The dynamic range requirements for amplitude modulated signals with high peak to average ratio are higher

compared to modulation schemes based solely on phase modulation Thus the RF receiver needs to have digitally controlled performance flexibility to achieve multi-mode capability. The challenge for the RF receiver can thus be broadly classified into these two categories i.e. multi-band and multi-mode.

Multi-band Receiver: It also assumes no external inter-stage filter at the output of the LNA which is generally required for FDD standards such as W-CDMA. Band specific external filters along with associated matching networks, pins on the IC and respective input stage of the LNA create a lot of hardware. Tuned LC load (comprising on-chip inductor and capacitor) of the LNA can be shared depending on the frequency proximity of the RF bands and tuning range of the LC tank. External inter-stage filters and receiver diversity would further compound the problem. Hence a multiband receiver which does not use frequency band specific pre-select or inter-stage filters is highly desired. Multi-mode Receiver: Has to be capable of handling all the standards that exist in a given RF band. The DCS band (1805 1880 MHz), for example, has both W-CDMA/LTE and GSM/EDGE receiver coverage (Figure 1.1).Similarly, the 2.4 GHz ISM band can be used by multiple standards. While it is important to re-use the receiver hardware for a frequency band, several considerations have to be addressed. Difference in signal band-widths is one such consideration. With the use of high dynamic range ADCs [2] [3], most of the channel

select filtering and signal gain control can be performed in the digital domain. This helps in handling the difference in signal bandwidths since it is easier to program the channel select filters in digital. Certain filtering is however done in the analog domain after downconversion for filtering the adjacent channel and in-band blockers. Appropriate design re-configurability of the corner frequency and gain of these analog filters have to be supported for multi-mode programmability.

Difference in RF requirements for various standards is another consideration that has to be taken into account for designing a multi-mode receiver. Blocking and inter-modulation specifications are different since the blocker frequencies and power levels vary based on the wireless standard FDD based standards, where the transmitter and receiver are turned on at the same time, present additional linearity challenge because of transmitter leakage. In comparison, TDD and HFDD based standards do not have to handle its own transmitter leakage and hence have reduced linearity targets. W-CDMA is an FDD based standard and normally requires a SAW filter between LNA and mixer, GSM is TDD based system and does not have similar requirement. One of the research area is to build a W-CDMA/EDGE RF front-end without interstage SAW filter in deep sub-micron CMOS. The inter-stage SAW removal can be achieved by optimized system budgeting, by taking into consideration the AM nature of the inter-modulating blockers and by using circuit design techniques in the RF front-end to improve the dynamic range performance. Peak to Average Ratio (PAR).

Direct Conversion Receiver An image reject filter is not needed in this case since the LO is at the center of the RF channel, and both sides of LO frequency carry the required RF signal or in other words, there is no image (or unwanted) frequency that needs to be filtered. Thus the output of the LNA may be coupled directly into the mixer. The output of the mixer is low-pass filtered so as to reject all the in-band and out-of-band blockers.

The advantages of direct conversion architecture are reduced LO generation due to single frequency translation and the elimination of external image reject and channel select filters. The drawbacks are the need for dc-offset cancellation due to the fact that LO and RF are at same frequency and various second order inter-modulation distortion components folding inside the signal bandwidth. Since the signal is converted directly down to baseband frequency this architecture is more prone to flicker (1/f) noise which can increase the NF of the receiver in deep submicron CMOS implementations. It is also important to note that for modulations such as QPSK, quadrature paths (I, Q) are used for the mixer and baseband signal processing. Low-IF Receiver The other popular architecture is that of a low-IF receiver. The low-IF receiver is essentially a heterodyne receiver wherein the IF frequency is very low. The advantages of low-IF receiver are that most of the issues of direct conversion such as dc-offset, susceptibility to flicker noise and second order intermodulation issues are either eliminated or mostly alleviated. The drawback however is the extra signal processing and limitation in the amount of image rejection that can be achieved which is limited by the phase and gain accuracy that can be achieved in the quadrature paths and poly phase filter design. RF Receiver Performance Parameters Power Gain is typically used when impedances are very well defined at the input and output especially when the signals are external to the IC where terminal impedance are defined clearly (typically 50 ohms). Voltage Gain is used when one or both of input or output is defined internal to the IC where impedances are not very well defined. In order to be able to think between voltage and power a useful number is 13dB, which is the conversion between dBm and dBVrms in a 50 ohm impedance system. A 0 dBm (1mW) power in 50 ohm system is

-13 dBVrms. The conversion is straight forward by using the equation relating power and voltage i.e. P = V2/R. ------------------------------(1.1) where, Output_Noise is the integrated noise measured at the output of the receiver in dBm, BW is the bandwidth (when measuring spot noise, this would be the resolution bandwidth of the spectrum analyzer), G is the Gain of the receiver in dB and kT (where k is Boltzmann constant and T is absolute temperature) is the thermal noise floor in dBm/Hz (equal to -174 dBm/Hz at room temperature). It can be observed that Equation (1.1) is the ratio of input SNR to output SNR, assuming that input noise is the thermal noise floor and NF is the excess noise added by the receiver. An important aspect of SSB (Single Side Band) vs. DSB (Double Side Band) NF needs to be addressed in this context. Both signal and image bands can fold into the IF frequency. When both the Output Noise and Gain (G) in Equation (1.1) are due to both, the signal as well as image bands, then the NF as defined in Equation (1.1) is a DSB NF. This is typically the case for direct conversion systems where both the signal and image bands carry RF signal. When using Equation (1.1) for DSB NF measurement, the Gain (G) would have to be defined as the gain from both the signal and image bands. If G is calculated using only one sideband (signal or image) which is the case when a CW measurement is used to determine Gain, 3 dB has to be added to G in Equation (1.1) for DSB NF. Or, in other words if G in Equation (1.1) is the Gain from single sideband, then Equation (1.1) is SSB NF and DSB NF would be 3 dB lower than SSB NF.