Receiver Design

 Receiver Architecture

Jay Chang

July 16 2015
Receiver Architecture
 The receiver mush be very sensitive to -110 dBm and working on strong adjacent
channel signals.
 Minimum detectable signal, dynamic range and the need for AGC.
 Filtering at different stage of receiver in order to eliminate spurious response from
mixer and provide rejection of image freq.

P.S.
Rx requirements fRF = fLO + fIF
 High gain ~ 100 dB. fIM = fLO – fIF
 Selectivity: reject adjacent channels, image freq. and interference.
 Down-conversion.
 Detection of received signal.
 Isolation from the Tx to avoid saturation of Rx.
Rx Requirements
 Because the typical signal power level from the receive antenna may be as low as -100 to -120 dBm,
the receiver may be required to provide gain as high as 100 to 120 dB.
 This much gain should be spread over the RF, IF, and baseband stages to avoid instabilities and
possible oscillation.
 It is generally good practice to avoid more than about 50-60 dB gain at any one frequency band.

 Selectivity can be obtained by using a narrow BPF at the RF stage of the Rx, but the BW and cutoff
requirements for such a filter are usually impractical to realize at RF frequencies.
 It is more effective to achieve selectivity by down-converting a relatively wide RF BW around the
desired signal, and using a sharp cutoff BPF at the IF stage to select only the desired freq. band.

 Full-duplex communications systems usually use separate frequency bands for transmit and receive,
thus avoiding the difficult (but not impossible) problem of isolating incoming and outgoing
radiation at the same frequency.
 In addition, it is often preferred to use a single antenna for both transmit and receive. In this case it
is necessary to use a duplexing filter to provide isolation between the Tx and Rx, while still
providing a signal path with the antenna.
Tuned Radio Frequency (TRF) Receiver
 A TRF Rx employs several stages of RF amplification along with tunable BPF to provide high
gain and selectivity.

 Tuning is very difficult  need to tune several stages in parallel.

 Selectivity is poor  pass band of such filters is fairly broad.

 All the gain of the TRF Rx is achieved at the RF frequency, limiting the amount of gain that can
be obtained before oscillation occurs, and increasing the cost and complexity of the Rx.

 So TRF Rx are seldom used today.

Direct Conversion Receiver (homodyne receiver)

 Using a mixer and LO to perform frequency down-conversion with a zero IF frequency.

 Two stage amplifiers

 No need for IF amp and filter
 No need for extra circuit for AM demodulation
 No image filter required
 High stable LO source required.

 Often used with Doppler radars, where the exact LO can be obtained from the transmitter, but a
number of newer wireless systems are being designed with direct conversion receivers.
Superheterodyne Receiver

Single-convertion superheterodyne Rx

 The most popular type Rx by far.

 A midrange IF allows the use of sharper cutoff filters for improved selectivity, and higher IF gain
through the use of an IF amplifier.

 Tuning is conveniently accomplished by varying the frequency of the LO so that the IF frequency
remains constant.

 The majority of broadcast radios and televisions, radar systems, cellular telephone systems, and
data communications systems.

Double-convertion superheterodyne Rx for millimeter wave

Duplexing
Duplexer
 Duplexer must be used to allow both the Tx and Rx to be connected to the antenna, while preventing
the transmit signal from directly entering the receiver.
 Isolation between the Tx and Rx is required to be greater than 100 dB.
Half-duplex
 If Tx and Rx not at the same time, a T/R switch is ok.
 Diode switch can operate at μs, offer 40 dB isolation, limiters and filters to increase isolation.
Full-duplex
 For Tx and Rx at different frequency, BPF are required for duplexer.
 Provide some preselected filtering on receive.
 Attenuate spurious out-of-band signals from the transmitter.
 Duplexing filters often have insertion losses on the order of 1-3 dB, degrades the NF of the Rx.
Diplexer
 A device that combines two or more frequency components into a single channel.

