Communication circuit for supporting communication function and electronic device including the same

The present applicationis an application for reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 10,122,389 B2 issued on Nov. 6, 2018 on U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application No. 14/959,603 filed on Dec. 4, 2015, whichis related to and claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) of a Korean patent application filed on Dec. 5, 2014 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office and assigned Serial number 10-2014-0174412, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

The present disclosure relates to communication circuits.

Each of electronic device may have a communication circuit that includes various modules and elements in connection with supporting a communication function. A transceiver may be disposed in this communication circuit in connection with communicating signals. A plurality of low noise amplifiers (LNAs) are integrated in the transceiver. Meanwhile, recently, as the number of frequency bands (or bands) supported by a communication function of the electronic device increases, the number of LNAs embedded in the transceiver increases in response to the number of the bands.

As described above, if the number of LNAs is increased in connection with supporting a plurality of frequency bands, a design of the transceiver may be complicated, and performance of the transceiver may be degraded. Also, because the transceiver has a high element integration level, the transceiver may be designed with a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process-based technology. LNAs designed according to a CMOS process are favorable to miniaturization and integration. However, a noise figure of each of LNAs is a constant value (e.g., about 2 dB) or more, and each of the LNAs has a supported narrow bandwidth.

Also, LNAs may be used together with matching elements. For example, if the electronic device supports 20 frequency bands and supports a diversity/multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology, 40 LNAs disposed in the transceiver may be used. 120 matching elements (three matching elements per band) may be used in response to the 40 LNAs. As described above, the number of elements associated with supporting a communication function is increased, and wires installed for operating respective elements occupy a broad space on a printed circuit board (PCB). As described above, a communication circuit has many restrictions in designing a product.

To address the above-discussed deficiencies, it is a primary object to provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a communication circuit for supporting a communication function to improve mount properties and save material costs by having a transceiver that is optimized in size because LNAs are not integrated, replacing integrated LNAs with LNAs of high performance, and reducing the number of LNAs. The present disclosure provides an electronic device including the same.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, a communication circuit is provided. The communication circuit may include at least one receive amplifier configured to connect to an antenna and to low-noise amplify at least a part of a multi-band signal and a transceiver configured to include a mixer configured to mix the multi band signal low-noise amplified by the at least one receive amplifier.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION below, it may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document: the terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation; the term “or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases “associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like; and the term “controller” means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least one operation, such a device may be implemented in hardware, firmware or software, or some combination of at least two of the same. It should be noted that the functionality associated with any particular controller may be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout this patent document, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior, as well as future uses of such defined words and phrases.

Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbers are used to depict the same or similar elements, features, and structures.

1 9 FIGS.through , discussed below, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged wireless communication device. Hereinafter, the present disclosure is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the specific embodiments, and it is understood that it should include various modifications, equivalents, and/or alternatives within the scope and technical range of the present disclosure. With respect to the descriptions of the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like elements.

In the disclosure disclosed herein, the expressions “have”, “may have”, “include” and “comprise”, or “may include” and “may comprise” used herein indicate existence of corresponding features (e.g., elements such as numeric values, functions, operations, or components) but do not exclude presence of additional features.

In the disclosure disclosed herein, the expressions “A or B”, “at least one of A or/and B”, or “one or more of A or/and B”, and the like used herein may include any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. For example, the term “A or B”, “at least one of A and B”, or “at least one of A or B” may refer to all of the case (1) where at least one A is included, the case (2) where at least one B is included, or the case (3) where both of at least one A and at least one B are included.

The expressions such as “1st”, “2nd”, “first”, or “second”, and the like used in various embodiments of the present disclosure may refer to various elements irrespective of the order and/or priority of the corresponding elements, but do not limit the corresponding elements. The expressions may be used to distinguish one element from another element. For instance, both a first user device and a second user device indicate different user devices from each other irrespective of the order or priority of the corresponding elements. For example, a first component may be referred to as a second component and vice versa without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

It will be understood that when an element (e.g., a first element) is referred to as being “(operatively or communicatively) coupled with/to” or “connected to” another element (e.g., a second element), it can be directly coupled with/to or connected to the other element or an intervening element (e.g., a third element) may be present. In contrast, when an element (e.g., a first element) is referred to as being “directly coupled with/to” or “directly connected to” another element (e.g., a second element), it should be understood that there are no intervening element (e.g., a third element) between the element and the other element.

Depending on the situation, the expression “configured to” used herein may be used as, for example, the expression “suitable for”, “having the capacity to”, “designed to”, “adapted to”, “made to”, or “capable of”. The term “configured to” should not mean only “specifically designed to” hardwarily. Instead, under any situation, the expression “a device configured to” may mean that the device is “capable of” operating together with another device or other components. For example, a “processor configured to perform A, B, and C” may mean a generic-purpose processor (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU) or an application processor) that may perform corresponding operations by executing one or more software programs which stores a dedicated processor (e.g., an embedded processor) for performing a corresponding operation.

Terms used in this specification are used to describe specified embodiments of the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. The terms of a singular form may include plural forms unless otherwise specified. Unless otherwise defined herein, all the terms used herein, which include technical or scientific terms, may have the same meaning that is generally understood by a person skilled in the art. It will be further understood that terms, which are defined in a dictionary and commonly used, should also be interpreted as is customary in the relevant related art and not in an idealized or overly formal detect unless expressly so defined herein in various embodiments of the present disclosure. In some cases, even if terms are terms which are defined in the specification, they may not be interpreted to exclude embodiments of the present disclosure.

Hereinafter, electronic devices according to various embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The term “user” used in various embodiments of the present disclosure may refer to a person who uses an electronic device or may refer to a device (e.g., an artificial electronic device) that uses an electronic device.

1 FIG. illustrates a configuration of an electronic device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

1 FIG. 100 161 200 150 Referring to, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, an electronic devicemay include a modem, a communication circuit, and an antenna.

100 130 110 200 150 130 130 In the electronic device, a receive amplifier(e.g., a low noise amplifier (LNA)), associated with processing a signal of a radio frequency integrated circuit(RFIC) (e.g., a transceiver), may be disposed in a front-end (or previous stage) of the communication circuit(e.g., back-end of the antenna). The receive amplifiermay be an LNA that supports a broadband bandwidth and is generated by a gallium arsenide (GaAs) process or a silicon germanium (SiGe) process of high performance. This receive amplifiermay have a relatively good noise figure.

