JPH10270912A - Manufacture of circulator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To miniaturize a circulator, to widen a band, to reduce a loss and to reduce the cost by electrically connecting a magnetic rotator formed by integrally baking so that an insulating magnetic body surrounds an inner conductor having a prescribed pattern in a close contact state and resonance capacitor parts which are differently formed. SOLUTION: The insulating magnetic body integrally forms the magnetic rotator 20 in the close contact state so that it surrounds strip-like coil patterns which are stacked in two layers and extend in three pairs of radiation directions. One end of the respective patterns is electrically connected to the terminal electrode provided for the side. The resonance capacitors 21a, 21b and 21c of multilayer triplet strip line structure with a wide operation frequency range are connected to the terminal electrode. Thus, the generation of an inverse magnetic field is eliminated and the asymmetrical loss is reduced by setting the inner conductor and the magnetic body in the close contact state. Since the magnetic rotator and the resonance capacitor parts are differently formed, they can be assembled in spite of the baking characteristics of them and productivity improves.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an integrated circulator used for a radio device used in a microwave band or the like, for example, a mobile radio device such as a portable telephone.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A lumped constant circulator is generally
It had an assembling magnetic rotor having a basic structure as shown in the exploded perspective view of FIG. 18 and a circular planar shape. In the figure, reference numeral 200 denotes a circular non-magnetic substrate made of glass, epoxy resin or the like, and coil conductors (internal conductors) 201 and 202 are formed on upper and lower surfaces of the non-magnetic substrate 200. The coil conductors 201 and 202 are connected to each other by a via hole 203 penetrating the nonmagnetic substrate 200. Circular magnetic members 204 and 205 are assembled in such a manner that the nonmagnetic substrate 200 on which the coil conductors 201 and 202 are formed is sandwiched from both sides, and high-frequency power applied to the coil conductors 201 and 202 The magnetic members 204 and 205 are configured to generate a rotating high-frequency magnetic flux. As described above, a general magnetic rotor has a circular shape, and has a configuration in which the magnetic members 204 and 205 are simply stacked and adhered to both sides of the nonmagnetic substrate 200 on which the coil conductor is formed.

As shown in an exploded perspective view of FIG. 19, the circulator as a whole has magnetic members 204 and 205, a ground conductor electrode 206, and a magnetic member 204 on both sides of a non-magnetic substrate 200 on which a coil conductor 201 (202) is formed. 207, permanent magnets for excitation 208 and 209, and split-type metal housings 210 and 21 which are divided into upper and lower parts and constitute magnetic flux paths from the permanent magnets for excitation 208 and 209.
1 are stacked and assembled and fixed in this order.

When high-frequency power is applied to the coil conductors 201 and 202 via input / output terminals (not shown), the coil conductors 201 and 20 are placed in the magnetic members 204 and 205.
A high frequency magnetic flux that rotates around 2 is generated. When a DC magnetic field orthogonal to the high-frequency magnetic flux is applied from the permanent magnets 208 and 209, the magnetic members 204 and 205
As shown in (1), different magnetic permeability μ ₊ and μ ₋ are exhibited depending on the rotation direction of the high-frequency magnetic flux. The circulator utilizes the fact that the propagation speed of a high-frequency signal varies depending on the direction of rotation due to such a difference in magnetic permeability, and as a result, the propagation of a signal to a specific terminal can be stopped by a canceling effect in the magnetic rotor. It is. The non-propagating terminal is set in an angular relationship with respect to the driving terminal due to the properties of the magnetic permeability μ ₊ and μ ₋ . For example, terminals A along a certain rotation direction,
Assuming that B and C are arranged in this order, when the non-propagating terminal for the driving terminal A is the terminal B, the non-propagating terminal for the driving terminal B is the terminal C.

[0005]

A circulator is widely used as a useful element for preventing interference between amplifiers and protecting a power amplifier from reflected power in mobile radio equipment such as a cellular phone. With the spread and miniaturization of the circulator, the circulator itself is required to be further miniaturized, widened in band, reduced in loss, and reduced in price. In order to meet such a demand, a circulator having a large difference between the magnetic permeability μ ₊ and μ ₋ and a small loss in the drive circuit is required.

However, in a general circulator, two divided magnetic members 204 and 205 are used.
Accordingly, when the drive line is interposed, the magnetic path is interrupted by the non-magnetic substrate 200. For this reason,
A demagnetizing field is generated at the interface between the magnetic members 204 and 205 and the non-magnetic substrate 200, and as a result, the magnetic permeability is inevitably reduced.

In order to reduce the demagnetizing field generated at the boundary surface with the non-magnetic substrate 200 to form a compact circulator, the present inventors have developed a circulator in which the substrate 200 is formed of a sheet into which a magnetic material is kneaded. Prototype made. According to this configuration, although the demagnetizing field generated at the boundary surface is somewhat reduced, it is not at all sufficient to meet the above-mentioned requirement.

Further, in a general circulator, since the plane shape of the gyromagnetic component is circular, when a circuit element (resonant capacitor, matching resistor, etc.) is externally attached to a terminal on the side surface, the overall size is reduced accordingly. It also had the disadvantage of becoming larger.