通常後面接differential line
進Transceiver

通常後面接PA
Diplexer v.s. Duplexer
Diplexer
 Separates two different freq. bands in Rx path and combines them in Tx path.
 These freq. bands will be wide apart in freq. domain. Ex: separate EGSM, DCS or GSM, WCDMA.
 Tx-Rx isolation ~ 50-60 dB.
 One HPF and one LPF  HPF負責High-Band TRx, LPF負責Low-Band TRx.
 Smart phone always use the LC Diplexer.
Duplexer
 Use single antenna by both Tx and Rx at the same time.
 Both Tx and Rx paths have freq. bands very nearer, hence narrow BPF are used. Ex: DCS uplink and downlink.
 Two types of duplexer, one by using PIN diode switches and the other using circulators.
 Tx-Rx isolation very important ~ 90-95 dB.
 兩個頻段不同的BPF  一個負責Tx, 一個負責Rx.
 Smart phone always use the SAW Duplexer.
EGSM + DCS

DCS

收發分別從兩個通道走
收發都走同通道

1710-1785 MHz 1805-1880 MHz

EGSM 900 DCS 1800
880-915 MHz 1710-1785 MHz
920-965 MHz 1805-1880 MHz
Dynamic Range
Minimum detectable signal (MDS)
 Reliable communication requires a receive signal power at or above a certain minimum level, which
we call the minimum detectable signal (MDS).
 MDS determines the minimum SNR at the demodulator for a given system noise power.

SINAD: signal-plus-noise-plus-distortion to noise-plus-distortion ratio

 The ratio of (a) total received power, i.e., the received signal-plus-noise-plus-distortion power to (b)
the received noise-plus-distortion power.
 Knowing the minimum SNR or SINAD and the noise characteristics of the receiving system 
can calculate the minimum detectable signal power.
Minimum Detectable Power (I)

Block diagram for determination of min detectable signal.

where B is the BW of the Rx (usually set by the IF BPF).

Minimum detectable input signal level

 This is relating the MDS power at the input of the receiver to the noise characteristics of the
receiving system and the min SNR required for that application.
 This equation provides the interface between the radio link equation (e.g., the Friis equation or
ground reflection link equation) and the SNR or error rate equations, thereby allowing
characterization of the complete wireless system.
Minimum Detectable Power (II)

 If TA = T0 

 only valid when the antenna temperature is 290 K.

 MDS level does not depend on the Rx gain, since both signal and noise are increased equally.
Sensitivity and DRr
Receiver voltage sensitivity or sensitivity
 The MDS power can be converted to a minimum detectable signal voltage, for a given receiver
input impedance.

Dynamic range

 Rx dynamic range

 Depends on noise, modulation scheme, and required minimum SNR.

 The maximum allowable signal power could alternatively be defined by the third-order intercept
point, P3, at the input to the receiver, as this would be the maximum input power before
intermodulation distortion becomes unacceptable.
Automatic Gain Control (I)
 Need for about 80-100 dB of receiver gain to raise the minimum detectable signal (MDS) to a
usable level of approximately 10 mW (about 1 V peak at 50 ohm).

 Most of the gain occurring at the IF stage because

 1. Amplifiers and other components are cheaper at lower frequencies.
 2. High input signal levels may exceed the P1dB,or IP3, of the front-end components if the gain of
the early stages is too high.
 3. Moderate level of gain at the RF stage sets a good NF for the Rx system.

 Dynamic range at the output of the Rx << 80-100 dB dynamic range at the Rx input.
 At the output of the Rx the detected baseband signal often drives a DSP circuit, or a digital DAC,
where the input voltage range is typically 1 mV to 1 V.
 For example, in a digital PCS telephone Rx the input signal is demodulated to recover digitized data,
and then converted to an analog voice signal with a DAC.
 A 10-bit DAC with a maximum output voltage of 1 V has a resolution of 1/210 = 1/1024 ~ 1mV, and
provides a dynamic range of 201og1000 = 60 dB.
Automatic Gain Control (II)
 The power gain through the Rx must vary as a function of the input signal strength in order to fit the
input signal range into the baseband processing range, for a wide range of input signal levels.
 This variable-gain function is accomplished with an automatic gain control (AGC) circuit. AGC is
most often implemented at the IF stage.

