JP3830046B2 - Directional coupler - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a directional coupler used for a microwave communication device, and more particularly to a laminated chip type directional coupler used for a dual-band mobile phone or the like.

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a directional coupler using a conventional strip line. In this conventional example, two strip lines 51 and 52 are arranged in parallel with a distance S on the surface of a dielectric substrate 53. The parallel lengths of these strip lines 51 and 52 are configured to be a quarter wavelength of the electromagnetic wave propagating in the dielectric substrate. The high frequency power input from the port 54 passes through the strip line 51 as the main line and is output to the port 55. At this time, due to the coupling of the strip line 51 as the main line and the strip line 52 as the sub line, a part of the electric power passing through the strip line 51 flows to the strip line 52 and is output to the port 56. At this time, no output appears at the port 57.

  Next, when power flows in the opposite direction of the strip line 51 as the main line, that is, from the port 55 to the port 54, a part of the power appears at the port 57 and does not appear at the port 56. That is, by adopting such a configuration, a part of the forward power and the reverse power flowing through the strip line 51 of the main line are separated and taken out to the output ports 56 and 57 terminals of the strip line 52 of the sub line, respectively. be able to. This is the basic operation of the directional coupler.

  The coupling from the main line 51 to the sub-line 52 is possible by adjusting the distance S between the parallel portions between the two strip lines. In the description of the conventional example in FIG. 5, the main line and the sub line are the strip lines 51 and 52. However, as apparent from the symmetrical structure in FIG. In addition, the basic operation of the directional coupler can be realized.

  FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of the application example. The ports P1 and P2 of the main line 72 of the directional coupler 71 are arranged between the transmission power amplifier and the antenna, and one port P3 of the sub line 73 is connected to the automatic gain control circuit, and power is supplied to the other port P4. Is connected to the resistance element R that absorbs. In this way, only a part of the output of the transmission power amplifier appears at the port P3 and is led to the automatic gain control circuit. Part of the high-frequency power flowing backward from the antenna appears at the port P4 and is absorbed by the resistance element R. The signal output of the automatic gain control circuit is sent to a transmission power amplifier capable of gain control, and high frequency output can be controlled according to the purpose.

  Further, downsizing of mobile phones has become important. In general, the directional coupler is generally composed of a stripline having a length of 1/4 wavelength. The length of the stripline is, for example, 3.3 cm (1/4 wavelength, 900 MHz). A specific dielectric constant of 8) is required, and sufficient miniaturization cannot be expected. For this reason, according to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-131211, the configuration shown in FIG. 6 realizes downsizing of 3.2 × 1.6 mm, obtains a desired degree of coupling, and has excellent characteristics of low loss. Proposals for stacked directional couplers have been made.

  In recent years, there has been a remarkable spread of mobile phones, and functions of mobile terminals have been improved. As one of the proposals, a dual-band mobile phone has been proposed in which a single mobile terminal can make a call in two frequency bands. In order to configure this dual-band mobile phone, it is necessary to select the two frequency bands (for example, 900 MHz and 1800 MHz), and it is necessary to select parts to be used according to each frequency. There is a problem that the mounting area increases and the mounting area increases.

  For example, the same applies to the directional couplers 71a and 71b in the use example of the block diagram shown in FIG. At this time, the automatic gain control circuit takes out a fixed power of several tens to a few times and performs output control, so that it can be shared regardless of the frequency. However, for the directional coupler using FIG. 5 or FIG. 6, the length of the two strip lines or the interval between the two strip lines is adjusted according to the frequency band used as described above. Since various characteristics such as coupling loss and insertion loss are different in each frequency band, it is difficult to share them practically. For this reason, it is necessary to use two parts corresponding to each frequency band, and the number of parts increases and the mounting area increases.

  In addition, a method of further miniaturizing each component than before can be considered, but the use of two components remains unchanged, and even if only the directional couplers 71a and 71b are miniaturized, the entire device can be reduced. Miniaturization and cost reduction are not easy. That is, it is necessary to use two resistance elements R, miniaturization of each component requires high-precision dimensions for the pattern and component mounting position on the mounting board, and the number of components is two. There is a problem that it takes mounting time.

  In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a directional coupler that can be used in a plurality of frequency bands and is small and has good characteristics.

