RF Block & System Level Parameters

RF block & system level parameters
High Performance Integrated Circuits Design Group

http://pmos.upc.es/blues/
RF Communications System-on-Chip
http://weble.upc.edu/rfcs/
International Master Course 2008-2009
E.T.S.E.T.B. D.E.E. Electronics Engineering Master Course 2008-2009
Departament dEnginyeria Electrnica

Universitat Politcnica de Catalunya

1
Content
I. Communication systems standard specifications
II. Block Level Parameters
II.1. Noise
II.2. Linearity: Gain compression, Intermodulation
II.3. Sensitivity and SFDR
III. System Level Parameters
III.1. Power consumption
III.2. Error probability (BER, PER, etc)
III.3. ACPR
III.4. EVM

2
RF design parameters
When designing an RFIC well start in general from the standard
specifications :
sensitivity
BER
EVM
frequency max. power
ACPR
modulation tolerance to interferers
From the standard well obtain information to determine

system-level parameters of the transmitter and receiver:
sensitivity
linearity
noise figure
SNR
gain
SFDR
power
After choosing an architecture, we will determine the parameters of

individual blocks:
linearity
LNA:
power
NF
gain
Mixer:
linearity
NF
power
gain
Active
filter:
linearity
NF
power
gain

3
RF design parameters
Power Consumption is not specified by
the standard, but by the application
Power Consumption trades-off with any

other parameter
Every parameter can trade-off with

almost any other!
The art of RFIC design consists in designing a circuit that meets the
specifications, with the lowest power consumption, with the cheapest
technology!

4
Standard specifications (i)

Usually standard specifications include* requirements on:
Modulation type, medium access type, carrier frequencies
System level performance (error probability, etc)
Minimum received signal level
Maximum transmitted signal level
Interference specifications
Image rejection specifications
Frequency/modulation inaccuracy and drift specifications
Adjacent channel emissions or emission template
* Standard specifications have to meet regulations from ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards
Institute), FCC (Federal Communications Commission, US), and others. Some specifications may be
included in the normative issued by these organizations, instead of in the standard itself.
5
Standard specifications (ii)

These requirements usually affect:
Modulation type, medium access type, carrier frequencies (Rx, Tx, Frq. Synt)
System level performance (error probability, etc) (Rx)
Minimum received signal level (Rx)
Maximum transmitted signal level (Tx)
Interference specifications (Rx)
Image rejection specifications (Rx)
Frequency/modulation inaccuracy and drift specifications (Frq. Synt and/or Tx)
Adjacent channel emissions or emission template (Tx)

6
Frequency
Usually, the access to the air is by freq. division: bands, channels, ...

7
Frequency
Usually, the access to the air is by freq. division: bands, channels, ...
This division is made

by different national
and international
telecommunication
organizations (FCC,
ETSI, ...).
RF: carrier from some hundreds of MHz to few GHz

Exception: Ultra-Wideband Systems (several GHz of bandwidth)
8
Frequency
UWB
UPCS
U-NII
Millimeter
Wave Band
59000
5825
5850
5725
ISM
64000
U-NII U-NII
5350
2400
2390
2484
1910
1930
902
928
ISM
5250
UPCS
5150
ISM
Frequency
(MHz)
Existing
regulations
for UWB:

9
Frequency
carrier : 0
Band
Filter
BaseBand
RF FrontEnd (analog)
Amplifier
(digital)
Down/Up
Conversion
Amplifier
Up (Tx)
Down (Rx)

11
Frequency
Basic structures of Transmiters and Receivers
Band
Filter
Down/Up
Amplifier
Amplifier
Conversion
Down
Conversion
Rx
Band
Filter
Demodulator
Low Noise
Amplifier
Mixer
0
Tx
Up
Conversion
Band
Filter
Power
Amplifier
Modulator
Mixer

12
Example of standard specifications
Headsets
Wire removal for Home
Theaters
Hands-free kits
Wireless mouse and keyboards
Keyboard for mobiles
Full standard downloadable from:

http://www.bluetooth.com/Bluetooth/Technology/Building/Specifications/
Bluetooth explained:
http://weble.upc.es/bluetooth/
13
Channel spacing is 1 MHz.