200 100 130 110 110 130 110 110 100 130 100 130 100 As described above, the communication circuitof the electronic devicemay reduce the number of elements and wires of a matching circuit connected to the receive amplifierand may reduce a size of the RFICby (i) including the RFICthat does not include a receive amplifier and (ii) arranging the receive amplifierof high performance outside the RFICto amplify a signal received to the RFIC. For example, the electronic devicemay arrange the receive amplifierof high performance, which supports a multi-band, to process a multi-frequency band. Also, the electronic devicemay arrange one matching circuit at the corresponding receive amplifier. Therefore, elements may be concisely and simply disposed and wired in the electronic devicedescribed according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

161 100 161 161 200 161 200 The modemmay control processing and transmission of a signal used to operate a communication function of the electronic device. For example, this modemmay module a signal to be transmitted to the outside or may demodulate a signal received from the outside. For example, the modemmay output a modulated signal to the communication circuit. Also, the modemmay demodulate a signal received through the communication circuit.

161 200 110 161 110 161 161 100 100 161 100 161 130 According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the modemmay control a switching state of at least a switching circuit disposed in the communication circuit. Also, if an amplifier is disposed in the RFIC, the modemmay control a gain of the amplifier disposed in the RFICto play a role as a buffer. Also, the modemmay control a switching state of a bypass circuit disposed at a back-end switching circuit (or a next stage switching circuit or an after-edge switching circuit) of a radio frequency (RF) module described below. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the modemmay control a switching state of a bypass circuit connected in parallel to a receive amplifier in response to a wireless environment of the electronic device. If the environment of the electronic deviceis under a strong electric field of specific strength or more, the modemmay control the bypass circuit to be turned on (e.g., be switched on and be bypassed). If the environment of the electronic deviceis under a weak electric field of less than the specific strength, the modemmay control the bypass circuit to be turned off (e.g., be switched off, process a signal through the receive amplifier).

100 161 161 151 151 161 120 161 120 161 130 161 130 161 161 161 151 120 130 According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronic devicemay include a first signal linea disposed between the modemand a dividerin connection with controlling the divider, a second signal lineb disposed between a transmit amplifierand the modemin connection with controlling the transmit amplifier, and a third signal linec disposed between the receive amplifierand the modemin connection with controlling the receive amplifier. Each of the first to third signal linesa toc may play a role in transmitting a control signal generated by the modemto at least one of the divider, the transmit amplifier, and the receive amplifier.

200 161 161 200 161 200 110 120 130 151 110 110 161 120 110 130 161 110 110 130 110 161 The communication circuitmay connect to the modemand may play a role in loading a signal modulated by the modemon a specific transmit frequency. Also, the communication circuitmay play a role in converting a signal received from the outside into a signal corresponding to data and transmitting the converted signal to the modem. This communication circuitmay include, for example, the RFIC, the transmit amplifier, the receive amplifier, and the divider. The RFICmay include a transmit modema that transmits a specific frequency with a signal transmitted from the modemto the transmit amplifierand include a receive moduleb that processes a frequency of a signal received through the receive amplifierand transmits the processed signal to the modem. For example, the receive moduleb of this RFICmay process a signal transmitted from the one receive amplifierdisposed outside the RFICand may transmit the processed signal to the modemwithout including a separate receive amplifier.

120 110 151 120 110 150 120 120 120 161 The transmit amplifiermay be disposed between the RFICand the divider. The transmit amplifiermay amplify a signal output from the transmit modulea by a specific level and may output the amplified signal to the antenna. An amplification efficiency of the transmit amplifiermay be applied in a different way according to a frequency band covered by the transmit amplifier, physical properties of the transmit amplifier, and a control of the modem.

120 151 130 151 150 151 151 120 150 150 130 The transmit amplifiermay connect to a transmit port of the divider, the receive amplifiermay connect to a receive port of the divider, and the antennamay connect to an antenna port of the divider. This dividermay play a role in transmitting a signal output through the transmit amplifierto the antennaand transmitting a signal received through the antennato the receive amplifier.

130 151 130 130 130 The receive amplifiermay be an amplifier that amplifies a low noise region of a receive signal received through the divider. The receive amplifiermay include one or more receive amplifiers. For example, the receive amplifiermay be designed to cover a plurality of bands. Therefore, the receive amplifiermay be disposed to selectively connect a plurality of bands.

150 150 The antennamay receive or transmit a signal. For example, the antennamay be designed to cover a multi-frequency band.

100 110 130 130 110 150 100 130 110 As described above, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the electronic devicemay include the RFICthat does not include the receive amplifierand may be disposed such that the receive amplifierindependently arranged between the RFICand the antennacovers a multi-band. Therefore, the electronic devicemay have a relative small or slim appearance by simply maintaining a structure associated with the receive amplifierand reducing a size of the RFIC.

As described above, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the electronic device may include an antenna configured to communicate at least a part of a multi-band signal, a communication circuit configured to include at least one receive amplifier designated to connect with the antenna and to low-noise amplify the multi-band signal and a transceiver that processes an output signal of the at least one receive amplifier, and a modem configured to modulate or demodulate a signal communicated through the transceiver.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the communication circuit may include a radio frequency (RF) module that includes a transmit amplifier configured to amplify a signal output from the transceiver, a transmit band switching circuit configured to classify and transmit an output signal of the transmit amplifier for each band, a front-end switching circuit configured to connect to the antenna, a duplexer or quadplexer configured to be disposed between the transmit band switching circuit and the front-end switching circuit, a back-end switching circuit configured to connect with the duplexer or quadplexer, and the receive amplifier configured to be disposed at an output end of the back-end switching circuit.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the RF module may include a plurality of RF modules to respectively support bands (e.g., a high band, a low band, a middle band, and the like) including a plurality of frequency bands.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the RF module may include a plurality of back-end switching circuits according to carrier aggregation (CA) support of the plurality of frequency bands. The plurality of back-end switching circuits may connect to a plurality of receive amplifiers, respectively.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the communication circuit of the electronic device may further include at least one bypass circuit respectively connected in parallel to the at least one receive amplifier. If a wireless environment is under a strong electric field of specific strength or more, the modem may control the bypass circuit to be turned on. If the wireless environment is under a weak electric field of less than the specific strength, the modem may control the bypass circuit to be turned off.