A first invention includes a main line, a sub line, and a ground electrode formed in an electrode pattern in a laminate, and the main line includes a plurality of main lines through which signals having different frequencies pass, A multiband directional coupler in which the sub-line is coupled to each other, wherein the laminated body has four side surfaces, and both ends of the first main line are led out to the first side surface, and the ground electrode Connected to the second external terminal located across the first external terminal to be connected, and both ends of the second main line are drawn out to the second side surface opposite to the first side surface, and connected to the ground electrode Multi-band directional coupling in which the first external terminal is connected to the third external terminal located across the first external terminal and the end of the first sub-line is drawn out to the other two side surfaces and connected to the fourth external terminal. It is a vessel.

In the multiband directional coupler, the first main line, the second main line, and the first main line are coupled to the first sub line so that the first main line and the second main line are coupled to each other. The electrode patterns constituting the sub line are formed on different dielectric layers, respectively, and the first sub line is laminated between the first main line and the second main line. preferable.

The first main line, the second main line, and the first sub-line preferably overlap in the stacking direction, and overlap when viewed in the stacking direction except for a portion connected to an external terminal. More preferably, it is formed.

It is also preferable that any or all of the first main line, the second main line, and the first sub-line are configured by electrode patterns formed by dividing into at least two layers.

A dielectric layer formed between the first main line and the first sub line, and a thickness of the dielectric layer formed between the second main line and the first sub line Since the desired degree of coupling can be obtained by configuring the two differently, it is preferable.

In the multiband directional coupler of the present invention, one end of the sub line is grounded through a resistance element. A plurality of main lines are coupled to the sub-line, and a part of the microwave power appears at the other end of the sub-line according to the coupling with the main line.

The electrode patterns constituting the first main line, the second main line, and the first sub line include a winding shape, a spiral shape, and a meander line shape. In the case of this winding shape, the main line and the sub line are preferably M-coupled.

The first and second main lines are electrode patterns formed in a U-shape, the first sub-line is a linear electrode pattern, and the first main line and the second main line are between the first main line and the second main line. In addition, the first sub-line is disposed via a dielectric layer, and the first main line and the second main line are sandwiched between ground electrodes disposed via another dielectric layer, It is also preferable to arrange the sub-line and the first and second main lines so as to overlap in the stacking direction.

A second invention is a mobile phone in which the multiband directional coupler is disposed between a transmission power amplifier and an antenna. The multiband directional coupler according to the present invention corresponds to two or more different use frequencies, and constitutes a plurality of main lines according to the use frequencies, while the sub-line is a single sub-line. The main line is coupled to one sub line, so that it can be used for a plurality of different use frequencies with one directional coupler . A mobile phone configured using such a multiband directional coupler, for example, a dual-band mobile phone, can achieve downsizing of the entire device.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to configure a directional coupler that can be used in two or more frequency bands, has a predetermined coupling degree and good insertion loss characteristics in each frequency band, and is extremely small. it can. Thus, for example, in a small microwave product such as a mobile phone, it is possible to contribute to downsizing of the entire device without sacrificing characteristics. This is particularly effective in a dual band portable device.

  Consider the function of the block diagram of FIG. 8 that constitutes the transmitter of a dual-band mobile phone. Normally, transmission of microwave power does not simultaneously transmit power for two systems to be used (for example, 900 MHz band and 1800 MHz band), and the two directional couplers 71a and 71b do not operate simultaneously. From this, it is considered that one main line and one sub line need only be coupled to each other in a certain time zone, and the sub lines 73a and 73b can be shared.

  Therefore, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, a directional coupler 33 having two main lines 32 and 33 and one sub line 34 is provided. By sharing the sub-line in this way, the directional coupler can be easily reduced in size, and only one absorption resistance element can be used, which contributes to the downsizing of the entire device. Since the directional coupler sets the line length or the distance between the lines depending on the frequency to be used, the main line cannot be shared.

  Therefore, the first and second main lines and the first sub-line are formed, and the first main line and the first sub-line, and the second main line and the first sub-line are coupled with each other at different times. Thus, it is possible to provide a directional coupler that can contribute to downsizing and cost reduction of the entire device of the dual-band mobile phone. Of course, the directional coupler of the present invention can be used for applications other than the dual-band mobile phone described above. The present invention is characterized in that a plurality of main lines are coupled to one sub-line, in other words, one sub-line is shared by a plurality of main lines. For example, a case where there are three main lines is also conceivable.

