Integrated CMOS RF transmitter with a single-ended power amplifier

Abstract

This article presents a highly integrated CMOS RF double-sideband (DSB) transmitter (TX) including an active input balun and a single-ended power amplifier (PA) for a ultrahigh frequency radiofrequency identification (RFID) system-on-chip reader. The conventional TX architecture, including an up-conversion mixer and a balanced PA, requires an output balun to create the needed single-ended load. Compared to the conventional TX architecture, the proposed system provides a more compact circuit and uses a smaller chip area because the active balun and the single-ended PA have a much smaller size than those using a passive balun and a differential PA. In addition, the gain of the active balun, which is generally larger than unity, can be a benefit in the system design budget. The designed TX IC is fabricated using a 0.13 μm CMOS process on a small area of 780 × 560 μm2 (including pads). The TX IC exhibited an overall conversion gain of 41.7 dB, an output P1dB of 18 dBm, an OIP3 of 28 dBm, a DSB noise figure of 14.8 dB, and a power consumption of 284.4 mW, including the 42.9 mW consumed by the local oscillator buffer stages. The implemented TX IC complied with the spectral mask for the DSB amplitude-shift keying signal of the RFID reader at an output power of 15.5 dBm. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 55:205–210, 2013; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.27257