2 FIG. illustrates a circuit diagram including components of a communication circuit according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

2 FIG. 200 110 160 130 Referring to, some of components of a communication circuitmay include an RFIC, a matching circuit, and a receive amplifier.

110 161 110 111 117 110 113 115 111 117 111 117 111 117 130 111 117 113 117 113 111 1 FIG. As described above, the RFICmay connect to the modemofand may support a process of processing a transmit signal and a process of processing a receive signal. In this regard, the RFICmay include a first mixerand a second mixerwhich are associated with processing a receive signal. The RFICmay include a phase processorand an oscillatorthat are disposed between the first mixerand the second mixer. Each of the first mixerand the second mixermay be a mixer that supports a process of processing a multi-band. The first mixerand the second mixermay connect to, for example, the receive amplifierthat covers a multi-band. The first mixer, the second mixer, and the phase processormay be included in a quadrature mixer. The quadrature mixer may generate an orthogonal downconverting signal (in-phase/quadrature-phase (I/Q) signal) by mixing an oscillator signal with a received signal using the second mixerand mixing an oscillator signal, in which a phase is changed by 90 degrees by the phase processor, with a received signal using the first mixer.

160 130 160 130 160 160 160 150 151 1 FIG. The matching circuitmay be disposed to perform impedance matching of the receive amplifier. This matching circuitmay be an amplifier disposed such that the receive amplifiercovers a multi-band. Therefore, the matching circuitmay be designed to perform impedance matching for covering a multi-band. Although not illustrated, the matching circuitmay be used to perform impedance matching between other components or circuits. For example, in connection with impedance matching, the matching circuitmay be disposed between an antennaand a dividerof.

130 As described above, the receive amplifiermay be a low noise amplifier designed to cover a multi-band.

200 130 110 160 130 110 200 As described above, the communication circuitaccording to various embodiments of the present disclosure may include a multi-band low noise amplifier (LNA), which supports a multi-band, as the receive amplifierand may include the multi-band RFIC(or the transceiver) that does not include a separate LNA. Also, since the one matching circuitis disposed between the receive amplifierand the RFIC, the communication circuitmay support more simple connection and may support a plurality of bands.

3 FIG. illustrates a circuit diagram including components of a communication circuit according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

3 FIG. 200 110 119 160 130 Referring to, a communication circuitaccording to various embodiments of the present disclosure may include an RFICincluding a buffer, a matching circuit, and a receive amplifier.

110 111 117 113 115 119 113 115 111 117 119 111 117 111 117 113 The RFICmay include a first mixer, a second mixer, a phase processor, an oscillator, and the buffer. Herein, the phase processorand the oscillatormay be arranged between the first mixerand the second mixer. The buffermay be disposed in common at input ends of the first mixerand the second mixer. The first mixer, the second mixer, and the phase processormay operate as a quadrature mixer.

110 110 115 111 117 130 110 160 110 Operation performance of the RFICmay be changed according to a change of a load of an input front-end of the RFIC. For example, a pulling environment in which a frequency of the oscillatoris changed may occur according to a change of a load connected to input ends of the first mixerand the second mixer. For example, if matching is achieved between the receive amplifier, corresponding to an LNA, and the RFICusing the one matching circuit, an impedance change of a load connected to an input portion of the RFICmay occur according to a frequency band.

119 110 119 110 110 115 The buffermay be disposed at an input front-end of the RFICand may play a role in buffering an impedance change of a load for each frequency. For example, the buffermay reduce an influence which the impedance change of the load at the input front-end portion of the RFIChas on elements in the RFIC, through its buffering. Therefore, functions of the oscillatorand the like may reduce an influence by an impedance change of an external load.

3 FIG. 2 FIG. 119 110 119 110 110 160 110 119 110 111 117 160 130 Meanwhile,illustrates an example in which the bufferis disposed in the RFIC. However, the scope and spirit of the present disclosure may not be limited thereto. For example, the buffermay be disposed outside the RFICto be independent of the RFICand may be disposed between the matching circuitand the RFIC. Roles of the remaining components except for the buffer, for example, the RFIC, including the first mixer, the second mixer, and the like, the matching circuit, and the receive amplifiercorresponding to the LNA may be same as or similar to components described above with reference to.

4 FIG. illustrates a circuit diagram including transmit and receive components of a communication circuit according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

4 FIG. 200 110 120 130 160 180 190 170 140 Referring to, a communication circuitmay include an RFIC, a transmit amplifier, a receive amplifier, a matching circuit, a front-end switching circuit, a back-end switching circuit, a duplexer, and a transmit band switching circuit.

200 170 200 200 170 The communication circuitmay support a frequency duplex division (FDD) system. The duplexerof the communication circuitmay be used to divide a transmit signal and a receive signal in a specific frequency band. The communication circuitmay include the plurality of duplexersfor each band to divide a transmit signal and a receive signal for each multi-band.

200 120 110 150 110 140 170 180 120 150 160 110 190 160 170 140 120 170 The communication circuitmay have a shape such that the transmit amplifieris arranged between the RFICand an antenna(or between the RFICand the transmit band switching circuit) and such that the duplexerand the front-end switching circuitare disposed between the transmit amplifierand the antenna. Also, the matching circuitmay be disposed at one end of the RFIC, and the back-end switching circuitmay be disposed between the matching circuitand the duplexer. Additionally or alternatively, the transmit band switching circuitmay be disposed between the transmit amplifierand the duplexerto select signal lines (or ports) associated with a plurality of transmit frequency bands (or bands).

200 150 180 161 200 180 150 160 170 150 180 170 190 190 170 130 1 FIG. The communication circuitof the above-described structure may receive a multi-band signal through the multi-band antennawhich may cover a multi-band. The front-end switching circuitmay operate to receive a signal of a specific band under a control of a modemof. For example, the communication circuitmay have a state where the front-end switching circuitis selectively connected in response to a band used by the antennaand the duplexer. The duplexermay transmit a transmit signal of a specific band to the antennathrough the front-end switching circuit. The duplexermay transmit a receive signal among transmitted signals to the back-end switching circuit. The back-end switching circuitmay selectively transmit the receive signal transmitted from the duplexerto the receive amplifierin response to a band.