  A laminated structure diagram of a laminated directional coupler according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1, and a perspective view is shown in FIG. In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, hatched portions are conductor portions. The directional coupler 1 of this embodiment is formed by laminating dielectric layers on which pattern electrodes are formed, and external electrodes are formed on the side surfaces and the surface. Further, the thickness of the dielectric layer is set as appropriate, and a plain dielectric layer in which no electrode pattern is formed can be inserted therebetween. The laminated structure of this embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS.

A ground pattern electrode 21 is formed on the lower dielectric layer 11, and the ground pattern electrode 21 has a lead-out portion so as to be connected to the first external terminals T7 and T8, and is connected to the ground. The On top of this, the dielectric layer 12 on which the stripline pattern electrode 23 to be the main line is formed is laminated. The pattern electrode 23 is formed in a U shape and connected to the second external terminals T1 and T2. On top of this, the dielectric layer 13 on which the stripline pattern electrode 25 to be the sub-line is formed is laminated. The pattern electrode 25 is connected to the fourth external terminals T5 and T6. The pattern electrode 25 is formed in a straight line and is disposed at the center line position of the dielectric layer 13. A dielectric layer 14 on which a stripline pattern electrode 24 to be the other main line is formed is laminated thereon. The pattern electrode 24 is formed in a U shape and is connected to the third external terminals T3 and T4. On top of this, a dielectric layer 15 having a pattern electrode 22 for grounding is laminated. The ground pattern electrode 22 has the same electrode pattern as the pattern electrode 21 formed on the dielectric layer 11, has a lead-out portion so as to be connected to the first external terminals T7 and T8, and is grounded. The On top of this, a dielectric layer 16 in which no pattern electrode is formed is laminated.

  The stripline electrode patterns 23, 24, and 25 are formed so as to overlap except when connected to the external terminals when projected from a direction perpendicular to the dielectric layer. Therefore, the pattern electrodes 23 and 25 are symmetrical with respect to the center line of the dielectric layer.

  In this example, a dielectric material that can be fired at a low temperature of about 900 ° C. or lower is used. After the dielectric material is slurried, it is formed into a sheet shape with a doctor blade, and Ag is appropriately formed on the sheet (dielectric layer). An electrode pattern was formed on the conductor made of the above by a screen printing method, and the electrode patterns were laminated, pressure-bonded, cut into chips, and fired. After firing, the external electrodes were printed and baked, and further plated to form a laminated directional coupler. The external electrode may be formed after the laminate is fired or may be formed before firing. In this embodiment, a dielectric material having a dielectric constant of about 8 is used. However, in the present invention, the dielectric constant is preferably about 5 to 15. Moreover, this invention is not limited to the said manufacturing process.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sub-line is formed in a straight line and connected to the external terminals T5 and T6. Further, the stripline pattern electrode 23 serving as the first main line and the stripline pattern electrode 24 serving as the second main line have the same length and width, and are configured between the sub-line. Layer thickness is different. That is, the thickness of the dielectric layer 13 in FIG. 1 is different from the thickness of the dielectric layer 14 (which may be composed of a plurality of dielectric layers). Further, the first main line and the second main line are opposed to and coupled to the sub-line at the linear portion. And the degree of coupling | bonding is adjusted with the space | interval. According to this configuration, since the same printed pattern can be used for the first main line and the second main line, the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Of course, a desired degree of coupling can be obtained.

In the present embodiment, eight external terminals are formed as shown in FIG. The second external terminals T1 and T2 of the first main line are formed on the first side surface, and the third external terminals T3 and T4 of the second main line are on the second side surface opposite to the first side surface. Is formed. The fourth external terminals T5 and T6 of the sub line are respectively formed on side surfaces different from those. The first grounding external terminals T7 and T8 are formed between the external terminals of the main line. This facilitates downsizing and facilitates the formation of wiring patterns that connect to other components even when mounted on a circuit board.

  A circuit block diagram using the directional coupler of this embodiment is shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, the directional coupler of the embodiment of the present invention is 31 indicated by a broken line, the first main line is 32, the second main line is 33, and the sub line is 34. Compared to the circuit block diagram of the example of use of the directional coupler according to the conventional example shown in FIG. 8, since the number of components used can be reduced, the entire device can be reduced in size and price.