14

15

16

17

18

19
Content
II.1. Noise
III.2. Error probability (BER, PER, etc)
III.3. ACPR
III.4. EVM

20
Noise
Transceivers deal with signals of very small power:
added noise must be also very small.
Intrinsic noise of MOS transistor will be analyzed in
a dedicated topic.
Thermal noise of a resistor:

Power spectral density (double sided) : S(f ) = 2kTR
(V Hz)
2
Mean-square open-circuit noise voltage: en2 = Vn2 = 4kTRDf

Available noise power: PNA =
1
2 2kT Df = kT Df
4
(W )
(V )
2
(50: -174 dBm/Hz at 290K)

21
10
Noise
Noise factor F of a circuit: it quantifies how much
the SNR is worsen because its internal noise:
F
SNRinput
SNRoutput
, Noise Figure NF 10 log(F )
Well always have, at least, the thermal noise due

to the antenna impedance: noise of a 50 resistor
at 290K.
Ftot 1 (F1 1)
Friis
equation
F2 1 F3 1
Fm 1
Ap1 Ap1 Ap2

Ap1 Ap2 Ap(m1)
22
Noise
Another way of defining the noise factor: effective
noise temperature, that is the increment in the
temperature that the source should have to
account for all the output noise at the reference
temperature Tref.
F
SNRinput
SNRoutput
Nin Nequiv
Nin
Sin Nin
Sin Nin
Sout Nout Sin * A Nin Nequiv * A

1
Nequiv
Nin
F 1
KTNoise
T
1 Noise
KTref
Tref
TNoise
T0

23
11
Noise
Noise of passive lossy elements
If a block is passive, with losses of L dB, then is
possible to prove [RazaviRF] that the noise figure
is:
NF = L
RS
Vin
+
_
Filter
FTOT = FFILT +
LNA
Vout
RL
(FLNA - 1)
= FFILT + (FLNA - 1)L = LFLNA
L-1

24
Linearity
y
Ideally, an amplifier
must behave linearly:
y (t ) x ( t )
But a more realistic

situation is:
Where we can approximate

locally the relation between
input and output with:
y (t ) 1 x(t ) 2 x 2 (t ) 3 x3 (t ) ...
25
12
Linearity
Harmonics
x (t ) A cos t
x
y (t ) 1 A cos t 2 A2 cos 2 t 3 A3 cos3 t

(...)
Observations:
2 A2
2 A
2
2
1 A
cos 2t
3 3 A3
cos t
4
3 A3
4
cos 3t
If the system has a total symmetry (differential): 2 0

If 2 0, there is a DC term (in general, there will always be).
In general A<<1 harmonics n proportional to An
3 < 0 (otherwise the non-linearity adds power!!)
26
Linearity
Gain compression
x (t ) A cos t
x
3 A2
y (t ) (...) 1 3 A cos t (...)
4
Observations (remember: 3 < 0):

Gain diminishes when A increases
To quantify the gain compression, the
Compression point concept is used, in
general the 1 dB Comp. Point:
P1dB / A1dB
27
13
Linearity
Gain compression
3 A2
y (t ) (...) 1 3 A cos t (...)
4
20 log 1
3 3 A12dB
20 log 1 1 dB
4
A1dB 0.145
1
3
Typical values: -20 dBm to 10 dBm

28
Linearity
Desensitization and Blocking
x(t ) = A1 cos w1t + A2 cos w2t

x
Wanted signal
Interfering signal
(A1 << A2)

2
2
3 A
3 A
y (t ) 1 3 1 3 2 A1 cos 1t (...)
4
2
3a A 2
y(t ) a1 + 3 2 A1 cos w1t + ()
Due to the interfering signal, the gain decreases. This effect is called
Desensitization. When then gain drops to zero, it is called Blocking. In
some cases the wanted signal must live along with blocking signals 60 dB
greater than it.
Even if the circuit is not desensitized, we will have cross-modulation
29
14
Linearity
y
Intermodulation
x (t ) A1 cos 1t A2 cos 2t
y (t ) 1( A1 cos 1t A2 cos 2t ) 2 ( A1 cos 1t A2 cos 2t )2 3 ( A1 cos 1t A2 cos 2t )3
1 2 : 2 A1A2 cos(1 2 )t 2 A1A2 cos(1 2 )t

21 2 :
3 A A
3 3 A1 A2
cos( 21 2 )t 3 1 2 cos( 21 2 )t
4
4
22 1 :
3 3 A2 A1
3 A A
cos( 22 1 )t 3 2 1 cos( 22 1 )t
4
4
3
2
3 A
3 A A
1 , 2 : 1A1 3 1 3 1 2 cos 1t
4
2
3
2
3 A
3 A A
1A2 3 2 3 2 1 cos 2t
4
2

30
Linearity
Intermodulation
If A1 = A2 = A, and 1 is similar to 2 : the terms (21 - 2) and
(22 - 1) will fall near 1 , 2


31
15
Linearity
Intermodulation
The intermodulation effect is so important in RF communications
that there is a specific parameter to measure it: it is called thirdorder intercept point, IP3, and it is obtained by a two-tone test:
x (t ) A cos 1t A cos 2t
3 3 A
3 A A
3 1 2 cos 1t 1 A1 cos 1t
1 A1
4
2
3
1
3 3 A2 A1
cos(22 1 )t
4
2

32
Linearity
Intermodulation
Observations:
A must be small enough to stay in the linear region,
and big enough to avoid the noise floor.
Some authors report IP3 without saying if it is IIP3 or
OIP3. If thats the case, be cautious: probably it is OIP3 ...