161 140 180 140 140 100 190 4 FIG. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in connection with processing the transmit signal and the receive signal, the modemmay control the transmit band switching circuitand the front-end switching circuitto transmit a signal of a specific band.illustrates an example in which the transmit band switching bandmay support four selection bands. However, the scope and spirit of the present disclosure may not be limited thereto. For example, the number of selection bands which may be supported by the transmit band switching circuitmay be increased or decreased according to the number of frequency bands supported by the electronic device. A duplexer may be additionally used as much as the increased number of selection bands. Selection bands which may be supported by the back-end switching circuitmay be also increased in response to the addition of the duplexer.

161 180 190 130 190 130 160 130 130 110 119 110 160 3 FIG. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the modemmay control the front-end switching circuitand the back-end switching circuitto operate a receive band among specific frequency bands. Herein, the receive amplifiermay connect to the back-end switching circuitthat connects a signal line (or a port) associated with one of four selection bands. Therefore, the receive amplifiermay be designed as an LNA for multi-band to cover four receive bands. The matching circuit, associated with impedance matching of the receive amplifier, may be disposed between the receive amplifierand the RFIC. Additionally, a bufferdescribed with reference tomay be arranged between the RFICand the matching circuitto improve performance by reducing influence by a change of a load.

5 FIG. illustrates a circuit diagram including a configuration of a communication circuit of a chip type according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

5 FIG. 5 FIG. 4 FIG. 5 FIG. 4 FIG. 200 110 300 160 200 200 300 Referring to, a communication circuitmay include an RFIC, an RF module, and a matching circuit. This communication circuitofmay include the same components as that of the communication circuitdescribed with reference to, except for the RF module. Respective components ofmay play the same role as components described with reference to.

300 120 170 180 190 130 300 120 170 180 190 130 300 301 120 170 180 190 130 120 170 180 190 130 301 301 The RF modulemay include a transmit amplifier, a duplexer, a front-end switching circuit, a back-end switching circuit, and a receive amplifier. This RF modulemay have a shape in which the transmit amplifier, the duplexer, the front-end switching circuit, the back-end switching circuit, and the receive amplifierare integrated. In this regard, the RF modulemay have a structure(e.g., a printed circuit board (PCB), a copper plate, an epoxy structure, or a ceramic structure, and the like) in which the transmit amplifier, the duplexer, the front-end switching circuit, the back-end switching circuit, and the receive amplifiermay be disposed. The transmit amplifier, the duplexer, the front-end switching circuit, the back-end switching circuit, and the receive amplifiermay be disposed in the structure, and wires that connect the respective elements may be arranged in the structure.

100 300 301 120 170 130 140 180 190 300 300 301 160 200 1 FIG. A circuit associated with an electronic deviceofmay be more smoothly designed according to the RF modulehaving the structure. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the transmit amplifier, the duplexer, the receive amplifier, the transmit band switching circuit, the front-end switching circuit, and the back-end switching circuitmay be integrated and modularized. The structure of the above-mentioned RF modulemay improve system performance (e.g., a receive band noise, isolation, and the like) by reducing an external influence provided to respective elements. Also, if respective elements are independently mounted, since each component is differently disposed for each specification, it may be difficult to perform a universal design. However, as described above, since the RF moduleintegrated through the structurehas a common pin-map, it may be easy to perform a universal design. Also, the used number of components may be reduced due to reducing the matching circuitand the like. Therefore, the communication circuitaccording to various embodiments of the present disclosure may reduce a mount area and may save material costs.

200 110 300 150 200 150 300 160 110 160 301 300 A transmit path of the above-described communication circuitmay include the RFIC, the RF module, and the antenna. A receive path of the communication circuitmay include the antenna, the RF module, the matching circuit, and the RFIC. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the matching circuitmay be configured to be included in the structurewhich includes the RF moduleconfiguration.

6 FIG. illustrates a circuit diagram including a configuration of a communication circuit for supporting a multi-band according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

6 FIG. 200 110 300 300 160 160 155 Referring to, a communication circuitmay include an RFIC, a high band RF modulea, a low band RF moduleb, a first matching circuita, a second matching circuitb, and a diplexer.

300 120 140 180 190 170 130 300 301 301 The high band RF modulea may include a first transmit amplifiera, a first transmit band switching circuita, a first front-end switching circuita, a first back-end switching circuita, a first duplexera, and a first receive amplifiera. The high band RF modulea may be integrated and disposed in a first structurea. As described above, the first structurea may be a PCB, a copper plate, an epoxy structure, or a ceramic structure.

300 120 140 180 190 170 130 300 301 300 The low band RF moduleb may include a second transmit amplifierb, a second transmit band switching circuitb, a second front-end switching circuitb, a second back-end switching circuitb, a second duplexerb, and a second receive amplifierb. The low band RF moduleb may be integrated and disposed in a second structureb to be similar to the high band RF modulea.

200 110 120 140 170 180 155 150 200 110 120 140 170 180 155 150 The above-mentioned communication circuitmay include a first transmit path that includes the RFIC, the first transmit amplifiera, the first transmit band switching circuita, the first duplexera, the first front-end switching circuita, the diplexer, and the antenna. Also, the communication circuitmay include a second transmit path that includes the RFIC, the second transmit amplifierb, the second transmit band switching circuitb, the second duplexerb, the second front-end switching circuitb, the diplexer, and the antenna.

200 150 155 180 170 190 130 160 110 200 150 155 180 170 190 130 160 110 Also, the communication circuitmay include a first receive path that includes the antenna, the diplexer, the first front-end switching circuita, the first duplexera, the first back-end switching circuita, the first receive amplifiera, the first matching circuita, and the RFIC. The communication circuitmay include a second receive path that includes the antenna, the diplexer, the second front-end switching circuitb, the second duplexerb, the second back-end switching circuitb, the second receive amplifierb, the second matching circuitb, and the RFIC.