  In addition, the stacked directional coupler shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is configured for a first use frequency f1 of 900 MHz and a second use frequency f2 of 1750 MHz. The laminated directional coupler of this embodiment is used in a transmission unit for a dual band mobile phone having a frequency band of f1 of 880 to 915 MHz and a frequency band of f2 of 1710 to 1785 MHz (all of which are transmission frequencies). The characteristics of insertion loss and coupling loss at this time are shown in FIG. By selecting the input terminal for each frequency, the coupling loss was the same as about 20 dB and the insertion loss was 0.2 dB or less in any frequency band, and good characteristics could be obtained. Although not shown in FIG. 4, the isolation characteristic is also good at 30 dB or more.

  The stripline conductor pattern shown in FIG. 1 is composed of an Ag electrode having a width of 0.2 mm, a length of 3 to 4 mm, and a thickness of 10 μm. Further, the thickness of the dielectric layer 13 shown in FIG. 1 is set to about 0.13 mm, and the thickness of the dielectric layer 14 is set to about 0.3 mm. In addition, all of these dimensions are dimensions after firing. In addition, the present invention can adjust various characteristics by changing the dimensions of each electrode pattern, the thickness of the dielectric layer (interval between electrode patterns), the dielectric constant of the dielectric, and the like. It is not limited.

  In addition, the outer shape of this example was 3.2 × 1.6 mm, the thickness was 1.0 mm, and it was possible to construct an extremely small size. In the conventional example, there is also a laminated directional coupler having the outer dimensions of 3.2 × 1.6 mm and the same thickness as 1.0 mm. However, when used for dual band use, two are required. According to the example, the area ratio is reduced to 50%. Also, when considering mounting these components on a circuit board, it is necessary to provide a wiring pattern on the board. According to this embodiment, the pattern can be simplified as compared with the conventional example. High efficiency of circuit design can be expected. Furthermore, the reduction in the number of parts can contribute to shortening the part mounting time.

  Next, a laminated structure diagram of a laminated directional coupler according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. The perspective view of this embodiment is the same as FIG. In FIG. 9, the hatched portion is a conductor portion. The directional coupler of this embodiment is formed by laminating dielectric layers on which pattern electrodes are formed, and external electrodes are formed on the side surfaces and the surface. Further, the thickness of the dielectric layer is set as appropriate, and a plain dielectric layer in which no electrode pattern is formed can be inserted therebetween. The laminated structure of this example will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

The lower dielectric layer 81 is provided with a ground pattern electrode 91. The ground pattern electrode 91 has a lead portion so as to be connected to the first external terminals T7 and T8, and is connected to the ground. The On top of this, a dielectric layer 82 on which a stripline pattern electrode 93 to be the first main line is formed is laminated. The pattern electrode 82 is connected to the second external terminals T1 and T2. On top of this, a dielectric layer 83 in which a stripline pattern electrode 95a to be a part of the sub-line is formed is laminated. One end of the pattern electrode 95a is connected to the fourth external terminal T6, and a via hole round electrode 95d is formed at the other end. On top of this, a dielectric layer 84 in which a stripline pattern electrode 95b to be a part of the sub-line is formed is laminated. One end of the pattern electrode 95b is connected to the fourth external terminal T5, and a via hole electrode 95c is formed at the other end. The via-hole electrode 95c is connected to the via-hole round electrode 95d on the dielectric layer 83, and the pattern electrode 95a and the pattern electrode 95b form one sub-line in a coil shape.

On top of this, a dielectric layer 85 on which a stripline pattern electrode 94a to be a part of the second main line is formed is laminated. One end of the pattern electrode 94a is connected to the third external terminal T4, and a via hole round electrode 94d is formed at the other end. A dielectric layer 86 on which a stripline pattern electrode 94b to be a part of the second main line is formed is laminated thereon. One end of the pattern electrode 94b is connected to the third external terminal T3, and a via hole electrode 94c is formed at the other end. The via-hole electrode 94c is connected to the via-hole round electrode 94d on the dielectric layer 85, and the pattern electrode 94a and the pattern electrode 94b form a second main line in a coil shape.