33
16
Linearity
Intermodulation
9 A2
9 A2
y (t ) 1 3 A cos 1t 1 3 A cos 2t
4
4
3
3
3 A
3 A
3 cos(21 2 )t 3 cos(21 2 )t (...)
4
4
Without considering the

compression of the gain, that
is, assuming that:
1 AIP 3
3
3 3 AIP
3
4
It can also be obtained:
AIP 3
9 3 A 2
4
4 1
3 3
A1dB
0.145
AIP 3
4/3
9.6dB
(amplitudes)

34
Linearity
Linearity of cascaded stages
It is not difflcult to find [RazaviRF] that the total IIP3 of

several (narrowband) cascaded blocks is:
1
1
1 1 1
IIP32,total IIP32,1 IIP32,2 IIP32,3
With IIP3,i in linear units, and 1, 1, ... being the voltage

gain of blocks 1, 2, ...
36
17
Sensitivity
Minimum signal level that the system can detect producing an
acceptable signal to noise ratio at the output, SNRoutput.
F
SNRinput
SNRoutput
Pin PR
SNRoutput
Pin PR F SNRoutput
S
Assuming that the input impedance is matched:
PR kTB
Pin min 174dBm/Hz 10 log B NF SNRoutput
min
Minimum available input power to achieve the desired SNRoutput.

37
Sensitivity
Pin min
Sensitivity
SNRoutput
NF
kTB
Noise Floor
Graphical interpretation
Pin min 174dBm/Hz 10 log B NF SNRoutput
min

38
18
Consideration about units

Watts : [J/s]
PW
dBW :10 log
1W
P[ W ]
dBm :10 log
1mW
Power units:
Examples:
0 dBm 1mW
-80 dBm on a 50 impedance means:

Vef2
-80 dBm 10 log 50 Vef 50 1mW 1080 10 22Vef 31V p

1mW
50dBm 700Vef 1mV p
70dBm 70 Vef 100 V p
90dBm 7 Vef 10 V p
130dBm 70nVef 0,1V p

39
Spurious-free dynamic range, SFDR

In general, the Dynamic Range (DR) is defined as the ratio of the
maximum input level that the circuit can tolerate to the minimum
input level at which the circuit provides an acceptable signal quality.
SFDR
2
IIP3 Noi
3
Noi noise level

referred to input
Input Noise, Noi
The SFDR is the SNR corresponding to the input at which the third
order intermodulation product equals the noise power [Lee].
SFDR

40
19
Spurious-free dynamic range, SFDR
2
IIP3 Noi
3
SNRmin
SFDR
Input Noise, Noi
Razavi, nevertheless, gives a different definition for the SFDR: is

the ratio of the input power at which the third order intermodulation
product equals the noise power and the sensitivity (that is, he takes
into account the minimum SNR needed to provide an acceptable
output).
SNRmin
SFDR, Lee
SFDR, Razavi

41
Content
II.1. Noise
III.2. Error probability (BER, PER, etc.)
III.3. ACPR
III.4. EVM

42
20
Power consumption
Although the standard does not say a word about
power consumption, it is of great importance: the
real mobility of the terminal depends on it.
It is probably the only parameter that takes
benefit of the voltage supply reduction.
As we work at constant voltage and bias point,
many times the current consumption is given
instead of the power consumption.

43
Error probability
It can be defined at several stages of the
demodulated received signal:
Symbol/Pulse level
Bit level
Packet level
It is specified in % or powers of 10 (example:

0.1% or 10-4).
It is obtained from system level simulations of the
complete Tx + Channel + Rx model or for the Rx
with an ideal modulated input signal (even with
baseband structure).
44
21
Error probability
Example of BER performance for an UWB PAM receiver
Loses due to A/D (quantization noise adds to random noise):
1 bit:
2 bit:
2.30 dB
1.25 dB
Example:
2-PAM,
Npb = 15 pulses/bit
P. Newasakar, et al, A/D Precision Requirements for an Ultra-Wideband Radio Receiver, SIPS 2002, pp. 270-275.
M. Verjelst, et al, Architectures for Low Power Ultra-Wideband Radio Receivers in the 3.1-5GHz Band for Data
Rates < 10Mbps, ISLPED 2004, pp. 280-285.

