RF chips are still very difficult to develop!

The radio frequency chip includes a transmitting device and a receiving device. The research and development of the launching device is more complicated than that of the main chip. The design must ensure that the radio frequency signal is not distorted in the receiving and conversion circuit.

To design a radio frequency chip, the scientific researcher must clarify the requirements, determine the "standard" of the radio frequency chip, determine the key information such as the instruction set, function, input and output pins, performance, energy consumption, etc., divide the circuit into multiple modules, and clearly describe each Module requirements. Then, the "front-end" designers design the "circuit" according to the functions of each module, build the model in computer language, and verify the accuracy of the model. Later designers arranged hundreds of millions of circuits based on the circuit design, and reprinted them on silicon wafers regularly according to the relationship between them. Prior to this, the development of radio frequency chips has been completed. This complex design cannot have any flaws, otherwise it cannot be repaired and must be started first. If post-processing is carried out, it usually takes at least one year and the investment is from millions to millions.

As a mobile phone, the PCB panel has many functions, limited positions, many components, and many components, which have very high requirements for wire design. This shows that RF chips are difficult to develop!

Some 4-6 layer designs, each layer can play a big role. When the radio frequency chip transmits a signal, it is used to convert a binary signal into a high-frequency electromagnetic wave. On the contrary, when receiving a signal, whether it is using a 13.56MHz signal carrier or a 900/1800MHz signal, it is used to establish a wireless connection with the radio frequency module.

In order to prevent interference between the linear bodies, the noise generated in the linear bodies must be minimized, and it is best to relax the wires and copper materials. Because high-frequency digital circuits are very sensitive and require high requirements for the details of analog circuits, it is necessary to solve the problem of compatibility between the circuit and the analog circuit in the chip. In the internal structure of the crystal oscillator, the crystal lattice is very narrow, the signal data is too large, and a lot of storage space is needed for processing.

There are many technologies developed for RF chips. In the number of turns of the transmission line, a 45-degree angle can be used to reduce the negative line loss, and a digital isolation board is used to control each layer to avoid magnetic effects with adjacent wires.

Using high-precision pickling specifications to design PCB, cutting and wire cover, for overall control, to solve the problem of microwave frequency. The electromagnetic compatibility design should be able to work normally under various conditions without interference from other equipment.

Another key element of radio frequency instruments is the filter, and the gap between domestic and foreign countries is even greater. The high-speed filters used in mobile phones, with a market of hundreds of billions, are completely owned by foreign radio frequency instrument giants, such as "Volvo". The use of new materials in high-efficiency radio frequency devices also requires designers to be familiar with related special technologies and printing. If there is no innovative technology, even if new materials are used, the product quality will be greatly compromised. The semiconductor material experiment lasts a long time, not one to two years. "

The filter can remove signals outside the target frequency range. They are the basic components of the circuit. 4G mobile phones are suitable for more precise and more expensive filters, while mobile phones are suitable for use10. This high-sensitivity filter based on the piezoelectric effect works by inputting sound waves; its base and coating use new materials (some used in the best military radars), and the processing accuracy should be very high, including film deposition and micro-machines Technology.

The internal structure of the radio frequency chip is not complicated, so the most important thing is to complete the transmission and reception. The wireless number is converted into a predetermined waveform by an electronic resonator, and then amplified by the filter frequency for further demodulation. Information is formed in the middle, so the design is very difficult.

For a complex chip, it takes at least 3-5 years or even longer from R&D to mass production, and requires a lot of manpower, material resources, and financial resources. Microprocessors also require complex software systems, requiring a lot of manpower and material resources to research and develop.

To sum up, we can see that in all aspects of RF chip design, the development of RF chip is a systematic project, which requires a huge investment of manpower and material resources, requires long-term investment, and needs to coordinate upstream and downstream suppliers to ensure the supply of materials in all aspects. . All of these have led to the development of RF chip is not an easy task, because as long as there is a problem in one of the links, it will profoundly affect the entire chip research and development work.