An Integrated Passive Device RF Front-End for Narrow-Band Internet-of-Things Modules

This paper presents an integrated passive device (IPD) solution, that implements a dedicated RF front-end (RF-FE) for narrow-band internet-of-things (NB-IoT) modules. Adopting ST-proprietary IPD technology it is possible to integrate in a unique device several stand-alone RF functions. In particular, a prototype embedding balun, low-pass filters and a coupler has been conceived, designed, and experimentally validated. In addition, this solution is highly versatile, providing compatibility with both the design of planar technology modules, molded modules and stacked modules, making it attractive for the implementation of the future generation of radio modules.