45
EVM
Noise, nonlinearities and other effects modify the theoretical complex modulation
constellations. Error Vector Magnitude (EVM) quantifies the deviation from the
ideal constellation
noise added
More specifically,
P
EVM ( dB) 10 log error _ vector
Preference _ vector
EVM (%)
Perror _ vector
Preference _ vector
100%

46
22
EVM
Noise, nonlinearities and other effects modify the theoretical complex modulation
constellations. Error Vector Magnitude (EVM) quantifies the deviation from the
ideal constellation
Example: 802.11a WLAN transceiver
Transmitted
power level:
EVM:
EVM (%)
Perror _ vector
Preference _ vector
100%

47
ACPR
Adjacent channel power ratio
Example: non linearites in the PA of a Bluetooth Tx produce spectral regrowth
Meas
Eqn
MeasEqn
meas1
Voutfund=Vout[1]
Meas
Eqn
Meas
Eqn
MeasEqn
meas2
mainlimits={-50 KHz, 50 KHz}
UpChlimits=550 KHz + mainlimits
LoChlimits=-550 KHz + mainlimits
TransACPR=acpr_vr(Voutfund,50,mainlimits,LoChlimits,UpChlimits,"Kaiser")
MeasEqn
Main1
TX_pow er=10*log(channel_pow er_vr(Voutfund,50,{-550 kHz, 550 kHz},"Kaiser"))+30
Vout
DT
LPF_Gaussian
LPF1
Fpass=Rate/2
Apass=3 dB
GDpass=0.5
MaxRej=50 dB
Z1=50 Ohm
Z2=50 Ohm
VtLFSR_DT
SRC3
Vlow =vlow
Vhigh=vhigh
Rate=Rate
Delay=0 nsec
Taps=bin("10000001000000100")
Seed=bin("10101010111010101")
Rout=50 Ohm
R
R5
R=50 Ohm
VCO
VCO2
Kv=Kv
Freq=RF_freq
P=dbmtow (-10)
Rout=50 Ohm
Delay=timestep
Harmonics=list(0.01, 0.002)
Amplifier
Pow eramp
S21=dbpolar(13,0)
TOI=
GainCompPow er=0.5 opt{ -2 to 3 }
GainComp=1 dB
R
R1
R=50 Ohm

48
23
ACPR
Example: Tx Spectrum Mask form Bluetooth specs. and FCC regulations

49
ACPR
Amplifier Output Spectrum
0
-10
-20
-30
-40
Total_TX_pwr
-50
-60
-70
-80
-90
-100
-110
-120
-130
-140
-150
-160
-170
-4.0
-3.2
-2.4
-1.6
-0.8
0.0
0.8
1.6
2.4
3.2
4.0
freq, MHz
optIter
TX_power
3
TransACPR(1)
2.210
Eqn Total_TX_pwr=dBm(fs(Voutfund,,,,,"Kaiser"))
-31.328
TransACPR(2)
-32.805
Output amplifier 1 dB compression

point set to 0.5 dBm

50
24
ACPR
Other specifications of ACPR based on masks:
Figure 1. FCC UWB Spectrum Mask for

Communications and Measurement Systems

51
CCDF
Another important spec. in transmission is the Power
Complementary Cumulative Distribution Function (CCDF)
CCDF is the probability that the power is greater than a specific
power value.
Some digital modulation schemes produce
narrow and relatively infrequent power
peaks. Measuring peak-to-average ratio
alone does not reveal how often peaks may
occur but a CCDF would clearly show this
behavior.
CCDF allows specifying power
characteristics of the signals that will be
mixed, amplified, and decoded in
communication systems. For example,
baseband DSP signal designers can
completely specify the power characteristics
of signals to the RF designers by using
CCDF curves.
http://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/pdf/5968-6875E.pdf
52
25
Bibliography
[Lee] The Design of CMOS Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuits,
Thomas H. Lee, Ed. Cambridge, 1998 (2003!?)
[RazaviRF] RF Microelectronics, Behzad Razavi, Ed. Prentice
Hall, 1998
[Allen] CMOS Analog Circuit Design, P. E. Allen, D.R. Holberg,
Ed. Oxford 2nd Edition
[Tsividis] Operation and modeling of MOS transistor, 2nd Ed.,
Boston, McGraw-Hill, 1999
[Gonzalez] Microwave Transistor Amplifiers. Analysis and
Design, Guillermo Gonzalez, Prentice Hall 2nd Ed.
[Smith] Modern communications circuits, K. Smith, McGraw-hill
[Carlson] Communications Systems, A. B. Carlson, McGraw-Hill,
3rd Edition
53
Homework and personal assignments

Learn the basics of different basic digital modulations (ASK, FSK,
PSK, QPSK, MSK, GMSK) by searching the bibliography (Razavi,
Carlson,). This will not be explained in class.
Learn the basics of different basic digital architectures
(superheterodyne, direct conversion) by searching the bibliography
(Lee, Razavi, Carlson,). This will not be explained in class.

54
26

RF Block & System Level Parameters

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High Performance Integrated Circuits Design Group

Departament dEnginyeria Electrnica