Columbia Technology Ventures

Dual-carrier reception with a modulator-mixer-clock multibranch receiver

This technology is a modulated-mixer-clock multi-branch receiver that achieves dual-band tuned matching and single- or concurrent dual-carrier reception with compressive-sampling wideband spectrum scanning.

Unmet Need: Broad-spectrum, multiband receiver with improved in-band and out-of-band linearities

Current methods to address the increased need for concurrent inter-band reception involve receiver architectures like frequency-translational quadrature-hybrid (FTQH) receivers, gain-boosted N-path filter receivers, and frequency-translational noise-cancelling (FTNC) receivers with external RF multiplexers. However, these architectures are sometimes impractical for inter-band reception and can have poor in-band and/or out-of-band linearities. There is currently no platform for a receiver to have both dual-carrier reception and dual-band tuned matching capabilities.

The Technology: Mixer-clock modulation to achieve dual-band tuned matching and concurrent dual-carrier reception

This technology achieves dual-band tuned matching and single- or concurrent dual-carrier reception through a modulator-mixer-clock multibranch receiver. Low-noise transconductance amplifier branches and mixer-first receiver branches, which are driven by modulated clocks, allow for simultaneous noise cancellation and improved noise figures. Furthermore, the technology eliminates the need for external RF multiplexers and mitigates phase-locked loop pulling issues. This technology may potentially be applied as a multi-band receiver for communication markets and security devices.

This technology has been prototyped as a 65nm GP CMOS chip that improves out-of-band linearity up to 10dB in single-carrier reception mode and by more than 5 dB in dual-carrier reception mode over a broadband matched receiver, with wideband scanning over 630 MHz with -75cBm sensitivity and a 66dB dynamic range.

Applications:

  • Civilian and/or military wireless communication
  • Audio-based security technologies
  • Prototype for advanced circuit architecture research

Advantages:

  • High-throughput and simultaneous reception of two signals
  • Compact architecture with the elimination of external RF multiplexers
  • Inter-band reception
  • High in-band and out-of-band linearities
  • Alleviation of phase-locked loop pulling challenges

Lab Director:

Peter Kinget, Ph.D.

Patent Information:

Patent Status

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