RF SYSTEM DESIGN QUESTIONS WITH SOLUTIONS 7

What about RF frequency versus image frequency?

There are two RF signals that will down convert to the same IF frequency, which
are known as the RF and the image frequencies. In the case of 10 GHz RF and 9 GHz
LO, the image appears at 8 GHz. The image can cause you all kinds of havoc in a
receiver system, for two reasons. First, it is possible that an interfering sign
al at the image frequency will be mistaken for the true signal, and may even satur
ate your receiver if it is strong enough. And second, noise at the image frequen
cy will add directly to your signal-to-noise ratio, messing up your noise figure
, even if you put a low-noise amplifier in front of the mixer. Left untreated, t
he image often raises the receiver noise figure by 3 dB! Two ways to get rid of
the image are to remove it with a filter in front of the mixer, or to use an ima
ge rejection mixer.
What about Double sideband mixer versus image rejection mixers
Ordinarily a mixer will process both sidebands, and its up to you to eliminate t
he undesired sideband, using a preselector filter. A mixer that processes both s
idebands is called a double-sideband mixer, an image rejection mixer is called a
single-sideband mixer.
Write something about Mixer isolation measurements.
In a perfect mixer, the RF and LO signals would not be present at the IF port, a
nd the LO would not be present at the RF port. There are three important isolati
ons to consider: RF to IF LO to IF
LO to RF The LO in particular presents a problem because it is usually a much st
ronger signal that the other two. The problem with LO (or RF) at the IF terminal
is that these signals may cause other spurious products later in the chain, and
perhaps saturate the IF amp if they are strong enough. The problem with LO at t
he RF port is that it can cause your receiver to radiate RF energy at the antenn
a port and get you in trouble with the FCC, or worse, get your fighter aircraft
spotted by a surface-to-air missile.
What are sub-sampling mixer?
The high quality of CMOS switches has also been exploited to realize what are so
metimes called subsampling mixer. This type of mixer exploits the observation th
at the information band-width of modulation is necessarily lower than the carrie
r frequency.
What is resonator?
A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance or resonant behavior,
that is, it naturally oscillates at some frequencies, called its resonant freque
ncies, with greater amplitude than at others. The oscillations in a resonator ca
n be either electromagnetic or mechanical (including acoustic). Resonators are u
sed to either generate waves of specific frequencies or to select specific frequ
encies from a signal. Musical instruments use acoustic resonators that produce s
ound waves of specific tones.
What is cavity resonator?
A cavity resonator, usually used in reference to electromagnetic resonators, is
one in which waves exist in a hollow space inside the device. Acoustic cavity re
sonators, in which sound is produced by air vibrating in a cavity with one openi
ng, are known as Helmholtz resonators.
What is ACPR?
Adjacent Channel Power Ratio (ACPR) is a measurement of the amount of interferen
ce, or power, in the adjacent frequency channel. ACPR is usually defined as the
ratio of the average power in the adjacent frequency channel (or offset) to the

average power in the transmitted frequency channel. It is a critical measurement

for CDMA transmitters and their components. It describes the amount of distorti
on generated due to nonlinearities in RF components. The ACPR measurement is not
part of the cdmaOne standard.
What do u know about quadrature detectors?
In quadrature detectors, the received FM signal is split into two signals. One o
f the two signals is then passed through a high-reactance capacitor, which shift
s the phase of that signal by 90 degrees. This phase-shifted signal is then appl
ied to an LC circuit, which is resonant at the FM signal s unmodulated, center, or ca
rrier frequency. If the received FM signal s frequency equals the center frequency,
then the two signals will have a 90-degree phase difference and they are said t
o be in phase quadrature
hence the name of this method.
What is Channel length modulation?
Channel length modulation (CLM) is a shortening of the length of the inverted ch
annel region with increase in drain bias for large drain biases. The result of C
LM is an increase in current with drain bias and a reduction of output resistanc
e.As the drain voltage increases, its control over the current extends further t
oward the source, so the uninverted region expands toward the source, shortening
the length of the channel region, the effect called channel-length modulation.
What is conversion gain?
The conversion gain, G, is one of the standard values which tend to be measured
and quoted to indicate the performance of a heterodyne or superheterodyne receiv
er system. G is called a gain because it is a ratio of an output power to an input
power. In most practical cases the actual output power is smaller than the inpu
t, so it would be more honest to call it a loss Despite this, the convention is
to call it a gain, even if it is a gain of -10dB s, the output is ten times smalle
r than the input. It is called a conversion gain because it indicates the relative
level of an output which has been converted to a frequency which differs from t
hat of the input.
What is pink noise?
Pink noise or 1/ noise (sometimes also called flicker noise) is a signal or proce
ss with a frequency spectrum such that the power spectral density (energy or pow
er per Hz) is inversely proportional to the frequency. In pink noise, each octav
e carries an equal amount of noise power. The name arises from the pink appearan
ce of visible light with this power spectrum.[1] Within the scientific literatur
e the term 1/ noise is sometimes used a little more loosely to refer to any noise
with a power spectral density of the form where
is frequency and 0 < a < 2, wit
h a usually close to 1. These 1/ -like noises occur widely in nature and are a sourc
e of considerable interest in many fields.