Design of a BAW Quadplexer Module Using AWR Software

With the development of the LTE-Advanced and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) techniques, multiple carrier technology has become important in the mobile communication industry. Designers are meeting the challenge of working with multi-carrier signal-frequency systems by using diplexers and duplexers in RF circuits to separate different carriers. For example, two carrier signals can be separated by using a diplexer. The transmit (TX) and receive (RX) aggregated-carrier functionality is greatly enhanced by compact-designed duplexers and multiplexers.

This application note describes the design of a carrier aggregation (CA) bulk acoustic wave (BAW) quadplexer module. The module is intended for the LTE-3 and LTE-7 bands, with high in-band and cross-band isolation. Qorvo TQQ1003 and TQQ1007 BAW duplexers were used for the duplexer and the circuit was designed with the Cadence® AWR Design Environment® platform, specifically Cadence AWR® Microwave Office® circuit design software. The design is described in steps: filter, T-junction, diplexer, and quadplexer.