100 200 300 300 300 300 1 FIG. As described above, if an electronic deviceofsupports a plurality of bands among high bands and supports a plurality of bands among low bands, the communication circuitmay include the plurality of RF modulesa andb. Since a receive amplifier and a matching circuit are disposed in each of the RF modulesa andb, wires and elements may be simply disposed.

130 130 120 120 155 150 300 150 300 The first and second receive amplifiersa andb may include a receive amplifier that supports a plurality of frequency bands in a low band and a receive amplifier that supports a plurality of frequency bands in a high band. The first and second transmit amplifiersa andb may include a transmit amplifier that supports a plurality of frequency bands in a low band and a transmit amplifier that supports a plurality of frequency bands in a high band. The diplexermay transmit a high band signal in a signal received through the antennato the high band RF modulea and may transmit a low band signal in the signal received through the antennato the low band RF moduleb.

100 200 300 300 According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, if the electronic deviceis designed to support more various frequency bands, the communication circuitmay include a greater number of RF modules to support specific frequency bands as well as the high band RF modulea and the low band RF moduleb. Each of the RF modules may include, for example, one receive amplifier or the specific number of receive amplifiers.

6 FIG. 100 100 Also, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure,illustrates an example in which the electronic deviceincludes the elements integrated on the structures. However, the scope and spirit of the present disclosure may not be limited thereto. For example, the above-mentioned RF modules may operate by being disposed on a main PCB without being integrated on separate structures or being formed as a chip shape. Alternatively, the RF modules in the electronic devicemay be configured with a shape in which independent elements are disposed without having a separate module structure.

7 FIG. illustrates a circuit diagram including a configuration of a communication circuit for supporting multi-band carrier aggregation (CA) according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

7 FIG. 200 710 700 700 761 762 761 762 755 761 762 731 732 761 762 731 732 Referring to, a communication circuitmay include an RFIC, a high band RF modulea, a low band RF moduleb, a first high band matching circuita, a second high band matching circuita, a first low band matching circuitb, a second low band matching circuitb, and a diplexer. Herein, the first and second high band matching circuitsa anda may be designed with different values according to characteristics of first and second high band receive amplifiersa anda that are respectively connected thereto. The first and second low band matching circuitsb andb may be designed with different values according to characteristics of first and second low band receive amplifiersb andb that are respectively connected thereto.

700 721 722 740 780 791 792 770 771 772 731 732 733 735 The high band RF modulea may include a first high band transmit amplifiera, a second high band transmit amplifiera, a transmit high band switching circuita, a high band front-end switching circuita, a first high band back-end switching circuita, a second high band back-end switching circuita, high band duplexersa, a high band pass filter (BPF)a, a high band low pass filter (LPF)a, the first high band receive amplifiera, the second high band receive amplifiera, a first high band bypass circuita, and a second high band bypass circuita.

721 770 771 740 722 772 740 The first high band transmit amplifiera may selectively connect with the high band duplexersa and the high band BPFa of a digital communication system/personal communication system (DCS/PCS) communication frequency band through the transmit high band switching circuita. The second high band transmit amplifiera may connect with the high band LPFa. The transmit high band switching circuita may support, for example, five selection bands (e.g., may selectively connect signal lines associated with the five selection bands). The five selection bands may include, for example, bands corresponding to a (frequency) band 25, a band 4, a band 2, a band 3, and a band 34/39 that are described in a long term evolution (LTE) communication frequency band standard.

770 791 791 770 792 792 780 780 781 755 750 According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the high band duplexersa, which supports the band 25 and the band 4, may connect to the first high band back-end switching circuita. The first high band back-end switching circuita may selectively connect signal lines associated with two selection bands. The two selection bands may correspond to the above-mentioned bands 25 and 4. Also, the high band duplexersa, which support the band 2 and the band 3, may connect to the second high band back-end switching circuita. The second high band back-end switching circuitsa may selectively connect signal lines associated with selection bands corresponding to the band 2, the band 3, and the band 34/39. The high band front-end switching circuita may support, for example, nine selection bands. Some of the nine selection bands may include the above-mentioned bands 25, 4, 2, 3, and 34/39 (transmit bands), a frequency band connected with a DCS/PCS, and the band 34/39 (receive band). Herein, signal lines which support the band 2 and the band 4 may be selectively wired in connection with CA support. In this regard, the high band front-end switching circuita may include a high band switcha which may simultaneously or separately connect ports assigned to the band 2 and the band 4 with a port connected to the diplexeror the antenna.

791 731 733 731 733 100 733 161 161 733 733 791 731 161 733 791 731 1 FIG. 1 FIG. The first high band back-end switching circuita may connect to the first high band receive amplifiera. The high band bypass circuita may connect in parallel to the first high band receive amplifiera. A state of the first high band bypass circuita may be changed according to a wireless environment of an electronic deviceof. For example, the first high band bypass circuita may operate under a control of a modemof. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, if a wireless environment is under a strong electric field of specific strength or more, the modemmay turn on the first high band bypass circuita. The first high band bypass circuita may bypass a signal received through the first high band back-end switching circuita without passing through the first high band receive amplifiera. Also, if the wireless environment is under a weak electric field of less than the specific strength, the modemmay turn off the first high band bypass circuita and may output a signal received through the first high band back-end switching circuita through the first high band receive amplifiera.

731 791 710 761 710 718 761 The first high band receive amplifiera may be designed to cover frequency bands corresponding to, for example, the band 25 and the band 4. The first high band back-end switching circuita may connect to the RFICthrough the first high band matching circuita. The RFICmay include a first high band buffera connected with the first high band matching circuita.

792 732 735 732 735 733 735 161 792 710 732 735 161 792 710 732 The second high band back-end switching circuita may connect to the second high band receive amplifiera. The second high band bypass circuita may connect in parallel to the second high band receive amplifiera. The second high band bypass circuita may play the same role as the above-mentioned first high band bypass circuita. For example, the second high band bypass circuita may be turned on in a strong electric field of specific strength or more under a control of the modemand may transmit a signal received through the second high band back-end switching circuita to the RFICwithout passing through the second high band receive amplifiera. Also, if the second high band bypass circuita is turned off in a weak electric field of less than the specific strength under a control of the modemto transmit a signal received through the second high band back-end switching circuita to the RFICthrough the second high band receive amplifiera.