Further, in a general circulator,
Since the housing constituting the magnetic yoke is formed by mechanically assembling the two parts 210 and 211, the magnetic resistance of the magnetic path for excitation becomes extremely high, and It took a lot of time and labor to assemble.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a circulator that can be reduced in size, bandwidth, loss, and / or cost.

[0011]

According to the present invention, an internal conductor having a predetermined pattern is integrally fired so that an insulating magnetic material surrounds it closely to form a magnetic rotator. Is provided on a dielectric substrate to separately form a resonance capacitor portion, and a circulator manufacturing method is provided in which the magnetic rotor formed in this way and the formed resonance capacitor portion are electrically connected and assembled.

As described above, as the magnetic rotator, since the insulating magnetic material is integrally fired so as to surround the internal conductor in a close state, there is no discontinuous portion in the magnetic material. As a result, since a high-frequency magnetic flux forms a continuous loop in the magnetic rotor, no demagnetizing field is generated. Moreover,
Since the propagation characteristics between the terminals are matched with each other due to the three-fold symmetry of the internal conductor pattern, a completed circulator operation without loss due to asymmetry can be obtained. In particular, in the present invention, since the gyromagnetic component and the resonance capacitor portion are separately fired and formed and then electrically connected,
Even if the sintering characteristics of the magnetic material of the gyromagnetic component and the dielectric material of the resonance capacitor portion are different, it is possible to assemble the two without any problem.

It is preferable to provide an exciting permanent magnet for applying a DC magnetic field on the assembled magnetic rotor and resonance capacitor section.

Next, it is preferable that a metal housing having a continuous magnetic path is closely fixed to the exciting permanent magnet.

[0015]

1 is a partially cutaway perspective view schematically showing a configuration of a magnetic rotor of a three-terminal circulator according to the prior art of the present applicant, and FIG. 2 is an external view of the magnetic rotor. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of a prior art circulator to which a resonance capacitor and a permanent magnet are attached, FIG. 3 is an equivalent circuit diagram of the circulator, and FIG. 4 illustrates a part of a manufacturing process of the magnetic rotor of FIG. FIG.

As shown in these figures, the circulator is of a three-terminal type, so that the gyromagnetic component is formed so that its planar shape is a regular hexagon. However, the shape need not necessarily be a regular hexagon, but may be a hexagon or another polygon as long as it can generate a uniform rotating magnetic field.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a magnetic material layer which is integrally fired. An inner conductor (center conductor) 11 having a predetermined pattern is formed so as to be surrounded by the magnetic material layer 10. The inner conductor 11 has a configuration in which the inner conductor 11 is laminated in two layers as described later, and a pair of the inner conductors 11 extends in three radiation directions (radiation directions perpendicular to at least one side of the hexagon). Are provided in each layer. Strip-like coil patterns extending in the same direction on both layers are electrically connected to each other via via-hole conductors. This uses the magnetic layer as an insulator. One end of each coil pattern is electrically connected to a terminal electrode 12 provided on every other side surface of the magnetic layer 10. Magnetic layer 10
A ground conductor (ground electrode) is provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the magnetic layer 10 and on each side of the magnetic layer 10 where the terminal electrode 12 is not provided.
13 are provided. The other end of each coil pattern is electrically connected to the ground conductor 13 on each side.

As a whole of the circulator according to the prior art of the applicant of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, resonance terminals 21a, 21b, And 21c are electrically connected. These capacitors 21a, 21b, and 2
As 1c, a through-type high-frequency capacitor having a high self-resonance frequency is used as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-251262 and drawings which have already been proposed and published by the present applicant. This high-frequency capacitor is a multi-layered tri-plate formed by laminating at least one unit of a multi-layer body composed of a ground conductor, a dielectric, an inner conductor, and a dielectric in this order, and further laminating a ground conductor and a dielectric in this order. -It has a stripline structure. By using such a penetrating type capacitor having a wide operating frequency range, a decrease in Q can be prevented. The connection between the terminal electrode and the capacitor is as shown in the equivalent circuit diagram of FIG.

Exciting permanent magnets 22 and 23 (FIG. 2) for applying a DC magnetic field 14 (see FIG. 1) to the magnetic rotor 20 are mounted above and below the magnetic rotor 20, respectively. The mounting structure of the permanent magnets 22 and 23 and the housing not shown in FIG. 2 will be described later.

Next, the manufacturing process of the circulator will be described.

As shown in FIG. 4A, an upper sheet 40, an intermediate sheet 41, and a lower sheet 42 made of the same insulating magnetic material are prepared. As the magnetic material, yttrium iron garnet (hereinafter referred to as YIG) is used.
This is formed into a sheet having the following component ratio. However, the upper sheet 41 and the lower sheet 42 have a sheet thickness of about 1 mm, and are usually used by laminating sheets of 100 to 200 μm (preferably 160 μm). The intermediate sheet 41 has a sheet thickness of about 160 μm. YIG powder 61.8% by weight Binder 5.9% by weight Solvent 32.3% by weight

At predetermined positions of the intermediate sheet 41, via holes 43a, 43b and 43c penetrating the sheet are provided.
Is formed. At each via hole position, a via hole conductor having an area slightly larger than its diameter is formed by printing or transfer.

