Analysis and experimental results of RF CMOS mixers

Currently there is intensive research effort to increase integration and to reduce cost for both wired and wireless transceivers. Integrating a CMOS RF stage with a CMOS baseband stage could dramatically increase transceiver integration and reduce transceiver cost. This thesis examines the potential of CMOS for RF mixer applications. Analytical techniques, simulations and experimentally measured results are presented to compare the advantages offered by CMOS mixers.;Specifically, five distinct CMOS mixer topologies are investigated: (1) a doubly balanced Gilbert mixer, (2) a doubly balance dual gate mixer, (3) a doubly balance source coupled mixer, (4) a doubly balanced transconductance mixer and (5) a monolithic doubly balance distributed mixer. Measurement techniques for determining conversion gain, noise figure and intermodulation performance are presented along with measured results for the CMOS mixer topologies.;Techniques are developed for predicting mixer noise figure and mixer conversion gain. In a mixer the pumped nonlinearity is exclusively due to the LO, in this unique case the pumped nonlinearity can be replaced by a linear time varying circuit with no LO signal. A time varying small-signal model is developed to analyze conversion gain. A method for simulating mixer noise by frequency translating all major noise sources to the output by transient SPICE simulations and summing all noise sources at the output is discussed.