732 792 710 762 710 719 762 718 719 710 761 762 731 732 The second high band receive amplifiera may be designed to cover frequency bands corresponding to, for example, the band 2, the band 3, and the band 34/39. The second high band back-end switching circuita may connect to the RFICthrough the second high band matching circuita. The RFICmay include a second high band buffera connected with the second high band matching circuita. The first high band buffera and the second high band buffera may play a role in reducing an influence by a change of a front-end load of the RFIC(e.g., a change of a load generated at the first high band matching circuita and the second high band matching circuita as the first high band receive amplifiera and the second high band receive amplifierb cover a multi-band).

700 721 722 740 780 791 792 770 771 972 731 732 733 735 761 710 718 762 710 719 The low band RF moduleb may include a first low band transmit amplifierb, a second low band transmit amplifierb, a transmit low band switching circuitb, a low band front-end switching circuitb, a first low band back-end switching circuitb, a second low band back-end switching circuitb, low band duplexersb, a low band BPFb, a low band LPFb, the first low band receive amplifierb, the second low band receive amplifierb, a first low band bypass circuitb, and a second low band bypass circuitb. Meanwhile, a first low band matching circuitb may connect to the RFICthrough a first low band bufferb, and a second low band matching circuitb may connect to the RFICthrough a second low band bufferb.

721 770 740 722 972 740 740 The first low band transmit amplifierb may selectively connect with the low band duplexersb through the transmit low band switching circuitb. The second low band transmit amplifierb may connect to a low band LPFb. The transmit low band switching circuitb may support, for example, five selection bands to be similar to the transmit high band switching circuita. The five selection bands may include, for example, bands corresponding to the band 26, the band 12 (17), the band 5, the band 20, and the band 29/13 in the LTE communication frequency band standard.

770 791 770 771 792 791 792 791 731 According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the duplexersb that support the band 26 and the band 12 (17) may connect to the first low band back-end switching circuitb. Also, the low band duplexersb that support the band 5 and the band 20 and the low band BPFb that supports the band 29/13 may connect to the second low band back-end switching circuitb. The first low band back-end switching circuitb may selectively connect signal lines associated with two bands, that is, the band 26 and the band 12/(17). The second low band back-end switching circuitb may selectively connect signal lines associated with three bands including the band 5, the band 20, and the band 29/13. The first low band back-end switching circuitb may connect to the first low band receive amplifierb.

733 731 733 791 710 731 735 732 735 735 780 780 780 781 755 750 The first low band bypass circuitb may connect in parallel to the first low band receive amplifierb. If a wireless environment is under a strong electric field of specific strength or more, the first low band bypass circuitb may transmit an output signal of the first low band back-end switching circuitb to the RFICwithout passing through the first low band receive amplifierb. Also, the second low band bypass circuitb may connect in parallel to the second low band receive amplifierb. If the wireless environment is under a strong electric field of the specific strength or more, the second low band bypass circuitb may be turned on. If the wireless environment is under a weak electric field of less than the specific strength, the second low band bypass circuitb may be turned off. The low band front-end switching circuitb may support nine selection bands to be similar to the high band front-end switching circuita. The low band front-end switching circuitb may include a low band switchb which may simultaneously or separately connect ports assigned to the band 12 (17) and the band 5 with a port connected to the diplexeror the antenna.

100 700 700 100 The electronic devicethat includes the high band RF modulea and the low band RF moduleb of the above-mentioned structure may support CA of an adjacent band according to a CA combination. For example, in case of the band 2/4 or the band 5/17, the electronic devicemay include wires that connect back-end switching circuits to be separated from respective bands and connect a plurality of receive amplifiers to separately connect to corresponding bands.

100 791 792 731 732 780 770 750 755 If the electronic deviceoperates such that the band 5 and the band 17 operate as CA, all of the first low band back-end switching circuitb, the second low band back-end switching circuitb, the first low band receive amplifierb, and the second low band receive amplifierb may operate and process a receive operation. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the low band front-end switching circuitb may simultaneously connect the duplexersb, which support the band 5 and the band 12 (17), with the antennaor the diplexerto perform a CA operation.

100 791 792 731 732 780 770 755 If the electronic deviceoperates such that the band 2 and the band 4 operates as CA, all of the first high band back-end switching circuita, the second high band back-end switching circuita, the first high band receive amplifiera, and the second high band receive amplifiera may operate and process a receive operation. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the high band front-end switching circuita may simultaneously connect the duplexersa, which support the band 2 and the band 4, with the antenna or the diplexerto perform a CA operation.

100 The high band or the low band described above is divided in an arbitrary way with respect to frequency bands supported by the electronic device. The high band or the low band may not be limited to a specific frequency band. Also, the various bands (or frequency bands) described above are exemplified as being divided and disposed in the high band and the low band. However, various embodiments of the present disclosure may not be limited thereto. For example, various bands may be classified into arbitrary band groups, and a plurality of bands in each of the classified band groups may be classified into a plurality of sub-groups. The classified bands may selectively connect to one receive amplifier. Therefore, band groups may be classified with respect to multi-bands which may be covered by each of receive amplifiers designed to cover multi-bands, and a high band and a low band may be classified according to the classified band groups. Therefore, since the high band and the low band classify various bands in an arbitrary way in response to a frequency characteristic, they may be changed or redesigned by intention of a designer and the like.

8 FIG. illustrates a circuit diagram including components of a communication circuit according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

8 FIG. 200 810 800 800 Referring to, a communication circuitmay include an RFICand an RF module. The RF moduledescribed below may be a module designed to process a specific frequency band such as a low band or a high band.