On the upper surfaces of the intermediate sheet 41 and the lower sheet 42, two strip-shaped patterns are provided, each set extending in the same radiation direction (radiation direction perpendicular to at least one side of the hexagon) while avoiding the via hole portion. Inner conductors 44a, 44b and 44 by three sets of coil patterns consisting of
c and the lower inner conductors 45a, 45b, and 45c are formed by printing or transferring a silver paste, a palladium paste, or a silver-palladium paste, respectively. After the upper sheet 40, the intermediate sheet 41, and the lower sheet 42 thus formed are sequentially stacked, they are stacked in a heating and pressing process. As a result, a three-fold symmetrical coil pattern is arranged on both the front and back surfaces of the intermediate sheet 41, and the symmetry makes the propagation characteristics between the terminals of the three-terminal circulator coincide with each other.

The upper sheet 4 thus stacked
0, the intermediate sheet 41, and the lower sheet 42, the melting point of the internal conductor (for example, about 960 when the internal conductor is silver).
(° C.) or more, for example, at 1450 ° C. The firing may be performed once or plural times. In the case of a plurality of firings, firing is performed at least once at a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point. By this sintering, the magnetic materials constituting the upper sheet 40, the intermediate sheet 41, and the lower sheet 42 are brought into a continuous state and integrated.

The sintering end temperature of YIG, which is a magnetic material, is higher than the melting point of the internal conductor (for example, silver or silver-palladium). Therefore, in the above-described firing step, first, the conductor (for example, silver or silver-palladium) is sealed. After being melted in the state, the magnetic material is sintered. Such an element manufacturing method has already been proposed and disclosed by the present applicant as an internal conductor melting method (JP-A-5-183314, JP-A-5-3157).
No. 57). According to such an internal conductor melting method, the internal conductor is in a molten state, the structure is densified, the contact state of the conductor is improved, and the loss of the line is reduced.

In the above-described internal conductor melting method, the temperature at the time of simultaneous firing of the insulating body and the internal conductor is set to the melting point of the conductor or more, the internal conductor is brought into a molten state, the structure is densified, and the conductor powder used is used. This substantially eliminates the grain boundaries in the internal conductor caused by the above. When a pattern is formed using a conductor paste, the conductor powder (silver powder) to be used preferably has a silver content of 90% by weight or more, particularly preferably a purity of 99% by weight or more. The content of the conductor powder in the conductor paste is 60 to 95% by weight, particularly 70 to 90% by weight.
It is desirable that Further, in order to reduce the occurrence of a network structure after melting, the conductor powder has a softening point near the melting point of the conductor powder.
Glass frit of 0% by volume or less may be added to the conductor powder.

As the via-hole conductor, the same metal paste (for example, silver paste) as the inner conductor may be used, but a conductor having a higher melting point than the inner conductor, for example, a palladium paste when the inner conductor is silver, may be used. Good. The point that the electrical characteristics are improved by devising the melting point and the firing temperature of the via-hole conductor and the inner conductor is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-327221, which has already been proposed and published by the present applicant, and in the drawings. I have. That is, a metal (about 1555 ° C. for pure palladium) having a melting point higher than the firing end temperature of the insulating magnetic material (about 1450 ° C. for YIG) is used as the via-hole conductor, and the firing temperature is set to the internal conductor. By setting the temperature higher than the melting point and lower than the melting point of the via-hole conductor (for example, 1450 ° C.), the via-hole conductor does not melt at the time of firing and serves as a stopper for closing the internal conductor, thereby preventing the internal conductor from flowing out. As a result, deterioration of electrical characteristics can be prevented.

By the above firing step, the upper inner conductor 4
One end of each of 4a, 44b and 44c and lower inner conductor 45
a, 45b, and 45c are connected to via holes 43.
These are electrically connected via via-hole conductors in a, 43b, and 43c.

In FIG. 4A, the upper sheet 4
0, the intermediate sheet 41, and the lower sheet 42 are described as being separated into regular hexagons, but actually, sheets in which a number of internal conductors and via-hole conductors related to the magnetic rotor are printed and arranged are stacked. It is desirable from mass production to cut each magnetic rotor before or after sintering in the state. When cut before sintering, a large number of regular hexagonal magnetic rotors obtained by cutting are fired as described above. Whether to cut before sintering or after sintering is selected according to the type of metal used for the inner conductor and the cutting method. For example, when silver is used as the internal conductor, it is cut after firing so that silver does not flow out by melting. When palladium is used as the internal conductor, it can be cut before firing.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of the arrangement of the magnetic rotators on the sheet. As shown in the figure, an upper sheet 50, an intermediate sheet 51, and a lower sheet 52 are prepared, and a large number of internal conductors 54 and 55 are printed on the upper surfaces of the intermediate sheet 51 and the lower sheet 52, respectively. After baking the resulting sheet, it is cut into individual pieces. When the arrangement of the respective magnetic rotators on the sheet is as shown in FIG. 5, the cutting is straight and easy, and the cutting can be performed even after firing, but an unnecessary material area increases.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another example of the arrangement of the magnetic rotators on the sheet. In the example shown in the figure, hexagons are densely arranged so that no space exists between adjacent magnetic rotors, and such an arrangement is advantageous in terms of material yield. Each number in the figure represents the order of cutting. According to the method of cutting one after another in such an order, the cutting process is somewhat complicated.

FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating a cutting step that can simplify this cutting. As shown in FIG. 6A, the arrangement of the respective magnetic rotators on the sheet is the same as in the example of FIG. That is, first, each sheet on which pattern printing is performed so that hexagons are densely arranged so that no space exists between adjacent magnetic rotors is stacked. Then snap along the boundaries of each hexagon. Next, the hexagonal magnetic rotator portion a shown in FIG. 3B is separated by one punching. Next, the hexagonal magnetic rotor part b is separated by one punching. The hexagonal magnetic rotor portion c can also be separated by the two punchings, and all the magnetic rotors are cut. The magnetic rotor cut in this way is fired as described above.

After the cutting and firing processes, each magnetic rotor is
The inner conductor that appears on the side surface by barrel polishing is exposed, and the corner of the sintered body is chamfered. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4C, a terminal electrode 46 is provided on every other side surface of the gyromagnetic component, and a ground conductor 47 is provided on the upper and lower surfaces thereof and on each side surface of the gyromagnetic component where no terminal electrode 46 is provided.
Is formed by baking. Thereby, the upper inner conductor 44
The other ends of the a, 44b, and 44c exposed on the side surfaces of the magnetic rotor are electrically connected to the respective terminal electrodes (46), and are connected to the side surfaces of the lower internal conductors 45a, 45b, and 45c. The other end that is exposed is electrically connected to the ground conductor (47) on each side.

The magnetic rotator completed in this way has a regular hexagonal plane shape inscribed in a circle having a diameter of 6 mm, and has a thickness of 2 mm. In the prior art, as shown in FIG. 2, resonance capacitors 21a, 21b, and 21c are attached to each terminal electrode (46) of the magnetic rotor and soldered by a reflow method or the like. Thereafter, the circulator is completed by assembling the permanent magnet for excitation for applying a DC magnetic field and the metal housing which also serves as the magnetic yoke.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view and a perspective view showing the structure of the housing itself and the structure of a circulator in which the permanent magnet for excitation and the housing are assembled to the magnetic rotor. When assembling the housing, first, as shown in FIG.
Excitation permanent magnets 82 and 83 are respectively stacked on the upper and lower surfaces of the magnetic rotor 80 attached to every other side surface. The magnetic rotor 80 and the exciting permanent magnets 82 and 83 are supported by pressing the insulator supports 84 and 85 from the side surfaces. At this time, the connection lead 87a to which cream solder is attached is provided between the input / output terminal 86a provided on the insulator supports 84 and 85 and the resonance capacitor 81a (or the extraction terminal) attached to the magnetic rotor 80. And hold it down mechanically. The connection lead 87a is made of, for example, a U-shaped thin copper strip having elasticity. The insulator supports 84 and 85 are formed of ceramic, glass epoxy resin, or other high-temperature resistant resin.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the assembly 88 of the magnetic rotor and the permanent magnet for excitation supported by the insulator supports 84 and 85 in this manner is tightly fitted in a metal housing 89. The crimping projection 90 is bent and fixed. As a result, the metal housing 89 and the excitation permanent magnets 82 and 83 are tightly fixed.
The metal housing 89 is made of a metal operable as a magnetic yoke, preferably a steel plate.
Plating treatment such as nickel and chromium is performed. The housing 89 has a rectangular cylindrical shape in which two opposing surfaces are open and the other surfaces are continuous. The assembly assembled in this manner is passed through a reflow furnace to melt the solder, and the connection between the connection lead 87a and the input / output terminal 86a and the connection between the connection lead 87a and the resonance capacitor 81a (or extraction terminal) are performed. FIG. 8C shows the circulator 91 completed in this manner.

The operating frequency band and the loss of the circulator are mostly determined by the performance of the magnetic rotor. That is, the larger the difference between the magnetic permeability μ ₊ and μ ₋ and the smaller the magnetic tangent and the resistance of the coil, the wider the band and the lower the loss of the gyromagnetic element. As described above, according to the magnetic rotor formed by using the internal conductor melting method, the following advantages can be obtained. (1) Since the magnetic material is brought into a continuous state by sintering, the high-frequency magnetic flux is closed in the magnetic rotor. As a result, since no demagnetizing field is generated, the values of μ ₊ and μ ₋ are increased, and the size can be reduced in accordance with the increase in inductance. (2) Since the magnetic material is brought into a continuous state by sintering, the high-frequency magnetic flux is closed in the magnetic rotor. As a result, since no demagnetizing field is generated, the difference between μ ₊ and μ ₋ becomes large, and the operating frequency band is widened. (3) Since the coil conductor is formed by the melting method, the resistance is reduced and the loss is reduced. (4) Since the structure is suitable for mass production, the range of cost reduction due to mass production effect is increased. (5) The magnetic yoke is not divided but has an integrated and continuous magnetic path and is fixed to the exciting permanent magnet in close contact, so that the exciting magnetic path is continuous without interruption. The magnetic resistance becomes very small, and the characteristics can be greatly improved.

