To get a high dynamic range (>60 dB), cascading the basic PD will extend the detection range. A popular and a high-performance implementation is the log-amp type. The generic multistages topology is illustrated in Figure 3(a). The basic building blocks are the limiter amplifiers, the rectifiers and a summer. The limiter amplifier has a rectifier at both the input and the output. The limiter's job is to provide gain and clip the output signal at a certain designed output level. The limiter amplifier nearest to the output port will clip first. Then stage by stage, the rest of the limiter will clip. A higher number of the gain stages will result in better linearity or linear-in-dB performance. The reason is each rectifier has a good linear power detection range. But the linear range is limited. By breaking up the total dynamic range into multiple numbers of linear regions, a piece-wise linear-in-dB approximation can be achieved. The limiter can be as simple as a differential amplifier with resistive load as shown in Figure 3(c). The rectifier is essentially a current rectifier as shown in Figure 3(b). The basic building block is an asymmetric differential amplifier pair. When Vin is small, most of the tail current flows through bigger FETs like M2 and M4. As Vin increases, the tail current is gradually steered into M1 and M3. So the output current linearly decreases as Vin is increased. Thus, a full-wave current rectifier is achieved.

The MOD is used to upconvert a baseband (BB) signal to the RF frequency. Since most modern wireless devices require both I and Q channels, two double-balanced mixers (DBM) are needed in a MOD. The implementation is illustrated in Figure 4. M1 to M6 is the DBM for I channel. M11 to M16 is the DBM for Q channel. Since the same DBM is used for both I and Q channel, only one DBM is discussed in detail. The incoming BB signal is amplified first by the gain stage such as M1 and M2. M3 to M6 are the switching FETs. It fundamentally serves the purpose of a multiply operation. In half the cycle, M3 and M6 are on. Local oscillator (LO) and BB signals are essentially multiplied in phase. In the other half of the cycle, M4 and M5 are turned on to reverse the polarity of the output signal. The output loads are implemented with resistors R1 and R2. The summer network can be simply done by routing both the I and the Q output current to the load resistor. The input stage can be configured in CG stage to avoid the voltage to current nonlinearity in the CS input stage.

There are many AGC topologies to choose from. The variable transconductance and the variable biasing AGC are the most popular for the high-frequency operation. The variable transconductance circuit is shown in Figure 5(a). It is based on the principle the transconductance of the FET changes as the FET goes from a saturation mode to a triode mode. Thus, the gain is varied. M1 to M4 can be considered as the typical differential cascode gain stage. The difference is that Vcont is applied at the gates of M3 and M4. As the Vcont decreases, the drain voltage at M1 and M2 drops. Eventually, M1 and M2 enters the triode region as Vcont is lowered to below Vgs1+Vs1-Vt. M7 to M10 are the current source type load. Thus, a common-mode feedback (CMFB) is needed to make sure the current source matches with the current sink I1. The common-mode voltage is sampled at the drain of M3 and M4 with M5 and M6. M5 and M6 can be considered as two large value resistors. They have the same value. The sampled voltage is fed to a comparator (M11 to M14). The reference is fed to one input M14 while the sampled common mode is fed to the other input M13. The error voltage is used to control the bias current out of the current source M8 and M9. M8 and M9 are the current bleeding path. The closed feedback loop ensures correct bias current follows with the desired reference voltage.

A variable current AGC is based on the idea that the transconductance of a FET changes with the bias current. By varying the bias current in the FET, the AGC can be accomplished. Such an implementation is presented in Figure 5(b). M1 and M2 are the input gain buffer. M4 and M5 are the current bleeding path. If Vcont is larger than the Vref, more bias current flows through M3 and M6. In this mode, a high gain is expected. When the Vcont is reduced, more bias current flows through M4 and M5, the gain is thus reduced. M7 and M8 are the output emitter follower buffers to reduce output impedance. R1 is the degenerated resistor to improve the linearity of the AGC.

The CMOS VCO is based on the negative resistance theory. The NMOS-only version is presented in Figure 6(a). By cross coupling M1 and M2, a positive feedback is created in the circuit. Looking into the gate of M1 and M2, a negative resistance can be expected. The operating frequency is set by the resonant tank. L1 and L2 provide the inductance part. The frequency can be tuned coarsely by the capacitance bank and fine tuned with the varactor capacitance. In Figure 6(a), two bit four states capacitance banks are used. More banks can be added if a larger process variation is expected. By turning on/off M7 and M8, more/less total capacitance can be expected in the resonator tank. The varactor is implemented with FETs M5 and M6 by tying the source and the drain. M3 and M4 are the output buffers. Complementary CMOS VCO is presented in Figure 6(b). The key change is to add a cross-coupled PMOS pair. By adding a PMOS pair, two more elements are added to contribute the negative resistance while the bias current remains the same. So it is more power efficient.

Each major building block in a highly integrated Tx is discussed in this article. The circuits are generic enough to be adopted in most wireless applications. This article offers a good starting point for your next Tx RFIC design.

1. Randall L. Geiger, Phillip E. Allen, Noel R. Strader, “VLSI Design Techniques for Analog and Digital Circuits,” McGraw-Hill, 1990.

2. Behzad Razavi, “Design of Analog CMOS Integrated Circuits,” McGraw-Hill, 2001.

3. Thomas H. Lee, “The Design of CMOS Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuits,” Cambridge University Press, 2004.

4. John P. Uyemura, “Introduction to VLSI Circuits and Systems,” John Wiley & Sons, 2002.

5. S. C. Cripps, “RF Power Amplifier for Wireless Communication,” Boston, MA: Artech House, 1999.

6. John W. Rogers, “Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit Design,” Artech House, 2003.

7. Louis Fan Fei, “CMOS Power Amplifier Design Strategies,” Microwave & RF, November 2007.

Louis Fan Fei is currently an RF engineer at Garmin International, Olathe, KS, where he has been designing GPS receivers since 2003. He worked on WLAN and wireless local loop circuits at Lucent/Agere System from 1998 to 2003. He received his BEE and MSEE from Georgia Tech in 1996 and 1998, respectively.