800 821 822 840 880 891 892 970 975 971 972 831 832 833 835 200 700 200 975 975 840 880 975 891 975 892 891 831 861 892 832 862 833 831 835 832 833 835 161 891 891 831 832 831 832 7 FIG. 8 FIG. 1 FIG. The RF modulemay include a first transmit amplifier, a second transmit amplifier, a transmit band switching circuit, a front-end switching circuit, a first back-end switching circuit, a second back-end switching circuit, duplexers, a quadplexer, a BPF, an LPF, a first receive amplifier, a second receive amplifier, a first bypass circuit, and a second bypass circuit. The communication circuithaving the above-mentioned components may include the same components as those of a low band RF moduleb of a communication circuitdescribed with reference to, except for the quadplexer. As shown in, the quadplexermay connect between the transmit band switching circuitand the front-end switching circuitand may be disposed to be responsible for the band 5, the band 12, and the band 17. One port of this quadplexermay connect to the first back-end switching circuitand another port of the quadplexermay connect to the second back-end switching circuit. The first back-end switching circuitmay connect to the first receive amplifierand a first matching circuit, and the second back-end switching circuitmay connect to the second receive amplifierand a second matching circuit. The first bypass circuitmay connect in parallel to the first receive amplifier, and the second bypass circuitmay connect in parallel to the second receive amplifier. The first bypass circuitand the second bypass circuitmay be turned on or off according to a change of a wireless environment (e.g., a strong electric field of specific strength or more or a weak electric field of less than specific strength) in response to a control of a modemofsuch that output signals of the first and second back-end switching circuitsandpass through the first and second receive amplifiersand, respectively or are bypassed without passing through the first and second receive amplifiersand.

810 818 819 818 861 891 862 892 861 862 831 832 818 819 810 The RFICmay include a first bufferand a second buffer. The first buffermay connect to the first matching circuit, which is connected to an output end of the first back-end switching circuit, and may connect to the second matching circuitconnected to an output end of the second back-end switching circuit. The first matching circuitand the second matching circuitmay be designed to correspond to characteristics of the first and second receive amplifiersand. Each of the first bufferand the second bufferthat are included in the RFICmay operate as a buffer without performing an amplification function.

818 819 810 161 818 819 833 835 818 819 810 831 832 833 835 891 892 831 832 810 818 819 810 100 1 FIG. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the first bufferand the second buffer, included in the RFIC, may play a role as an LNA under a control of the modemto be used to obtain a gain of a received signal. Alternatively, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the first bufferand the second buffermay be designed such that the first and second bypass circuitsandare turned on while each of the first bufferand the second bufferthat are included in the RFICis used as an LNA not to operate the first receive amplifierand the second receive amplifier. This operation may be adjusted according to a level of a gain of a received signal. For example, if the first and second bypass circuitsandare turned on, signals outputted through the first and second back-end switching circuitsandmay be bypassed without passing through the first and second receive amplifiersand. A signal transmitted to the RFICmay be buffered by the first and second buffersandand may then be processed in the RFIC. Therefore, an electronic deviceofmay reduce non-linearity which may occur in active elements, performance decline due to current consumption, and the increase of current consumption.

200 161 100 161 161 100 100 As described above, the communication circuitmay improve performance decline or the increase of current consumption by performing low noise amplification using at least one of a receive amplifier or a buffer or performing control to omit low noise amplification, according to a peripheral wireless environment. For example, the modemof the electronic devicemay evaluate a wireless environment (e.g., a received signal strength indication (RSSI), a reference signal received power (RSRP), a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), and the like). If the wireless environment is under a strong electric field of specific strength or more, the modemmay perform control not to pass through a receive amplifier. Also, if the wireless environment is under a weak electric field of less than the specific strength, the modemof the electronic devicemay selectively use at least one of a receive amplifier or a buffer that is independently disposed. For example, the electronic devicemay perform low noise amplification using only the receive amplifier or using the receive amplifier and the buffer according to a stage of the weak electric field.

9 FIG. illustrates a circuit diagram including components of a low-band communication circuit according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

9 FIG. 9 FIG. 200 910 900 900 955 950 961 962 963 100 200 910 950 Referring to, some of components of a communication circuit, for example, receive-side modules may include an RFIC, a middle band RF modulea, a low band RF moduleb, a diplexer, an antenna, a first receive matching circuit, a second receive matching circuit, and a third receive matching circuit. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, an electronic device, such as a long term evolution (LTE) communication device, which operates a plurality of antennas may include a dedicated transmit and receive module and a dedicated receive module. The communication circuitshown inis exemplified as including only components of the dedicated receive module. The dedicated transmit and receive module may be implemented by various embodiments of the present disclosure described above. Herein, the RFICmay be included for the purpose of processing a signal received through the antenna. Therefore, a separate RFIC may be configured to process the transmission and reception of signals. Alternatively, an RFIC, including a module for processing the transmission and reception of signals and a module for processing only the reception of signals, may be disposed.

900 980 970 990 980 955 970 980 The middle band RF modulea may include a middle band front-end switching circuita, middle band BPFsa, and a middle band back-end switching circuita. The middle band front-end switching circuita may be configured to connect to the diplexerand support at least one selection band, for example, seven selection bands. The selection bands may connect with the middle band BPFsa disposed at signal lines (or ports) of various bands, such as a band 7, a band 1/4, a band 3, a band 25, and a band 39. Additionally, selection bands supported by the middle band front-end switching circuita may include the above-mentioned 5 bands. An auxiliary output 1 AUX out 1 and an auxiliary output AUX out 2 may be used in connection with operating an external filter.

990 980 970 990 930 930 961 961 919 910 The middle band back-end switching circuita may be configured to support the selection bands supported by the middle band front-end switching circuita, for example, the seven selection bands. Signal lines associated with some of the selection bands may connect with, for example, the middle band BPFsa, which support the band 7, the band 1/4, the band 3, the band 25, and the band 39, respectively. Also, an auxiliary input 1 AUX in 1 and an auxiliary input 2 AUX in 2 may be used in connection with operating an external filter. An output end of the middle band back-end switching circuita may connect to an input end of a middle band receive amplifierthat performs a low noise amplification function. The middle band receive amplifiermay connect to the first receive matching circuit. The first receive matching circuitmay connect to a first receive bufferdisposed in the RFIC.