FIG. 9 compares the characteristics of a circulator having an inner conductor having at least a main part (central portion, intersecting portion) of the above-mentioned inner conductor melting type having a three-fold symmetry and an assembly type circulator. In the figure, the horizontal axis represents frequency, and the vertical axis represents insertion loss between non-propagating terminals and insertion loss between propagating terminals. It is also apparent from the drawing that the inner conductor melting type circulator has the same size as the assembled type circulator but has a low operating center frequency and a small loss.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing a configuration of a magnetic rotor of a three-terminal circulator and assembling of the circulator according to still another prior art of the present applicant. In this prior art, the configuration of the inner conductor (center conductor) is the same as that of FIG. 1 except that it extends in a radial direction parallel to at least one side of the hexagon. That is, as shown in FIG. 3A, on the upper and lower surfaces of the intermediate sheet 121 made of a magnetic material, three sets of coil patterns each composed of two strip-shaped patterns extending in the same radial direction. Upper inner conductors 124a, 124
b and 124c and lower inner conductors 125a, 125
b and 125c are respectively formed. At predetermined positions of the intermediate sheet 121, via holes 123a, 123b, and 123c penetrating the sheet are formed.

On the upper and lower sides of the intermediate sheet 121, an upper sheet 120 and a lower sheet 122 made of the same insulating magnetic material are stacked and fired. By this baking, the magnetic bodies constituting the upper sheet 120, the intermediate sheet 121, and the lower sheet 122 are integrated in a continuous state. Also, the upper inner conductors 124a, 124b, and 1
One end of 24c and one end of lower internal conductors 125a, 125b, and 125c are connected to via holes 123a, 123b,
, And via a via-hole conductor in 123c to form a drive line. The magnetic rotor after firing is shown in FIG. Other manufacturing steps of the magnetic rotor up to this point, and the magnetic material and the conductor material are the same as those in FIG.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 10C, a terminal electrode 126 is provided on a part of each side surface of the magnetic rotator, most of the upper and lower surfaces thereof are cut off, and a part of each side surface is provided. And a ground conductor 127 is formed by baking. This allows
The other ends of the upper inner conductors 124a, 124b, and 124c that are exposed on the side surfaces of the magnetic rotor are electrically connected to the ground conductor (127).
The other ends of the a, 125b, and 125c exposed on the side surfaces of the magnetic rotor are electrically connected to the terminal electrodes (126) on the respective side surfaces.

The magnetic rotor completed in this manner has a regular hexagonal plane shape inscribed in a circle having a diameter of 6 mm, and has a thickness of 2 mm. Resonant capacitors 130a, 130b, and 130c are attached to each terminal electrode (126) and the ground conductor (127) on the side surface of the magnetic rotor and soldered by a reflow method or the like. Thereafter, the circulator is completed by assembling the excitation permanent magnets 128 and 129 for applying a DC magnetic field and the metal housing which also serves as the magnetic yoke as described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 10D shows that the resonance capacitor 130 is connected to the magnetic rotor.
14 shows a state in which a, 130b, and 130c and permanent magnets for excitation 128 and 129 are assembled.

As shown in an exploded perspective view of FIG. 11, the resonance capacitors 130a, 130b, and 130c include a dielectric block 131 and ground-side electrodes provided on a part of the rear and side surfaces of the dielectric block 131. 132 and an input / output electrode 133 provided on part of the front, side, and rear surfaces of the dielectric block 131. By attaching such a capacitor as shown in FIG. 10 (C), its input / output electrode 133 is directed outwardly from the side surface of the gyromagnetic component.
Attachment of connection leads (see FIG. 8) for connecting the input / output electrode 133 to the input / output terminal of the housing becomes very easy.

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing a configuration of a magnetic rotor of a three-terminal circulator as one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a dielectric sheet having the same shape as the magnetic material sheet and a capacitor electrode are separately formed, and this is also assembled with a separately formed magnetic rotator to form an assembly of the resonance capacitor and the magnetic rotator. Has formed. The gyromagnetic part is shown in this embodiment as having a coil conductor having a linear pattern in the figure, but in practice, as in the prior art described above, a pattern configuration having a three-fold symmetry is used. Of coil conductors.

The magnetic rotator portion of this embodiment will be described in more detail. The upper sheet 140, the intermediate sheet 141, and the lower sheet 142 made of an insulating magnetic material are used.
The inner conductor is printed thereon and the substrate sheets 143a, 143b, 143c, 1 made of the same insulating magnetic material.
44a, 144b, and 144c are laminated and sintered integrally to form a continuous layer. Substrate sheet 143a, 1
43b, 143c, 144a, 144b, and 144c
The upper inner conductors 145a, 145b, and 1
45c and the lower inner conductors 146a, 146b, and 1
46c are respectively formed. Upper inner conductor 145
a and lower inner conductor 146a, upper inner conductor 145b and lower inner conductor 146b, and upper inner conductor 145c
And the lower inner conductor 146c are connected one after another by a coil jumper conductor (not shown) for connecting their ends exposed from the side surfaces of the magnetic rotor after firing, thereby forming the above-described coil conductor. Is done.
Ground conductors for the magnetic rotor are formed on the upper surface of the upper sheet 140 and the lower surface of the lower sheet 142, respectively.

