Staggered rows of antennas for dual frequency operation
Apparatus and methods for antenna arrays with staggered rows of antennas for dual frequency operation are provided. In certain embodiments, a radio frequency module includes an antenna array attached to a module substrate and that includes a plurality of antenna elements having a first row of antenna elements and a second row of antenna elements that are staggered. The radio frequency module further includes a semiconductor die attached to the module substrate and including a plurality of radio frequency signal conditioning circuits, a plurality of switches coupled between the plurality of radio frequency signal conditioning circuits and the antenna array, and a control circuit configured to control a selection of the plurality of antenna elements by the plurality of switches.
1 . A radio frequency module comprising:
a module substrate;
an antenna array attached to the module substrate, the antenna array including a plurality of antenna elements having a first row of antenna elements and a second row of antenna elements that are staggered; and
a semiconductor die attached to the module substrate, the semiconductor die including a plurality of radio frequency signal conditioning circuits, a plurality of switches coupled between the plurality of radio frequency signal conditioning circuits and the antenna array, and a control circuit configured to control a selection of the plurality of antenna elements by the plurality of switches, the control circuit operable in a plurality of modes each associated with a different selection of the plurality of antenna elements by the plurality of switches, the plurality of modes including a first mode associated with a first selection of the plurality of antenna elements along a row of the antenna array and a second mode associated with a second selection of the plurality of antenna elements along a diagonal of the antenna array, the first selection and the second selection sharing a common antenna element.
2 . The radio frequency module of claim 1 wherein the antenna array operates with a first carrier frequency in the first mode and with a second carrier frequency in the second mode.
3 . The radio frequency module of claim 2 wherein the first carrier frequency is a first frequency band in fifth generation frequency range two, and the second carrier frequency is a second frequency band in fifth generation frequency range two.
4 . The radio frequency module of claim 1 wherein the plurality of antenna elements correspond to a plurality of patch antennas.
5 . The radio frequency module of claim 1 wherein a number of the plurality of radio frequency signal conditioning circuits is less than a number of the plurality of antenna elements.
6 . The radio frequency module of claim 1 wherein the plurality of radio frequency signal conditioning circuits include a plurality of power amplifiers each configured to provide a radio frequency transmit signal to a corresponding antenna element in the selection of the plurality of antenna elements.
7 . The radio frequency module of claim 1 wherein the plurality of radio frequency signal conditioning circuits include a plurality of low noise amplifiers each configured to receive a radio frequency receive signal from a corresponding antenna element in the selection of the plurality of antenna elements.
8 . The radio frequency module of claim 1 wherein the plurality of radio frequency signal conditioning circuits are operable to provide gain and phase adjustments to a plurality of radio frequency signals to control beamforming on the antenna array.
9 . The radio frequency module of claim 1 wherein the first row of antenna elements and the second row of antenna elements each include at least three antenna elements.
10 . The radio frequency module of claim 9 wherein the plurality of antenna elements correspond to a plurality of rectangularly-shaped patch antennas.
11 . A method of antenna communication using a radio frequency module, the method comprising:
conditioning a plurality of radio frequency signals using a plurality of radio frequency signal conditioning circuits of a semiconductor die that is attached to a module substrate;
coupling the plurality of radio frequency signal conditioning circuits to an antenna array using a plurality of switches of the semiconductor die, the antenna array attached to the module substrate and including a plurality of antenna elements having a first row of antenna elements and a second row of antenna elements that are staggered;
controlling a selection of the plurality of antenna elements by the plurality of switches using a control circuit of the semiconductor die; and
operating the control circuit in a selected mode chosen from a plurality of modes each associated with a different selection of the plurality of antenna elements by the plurality of switches, the plurality of modes including a first mode associated with a first selection of the plurality of antenna elements along a row of the antenna array and a second mode associated with a second selection of the plurality of antenna elements along a diagonal of the antenna array, the first selection and the second selection sharing a common antenna element.
12 . The method of claim 11 wherein the antenna array operates with a first carrier frequency in the first mode and with a second carrier frequency in the second mode.
13 . The method of claim 12 wherein the first carrier frequency is a first frequency band in fifth generation frequency range two, and the second carrier frequency is a second frequency band in fifth generation frequency range two.
14 . The method of claim 11 wherein the plurality of antenna elements correspond to a plurality of patch antennas.
15 . The method of claim 11 wherein a number of the plurality of radio frequency signal conditioning circuits is less than a number of the plurality of antenna elements.
16 . The method of claim 11 wherein the plurality of radio frequency signal conditioning circuits include a plurality of power amplifiers, the method further comprising using each of the plurality of power amplifiers to provide a radio frequency transmit signal to a corresponding antenna element in the selection of the plurality of antenna elements.
17 . The method of claim 11 wherein the plurality of radio frequency signal conditioning circuits include a plurality of low noise amplifiers, the method further comprising using each of the plurality of low noise amplifiers to receive a radio frequency receive signal from a corresponding antenna element in the selection of the plurality of antenna elements.
18 . The method of claim 11 further comprising providing gain and phase adjustments to a plurality of radio frequency signals to control beamforming on the antenna array using the plurality of radio frequency signal conditioning circuits.
19 . The method of claim 11 wherein the first row of antenna elements and the second row of antenna elements each include at least three antenna elements.
20 . The method of claim 19 wherein the plurality of antenna elements correspond to a plurality of rectangularly-shaped patch antennas.