Lecture

Low-power Radio Design: Mixers Fundamentals

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In course

MICRO-461: Low-power radio design for IoT

The basic function of an IoT node is to collect data and send it through a wireless channel to the cloud. Since the power consumption of an IoT node is largely dominated by the wireless communication, it is therefore key to understand the trade-offs faced ...

Description

This lecture covers the fundamentals of mixers in low-power radio design for the IoT. It explains the main types of mixers, such as passive and active mixers, and discusses their characteristics including conversion gains, linearity, and noise figures. The lecture also delves into non-linearity based mixers, focusing on the single balanced mixer (SBM) and multiplier-based mixers. Detailed analyses of the SBM are provided, covering LO feedthrough, conversion gains, LO gains, noise sources, and thermal noise. The lecture concludes with a summary highlighting the importance of the mode of operation for mixing transistors in achieving optimal performance.

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Related concepts (32)

Frequency mixer

In electronics, a mixer, or frequency mixer, is an electrical circuit that creates new frequencies from two signals applied to it. In its most common application, two signals are applied to a mixer, and it produces new signals at the sum and difference of the original frequencies. Other frequency components may also be produced in a practical frequency mixer. Mixers are widely used to shift signals from one frequency range to another, a process known as heterodyning, for convenience in transmission or further signal processing.

Heterodyne

A heterodyne is a signal frequency that is created by combining or mixing two other frequencies using a signal processing technique called heterodyning, which was invented by Canadian inventor-engineer Reginald Fessenden. Heterodyning is used to shift signals from one frequency range into another, and is also involved in the processes of modulation and demodulation. The two input frequencies are combined in a nonlinear signal-processing device such as a vacuum tube, transistor, or diode, usually called a mixer.

Transistor

A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify or switch electrical signals and power. It is one of the basic building blocks of modern electronics. It is composed of semiconductor material, usually with at least three terminals for connection to an electronic circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals controls the current through another pair of terminals. Because the controlled (output) power can be higher than the controlling (input) power, a transistor can amplify a signal.

Field-effect transistor

The field-effect transistor (FET) is a type of transistor that uses an electric field to control the flow of current in a semiconductor. FETs (JFETs or MOSFETs) are devices with three terminals: source, gate, and drain. FETs control the flow of current by the application of a voltage to the gate, which in turn alters the conductivity between the drain and source. FETs are also known as unipolar transistors since they involve single-carrier-type operation.

Bipolar junction transistor

A bipolar junction transistor (BJT) is a type of transistor that uses both electrons and electron holes as charge carriers. In contrast, a unipolar transistor, such as a field-effect transistor (FET), uses only one kind of charge carrier. A bipolar transistor allows a small current injected at one of its terminals to control a much larger current flowing between the terminals, making the device capable of amplification or switching. BJTs use two p–n junctions between two semiconductor types, n-type and p-type, which are regions in a single crystal of material.

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