The method of manufacturing the gyromagnetic component, the magnetic material and the conductor material are the same as in the prior art shown in FIG. The magnetic rotator portion may be formed by printing the above-described pattern of the internal conductor on both sides of the magnetic sheet, or may be different from the structure shown in FIG. 12 as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. You may.

The resonance capacitor portion is provided on the upper sheet 14.
Grounding conductor 140a for the magnetic rotor formed on the upper surface
And a first dielectric sheet 147 having the same regular hexagonal shape as the magnetic rotor laminated thereon, and a dielectric sheet 14
7, a second dielectric sheet 149 having the same regular hexagonal shape as the magnetic rotator laminated thereon, and a capacitor ground formed on the upper surface of the dielectric sheet 149. And an electrode 149a. The capacitor electrode 148 is connected to one end of the above-described coil conductor via a capacitor jumper conductor (not shown) formed on a side surface of the magnetic rotor. The magnetic rotor ground conductor 140a is partially cut away to prevent a short circuit with the capacitor jumper conductor. The magnetic rotor ground conductor 140a also serves as a capacitor ground electrode. Thus, between the capacitor electrode 148 and the ground conductor 140a for the magnetic rotor, and between the capacitor electrode 148 and the ground electrode 149a for the capacitor.
Capacitors will be formed between them,
If the capacitance is sufficient, the second dielectric sheet 149 and the capacitor ground electrode 149a may be omitted. In that case, the capacitor electrode 148 can be used as an output terminal.

In the present embodiment, since the magnetic rotator portion and the resonance capacitor portion are individually fired and assembled by soldering, the firing characteristics are different between the dielectric material and the magnetic material, so that simultaneous firing is not possible. Manufacturing is possible even when possible. A capacitor electrode 148 is provided on the upper surface of the upper sheet 140 in place of the ground conductor for the gyromagnetic component.
The dielectric sheet 147 may be omitted, and the capacitor ground electrode 149a may be used also as the magnetic rotor ground conductor.

FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the configuration of a magnetic rotor of a three-terminal circulator according to the prior art of the present applicant. According to this prior art, a resonance capacitor is integrally formed in a magnetic rotor by operating a magnetic material as a dielectric material. The gyromagnetic part, in this technology,
Although the figure shows a coil conductor having a linear pattern, it actually has a coil conductor having a three-fold symmetry pattern configuration as in the above-described prior art.

The prior art gyromagnetic portion is described in more detail. The top sheet 158, top sheet 150, middle sheet 151, and bottom sheet 152 of an insulating magnetic material, and the internal conductors are printed thereon. Substrate sheet 153a made of the same insulating magnetic material,
153b, 153c, 154a, 154b, and 154
c are laminated and integrally sintered to form a continuous layer.
Substrate sheets 153a, 153b, 153c, 154a,
On the upper surfaces of 154b and 154c, a number of upper inner conductors 155a, 155b and 15 corresponding to the number of turns of the coil are provided.
5c and lower inner conductors 156a, 156b, and 15
6c are respectively formed. Upper inner conductor 155a
And a lower inner conductor 156a, an upper inner conductor 155b and a lower inner conductor 156b, and an upper inner conductor 155c and a lower inner conductor 156c, each of which connects their ends exposed from the side surface of the magnetic rotor after firing. Are connected one after another by jumper conductors (not shown), thereby constituting the above-described coil conductor. Ground conductors for the magnetic rotor are formed on the upper surface of the uppermost sheet 158 and the lower surface of the lower sheet 152, respectively.

The method of manufacturing the gyromagnetic component, the magnetic material and the conductor material are the same as those in the embodiment of FIG. This magnetic rotator portion may be printed with the above-described pattern of the inner conductor on both sides of the magnetic sheet, or may be different from the structure shown in FIG. 13 as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. You may.

The resonance capacitor portion is provided on the upper sheet 15.
0, the uppermost sheet 158 laminated thereon, and a capacitor ground electrode (also used as a magnetic conductor ground conductor) 159 formed on the upper surface of the uppermost sheet 158. It consists of The capacitor electrode 157 is connected to one end of the above-described coil conductor via a capacitor jumper conductor (not shown) formed on a side surface of the magnetic rotor. The top sheet 158 made of a magnetic material operates not only as a part of the magnetic material in the gyromagnetic component but also as a dielectric between the capacitor electrode 157 and the capacitor ground electrode 159. This prior art is used when the circulator capacitance value may be small, and the capacitor electrode 157 is formed at a position that does not affect the operation of the circulator.

In this prior art, since the resonance capacitor is formed integrally with the magnetic rotor, it is not necessary to attach a capacitor externally, so that not only the manufacturing process is simplified, but also the circulator is The size can be reduced.

FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing a configuration of a magnetic rotor of a three-terminal circulator according to still another prior art of the present applicant. This prior art is an example in which a planar shape of a magnetic rotor is rectangular. As shown in the figure,
A rectangular upper sheet 160 made of the same insulating magnetic material,
An intermediate sheet 161 and a lower sheet 162 are provided. On the upper and lower surfaces of the intermediate sheet 161, the upper inner conductor 164 is formed by three sets of coil patterns each including two strip-shaped patterns each set extending in the same radial direction.
a, 164b and 164c and the lower inner conductor 165
a, 165b and 165c are respectively formed. At predetermined positions of the intermediate sheet 161, via holes 163a, 163b, and 163c penetrating this sheet are provided.
Are formed.

An upper sheet 160 and a lower sheet 162 are stacked on the upper and lower sides of the intermediate sheet 161 and are baked to form the upper sheet 160 and the intermediate sheet 1.
61 and the magnetic material constituting the lower sheet 162 are integrated in a continuous state. Also, the upper inner conductor 164
a, 164b, and 164c and the lower inner conductor 16
One end of each of 5a, 165b, and 165c is electrically connected to each other via via-hole conductors in via-holes 163a, 163b, and 163c to form a drive line. Except for the fact that the planar shape is rectangular, the configuration, operation and effect of this prior art are the same as those of the prior art of FIG.

In this prior art, the main part (intersecting part) of the drive line pattern, which is important for the operation of the circulator from the center to the outside, has three-fold symmetry. Can be.
Of course, sufficient characteristics can be obtained by operating as an isolator. In that case, the inner conductors 164a and 1
A matching resistor is connected to one end of the internal conductors 164b and 165b and the internal conductors 164c and 165c
Is an input / output terminal. Of course, the inner conductor 164
a and 165a, the other ends of the inner conductors 164b and 165b, and the inner conductors 164c and 165c are connected to the ground conductor.

FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the configuration of a part of a three-terminal circulator according to still another prior art of the present applicant. In this prior art, when the resonance capacitor is soldered to the magnetic rotor in FIG. 1, the soldering is performed in a state where the magnetic rotor and the resonance capacitor are mounted on the substrate 170. Except for the addition of the substrate 170, the configuration and effect of this prior art are exactly the same as those of the prior art of FIG. 1 (see FIG. 2).

FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing a configuration of a part of a three-terminal circulator according to still another prior art of the present applicant, and FIG. 17 is a structural principle diagram of the circulator of FIG. In this prior art, the operating frequency is broadened by floating the circulator from the ground with a lumped-constant LC series resonance circuit or a half-wave resonance line. It is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 52-32713 that the arrangement of a series resonance circuit between the outer conductor of the circulator and the ground conductor is substantially rotationally symmetric with respect to the center axis of the circulator.
It is known from the specification and the drawings.

In FIG. 16, reference numeral 180 denotes a gyromagnetic rotor which may be of any of the aforementioned prior arts. A triplate line resonator 181 having the same planar shape as the magnetic rotator is laminated below the magnetic rotator 180. The triplate line type resonator 181 includes a high dielectric constant dielectric sheet 182 which can be fired simultaneously with the internal conductor and has a dielectric constant of about 90, and a circular capacitor provided coaxially with the center of the upper surface of the dielectric sheet 182. Electrode 18
3, a dielectric substrate 184 laminated under the dielectric sheet 182, a helical line conductor 185 formed on the upper surface of the dielectric substrate 184 and having a capacitor electrode 185a formed at the center thereof. And a ground conductor (not shown) formed on the lower surface of the dielectric substrate 184. A capacitor is formed between the capacitor electrode 183 and the capacitor electrode 185a at the center of the spiral line conductor 185, and the spiral line of the spiral line conductor 185 forms an inductor. The other end 185 of the spiral line conductor 185
b is connected to a ground conductor on the lower surface of the dielectric substrate 184 via a connection line provided on the side of the triplate line type resonator 181.

To form the triplate line resonator 181, the dielectric sheet 182 provided with the capacitor electrode 183 and the dielectric substrate 1 provided with the spiral line conductor 185 are provided.
84 and the internal conductor and these dielectrics are fired simultaneously. Magnetic rotor 180 and triplate line resonator 18
The connection with the capacitor 1 is made by individually forming and stacking these, and connecting the capacitor electrode 183 to the electrical center position of the ground conductor provided on the lower surface of the magnetic rotor by a solder reflow method.

The above description is for the case where the triplate line type resonator is formed by an LC series resonance circuit. To form a triplate line resonator using a half-wavelength resonance line,
The length of the helical line conductor is set to a half wavelength, and a capacitor electrode (1) is provided at the center of the dielectric sheet (182).
A via-hole and a via-hole conductor are provided instead of 83), and one end of the spiral line conductor at the center is connected to the via-hole conductor. The other end (185b) of the helical line conductor is connected to a ground conductor on the lower surface of the dielectric substrate (184) via a connection line provided on the side of the triplate line type resonator 181. Then, the above-described dielectric sheet (182) and the dielectric substrate (184) provided with the spiral line conductor are laminated, and the internal conductor and these dielectrics are simultaneously fired. The coupling between the gyromagnetic component and the triplate line type resonator is formed separately and laminated, and the via hole conductor is formed at an electrical center position of the ground conductor provided on the lower surface of the gyromagnetic component by a solder reflow method. This is done by connecting

As in this example, if a triplate line type resonator is laminated and coupled to a magnetic rotor integrally fired, the resonators are arranged rotationally symmetrically and symmetrically with respect to the central axis of the circulator. Since the circulator can be easily and accurately performed, a small-sized and wide-band circulator can be obtained with high productivity.

