, a charge pump circuit, CMOS logic circuitry, level-shifting and voltage divider circuits, and an RF buffer circuit. Several embodiments of the charge pump, level shifting, volta…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.