A dielectric layer 87 on which a ground pattern electrode 92 is formed is laminated thereon. The ground pattern electrode 92 has the same electrode pattern as the pattern electrode 91 formed on the dielectric layer 81, has a lead-out portion so as to be connected to the first external terminals T7 and T8, and is grounded. The A dielectric layer 88 on which no pattern electrode is formed is laminated thereon.

  The strip line electrode patterns 93, 95a, 95b, 94a, 94b of this embodiment are formed so as to overlap when projected from a direction perpendicular to the dielectric layer. With this structure, the first main line and the first sub line, and the second main line and the first sub line are coil-coupled (M-coupled). This is due to a coupling means different from the above embodiment. The directional coupler of the present invention can also be configured by such coil coupling. In this case, the degree of coupling can be adjusted by the line length, the number of turns, and the interval of each line.

  In this embodiment, each line is formed in a coil shape, but other shapes such as a spiral shape may be used. In this example, a dielectric material having a dielectric constant of about 8 was used as in FIG. 1, and the manufacturing method was also manufactured in the same manner. In this embodiment, the dielectric constant is preferably about 5 to 15, and is not limited to the above manufacturing process. According to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a laminated directional coupler according to the intended use, such as a frequency band or a degree of coupling different from that of the above embodiment.

  In the said Example, the directional coupler which consists of several main line corresponding to several different use frequency and one subline couple | bonded with it by the laminated structure was able to be comprised. Thereby, the directional coupler corresponding to a several different use frequency was able to be comprised very small. However, the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of main lines are coupled to one sub-line, in other words, one sub-line is shared by a plurality of main lines. Also, the effects of the present invention can be obtained.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to configure a directional coupler that can be used in two or more frequency bands, has a predetermined coupling degree and good insertion loss characteristics in each frequency band, and is extremely small. it can. Thus, for example, in a small microwave product such as a mobile phone, it is possible to contribute to downsizing of the entire device without sacrificing characteristics. This is particularly effective in a dual band portable device.

It is an internal electrode pattern figure which shows the laminated structure of one Example which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view of one example concerning the present invention. It is a circuit block diagram of the usage example of the directional coupler which concerns on this invention. It is a characteristic view of one Example which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view of a prior art example. It is a disassembled perspective view of another prior art example. It is a circuit block diagram of the usage example of a directional coupler. It is a circuit block diagram of the usage example of the directional coupler which concerns on a prior art example. It is an internal electrode pattern figure which shows the laminated structure of another Example which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Laminated type directional coupler 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 Dielectric layer 23, 25 Stripline electrode 24 for main lines Stripline electrodes 21 and 22 for sublines Ground electrode

Claims (7)

The laminate includes a main line, a sub line, and a ground electrode formed in an electrode pattern, and the main line includes a plurality of main lines through which signals having different frequencies pass, and the main line and the sub line are A multiband directional coupler that combines,
The laminated body has four side surfaces, and both end portions of the first main line are drawn out to the first side surface, and connected to the second external terminal located across the first external terminal connected to the ground electrode. , Both end portions of the second main line are drawn out to the second side surface opposite to the first side surface, and connected to the third external terminal located across the first external terminal connected to the ground electrode, An end portion of the first sub-line is drawn out to the other two side surfaces and connected to a fourth external terminal. The electrode patterns constituting the first main line, the second main line, and the first sub line are formed on different dielectric layers, respectively, and the first main line and the second main line In between, the first sub-line is laminated,
The multiband directional coupler according to claim 1, wherein the first main line and the second main line are coupled to the first sub line. 2. The multiband directional coupler according to claim 1, wherein the first main line, the second main line, and the first sub line overlap in a stacking direction. Any one or all of the first main line, the second main line, and the first sub line are configured by an electrode pattern formed by dividing into at least two layers. Item 4. The multiband directional coupler according to any one of Items 1 to 3. A dielectric layer formed between the first main line and the first sub line, and a thickness of the dielectric layer formed between the second main line and the first sub line The multiband directional coupler according to claim 1, wherein the multiband directional couplers are different from each other. 6. The multiband directional coupler according to claim 1, wherein one end of the sub line is grounded through a resistance element. 7. A mobile phone comprising the directional coupler according to claim 1 disposed between a transmission power amplifier and an antenna.

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