In the example described above, the internal conductor is formed by printing a silver paste, a palladium paste or a silver-palladium paste, but the internal conductor may be formed by punching a silver foil. In particular, when the resistance loss is not remarkable and does not form a solid solution with the magnetic material, it is preferable to form it from gold, palladium, silver-palladium or an alloy thereof.

As for the magnetic material, an insulating magnetic material other than YIG can be used as long as it does not form a solid solution with the internal conductor.

The circulator of the present invention can be constituted by using a conductor material having a melting point higher than the sintering end temperature of the magnetic material as the internal conductor and firing the internal conductor without melting the internal conductor.

Although the above-described example relates to a three-terminal circulator, the present invention is also applicable to a circulator having more terminals. Furthermore, in addition to the lumped constant type circulator, the present invention can be applied to a distributed constant type circulator in which a magnetic rotor and a capacitance circuit are integrated and an impedance converter for expanding an operating frequency range is incorporated in a terminal circuit. is there.
Further, it is apparent that a non-reciprocal circuit device such as an isolator can be easily produced by developing the circulator of the present invention.

[0067]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the inner conductor having a predetermined pattern is integrally fired so that the insulating magnetic material surrounds the inner conductor in a tight state to form a magnetic rotor. A method for manufacturing a circulator in which a capacitor electrode is provided on a dielectric substrate to separately form a resonance capacitor portion, and a magnetic rotor formed in this way is electrically connected to the formed resonance capacitor portion to assemble the circulator. Is done. As described above, as the magnetic rotator, since the insulating magnetic material is integrally fired so as to surround the inner conductor in a close state, there is no discontinuous portion in the magnetic material. As a result, since a high-frequency magnetic flux forms a continuous loop in the magnetic rotor, no demagnetizing field is generated. In addition, since the propagation characteristics between the terminals match each other due to the three-fold symmetry of the internal conductor pattern, a completed circulator operation without loss due to asymmetry can be obtained. In particular, in the present invention, since the magnetic rotor and the resonance capacitor portion are separately fired and formed and then electrically connected, the firing characteristics of the magnetic material of the magnetic rotor and the dielectric material of the resonance capacitor portion are determined. It is possible to assemble both without any problem even if they are different. As a result, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the size, the bandwidth, the loss, and the cost of the circulator.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially broken perspective view schematically showing a configuration of a magnetic rotor of a three-terminal circulator according to the prior art of the present applicant.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the entire configuration of the circulator of the prior art shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an equivalent circuit diagram of the circulator of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a part of a manufacturing process of the magnetic rotor of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of the arrangement of each magnetic rotor on a sheet.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of the arrangement of each magnetic rotor on a sheet.

FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating a process of cutting each magnetic rotor from a sheet.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view and a perspective view showing the structure of a housing itself and the structure of a circulator in which a permanent magnet for excitation and a housing are assembled to a magnetic rotor.

FIG. 9 is a diagram comparing the characteristics of a circulator of an inner conductor melting type and a circulator of an assembly type.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing a configuration of a magnetic rotor of a three-terminal circulator according to still another prior art of the applicant and an assembly of the circulator.

11 is an exploded perspective view of the prior art resonance capacitor of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing a configuration of a magnetic rotor of a three-terminal circulator according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing a configuration of a magnetic rotor of a three-terminal circulator as still another prior art of the present applicant.

FIG. 14: Applicant's still other prior art 3
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing a configuration of a magnetic rotor of the terminal circulator.

FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing a configuration of a part of a three-terminal circulator as still another prior art of the present applicant.

FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing a configuration of a part of a three-terminal circulator as still another prior art of the present applicant.

FIG. 17 is a structural principle diagram of the circulator of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is an exploded perspective view of a magnetic rotor in a conventional general lumped constant circulator.

FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective view showing a state of assembling a conventional general lumped constant circulator.

FIG. 20 is a characteristic diagram showing the magnetic permeability of a magnetic body with respect to a rotating high-frequency magnetic field.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Magnetic layer 11 Inner conductor 12 Terminal electrode 13 Grounding conductor 20 Magnetic rotor 21a, 21b, 21c Resonance capacitor 22, 23 Excitation permanent magnet

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Tadao Fujii 1-13-1 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo Inside TDK Corporation

Claims (3)

[Claims] An internal conductor having a predetermined pattern is integrally fired so that an insulating magnetic material surrounds the same closely to form a magnetic rotator, while a capacitor electrode is provided on a dielectric substrate to provide a resonance capacitor. A method for manufacturing a circulator, wherein the circulator is formed separately, and the formed magnetic rotor and the formed resonance capacitor section are electrically connected to each other. 2. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein a permanent magnet for excitation for applying a DC magnetic field is provided on the assembled magnetic rotor and the capacitor unit for resonance. 3. The manufacturing method according to claim 2, wherein a metal housing having a continuous magnetic path is closely fixed to the exciting permanent magnet.