900 980 970 990 990 991 992 931 933 900 980 970 980 981 955 950 990 970 991 990 970 991 931 992 970 992 933 931 917 910 962 933 918 910 963 200 200 The low band RF moduleb may include a low band front-end switching circuitb, low band BPFsb, and a low band back-end switching circuitb. The low band back-end switching circuitb may include a first switch, a second switch, a first low band receive amplifier, and a second low band receive amplifier. For example, the low band RF moduleb may be configured to cover the band 26, the band 8, the band 20 or 28, the band 12 and 13 or 28, and the band 29. In this regard, the low band front-end switching circuitb may support, for example, six selection bands. Signal lines associated with five selection bands may connect with the low band BPFsb associated with the bands. A signal line associated with one selection band may connect to an auxiliary output AUX out. The low band front-end switching circuitb may include a selection switchb which may continuously or separately connect ports assigned to the band 8 and the band 20 or 28 with a port connected to the diplexeror the antenna. The low band back-end switching circuitb may be configured to support, for example, six selection bands. Signal lines associated with five of the six selection bands may connect to the low band BPFsb, and a signal line associated with one of the six selection bands may connect to an auxiliary input AUX in. For example, one end of the first switchincluded in the low band back-end switching circuitb may connect with the low band BPFsb which support the band 26 and the band 8, and the other end of the first switchmay connect to an input end of the first low band receive amplifier. One end of the second switchmay connect with the low band BPFsb which support the band 20 or 28, the band 12 and 13 or 28, and the band 29, and the other end of the second switchmay connect to an input end of the second low band receive amplifier. The first low band receive amplifiermay connect to a second receive bufferof the RFICthrough the second receive matching circuit. The second low band receive amplifiermay connect to a third receive bufferof the RFICthrough the third receive matching circuit. As described above, the communication circuitaccording to various embodiments of the present disclosure may be an RF circuit configuration of a diversity end, and BPFs may be disposed in the communication circuitaccording to a dedicated receive operation.

100 991 992 931 933 980 970 950 955 1 FIG. If an electronic deviceofoperates such that the band 8 and the band 20 operate as CA, all of the first switch, the second switch, the first low band receive amplifier, and the second low band receive amplifiermay operate to process a receive operation. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the low band front-end switching circuitb may simultaneously connect the BPFsb, which support the band 8 and the band 20, with the antennaor the diplexerto perform a CA operation.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the communication circuit may include an antenna configured to communicate at least a part of a multi-band signal, at least one receive antenna configured to connect to the antenna and to low-noise amplify the multi-band signal, and a transceiver configured to include a mixer configured to mix the multi-band signal low-noise amplified by the at least one receive amplifier.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the transceiver may include a buffer connected with an output end of the at least one receive amplifier.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the communication circuit may further include a matching circuit disposed between the transceiver and the at least one receive amplifier.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the communication circuit may further include a transmit amplifier configured to amplify a signal output from the transceiver, a transmit band switching circuit configured to classify and transmit an output signal of the transmit amplifier for each band, a front-end switching circuit configured to connect to the antenna, a duplexer or quadplexer configured to be disposed between the transmit band switching circuit and the front-end switching circuit, and a back-end switching circuit configured to connect with the duplexer or quadplexer. The at least one receive amplifier may be disposed at an output end of the back-end switching circuit.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the communication circuit may further include a printed circuit board (PCB) or an epoxy structure in which an RF module, which includes at least one of the transmit amplifier, the transmit band switching circuit, the front-end switching circuit, the duplexer or quadplexer, the back-end switching circuit, and the at least one receive amplifier, is integrated.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the RF module may include a plurality of RF modules. Each of the plurality of RF modules may be configured to support constant frequency bands (e.g., a high band, a middle band, a low band, and the like) including at least one frequency band (e.g., the bands 2, 3, 4, and 5, and the like).

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the communication circuit may further include a diplexer configured to connect to the antenna and to divide signals of the plurality of RF modules.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the RF module may include a plurality of back-end switching circuits and a plurality of receive amplifiers respectively connected with the plurality of back-end switching circuits, according to carrier aggregation (CA) support.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the communication circuit may further include at least one bypass circuit connected in parallel to the at least one receive amplifier. If a wireless environment is under a strong electric field of specific strength or more, the at least one bypass circuit may be turned on. If the wireless environment is under a weak electric field of less than the specific strength, the at least one bypass circuit may be turned off.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the communication circuit may further include a plurality of matching circuits respectively connected to output ends of the plurality of receive amplifiers.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the communication circuit may further include a dedicated receive RF module configured to include the at least one receive amplifier and to be disposed between the transceiver and the antenna. The dedicated receive RF module may include a front-end switching circuit configured to connect with the antenna, a BPF configured to connect to the front-end switching circuit, and at least one back-end switching circuit configured to connect to the BPF. The at least one receive amplifier connects to an output end of the at least one back-end switching circuit.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the at least one back-end switching circuit may include a plurality of back-end switching circuits to selectively connect a plurality of frequency bands. The at least one receive amplifier may include a plurality of receive amplifiers to respectively connect to output ends of the plurality of back-end switching circuits.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the communication circuit may further include a plurality of dedicated receive RF modules configured to respectively include the at least one receive amplifier, to be disposed between the transceiver and the antenna, and to respectively cover a plurality of frequency bands.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the communication circuit may further include a diplexer configured to be disposed between the antenna and the plurality of dedicated receive RF modules.

The terminology “module” used herein may mean, for example, a unit including one of hardware, software, and firmware or two or more combinations thereof. The terminology “module” may be interchangeably used with, for example, terminologies “unit”, “logic”, “logical block”, “component”, or “circuit”, and the like. The “module” may be a minimum unit of an integrated component or a part thereof. The “module” may be a minimum unit performing one or more functions or a part thereof. The “module” may be mechanically or electronically implemented. For example, the “module” may include at least one of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chip, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or a programmable-logic device for performing certain operations.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, at least a part of a device (e.g., modules or the functions) or a method (e.g., operations) may be implemented with, for example, instructions stored in computer-readable storage media which have a program module.

Modules or program modules according to various embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one or more of the above-mentioned components, some of the above-mentioned components may be omitted, or other additional components may be further included. Operations executed by modules, program modules, or other components may be executed by a successive method, a parallel method, a repeated method, or a heuristic method. Also, some operations may be executed in a different order or may be omitted, and other operations may be added.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the electronic device may be implemented to be smaller in size by reducing a size of the transceiver or the number of components of the transceiver.

Also, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the electronic device may save material costs and improve a process by more simplifying the disposal and wires of the receive amplifier, the matching circuit, and the like.

Also, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the electronic device may provide more good communication receiving performance according to the improved receive amplifier.

Although the present disclosure has been described with embodiments, various changes and modifications may be suggested to one skilled in the art. It is intended that the present disclosure encompass such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.