 AGC consists of a variable voltage controlled attenuator (or variable gain amplifier (VGA)) with a
detector to convert a sample of the IF voltage to a DC value.
 The rectified signal is then compared with a reference level, and passed through a LPF to provide a
time-constant long enough to avoid having the AGC following low-frequency components of the
modulated signal.
AGC  G  Pin 

convert IF voltage
to a DC value

Fig. The change in power level Fig. Block diagram of the AGC @ IF stage.
between input and output of Rx.
Compression and Third-Order Intermodulation
 It is important to track power levels through the stages of the receiver to ensure that P1 and P3 are
not exceeded. P.S. AGC讓input signal不過大, 否則一進去
 Power exceed P1 dB will cause harmonic distortion. PA就飽和. 缺點就noise performance變差!!
 Power exceed IP3 will cause intermodulation distortion.
 Placing an AGC attenuator in the RF stage may reduce the possibility of saturating the RF amplifier
with a large input signal, but will degrade the noise performance of the receiver, even for a low
attenuator setting.


Fig. Power and noise level at

consecutive stages of a Rx.
Frequency Conversion and Filtering (I)
 A key decision in the design of a superheterodyne receiver is the choice of IF frequency.
 The IF frequency is related to the RF and LO frequencies by
 While it is possible to use a local oscillator either above or below the RF signal frequency, most Rx
use the lower sideband, so that the LO frequency is given by
 The mixer also responds to an RF image frequency separated by twice the IF frequency:

 Using a large IF frequency eases the cutoff requirements of the image filter.
 Ensure that the image frequency is outside the RF bandwidth of the Rx  it required

 IF frequency less than 100 MHz for lower cost of components.

 Ex: Possible selections are: crystal, ceramic and surface acoustic wave filters.

Filtering
 Filtering is required in a superheterodyne receiver to provide
1. interference rejection, 2. image rejection, 3. selectivity, and 4. suppression of LO radiation.
Frequency Conversion and Filtering (II)
preselect filter
 This is a BPF set to the RF tuning range of the Rx.
 It rejects out-of-band interference, preventing strong interference signals from saturating the RF
amplifier or mixer.

 In order to keep the NF as low as possible, this filter should have a low insertion loss. This implies
that its cutoff characteristics will not be very sharp, so this filter generally does not provide much
rejection of the image frequency.

image filter
 Usually placed after the RF amplifier, where the insertion loss associated with a filter having a
sharp cutoff will have less effect on NF of the Rx.
 This filter is often a ceramic dielectric resonator type.
 The image reject filter can reduce the effect of possible harmonic distortion from the RF amplifier.
Frequency Conversion and Filtering (III)
LO Radiation (Leakage)
 LO leakage often lies in the RF pass band of the Rx, and may pass back through the RF stages to be
radiated by the antenna.
 LO與LNA以及Mixer的isolation不夠大, 會產生LO Leakage, 即LO會洩漏至LNA與Mixer的輸入
端, 導致LO與LO混波, 稱之為self mixing, 或是由天線輻射出去, 對其他接收機造成in-band
blocking interference.
 This is usually accomplished by the combined attenuation of the preselect and image reject filters,
the LO-RF isolation of the mixer, and the reverse attenuation of the RF amplifier.
 Because the LO is only one IF frequency away from the RF frequency, while the image is twice the
IF frequency away, it is sometimes more difficult to meet the requirement for low LO radiation than
it is for image rejection. f LO  f RF  f IF , f IM  f RF  2 f IF
IF BPF
 Sets the overall noise bandwidth of the receiver, as well as removing most unwanted mixer products
such as nf LO  mf RF
Spurious-free range
 The nonlinear of the mixer produces the sum and difference frequencies of the input signals, along
with smaller levels of power at the intermodulation products at

 IM3 products are far outside the pass band of the IF stage, but some fall within the IF band.
 So called spurious responses (spurs), and are a problem because the Rx will respond to undesired
signals at RF frequencies within its tuning range that produce spurs within the IF pass band.
 It is usually sufficient to specify that the order of spurious responses within the IF pass band be
greater than a value in the range of 6-10.

 gives all possible spurious frequency products.

 Mixers often will inherently suppress some products due to symmetries and phase cancellations in
the mixer circuit.
 Double-balanced mixers, will reject all spurious responses where either m or n is even.
 Depending on design, singly balanced mixers may reject some products with m or n even.
Example of practical receivers
Ref
• Microwave and RF Wireless Systems, David M. Pozar