Advanced Bits-In RF-Out Transmitters

Abstract

The demand for faster mobile access and higher data throughput drives the evolution of wireless cellular communication, requiring larger modulation bandwidths and higher-order modulations and necessitating more efficient and flexible transmitter systems.
Simultaneously, the advancements in nano-scale CMOS technologies have made transistors smaller and better suited for digital signal processing, with improved high-frequency performance for RF mixed-signal circuits.
These advancements impact wireless RF transceivers creating the need to explore transmitter architectures beyond the level of the most established ones, which are exclusively analog up to date, by pushing them towards incorporating more digital circuitry. Consequently, the primary research question addressed in this is: “What are the potential performance advantages when the strength of (high-speed) digital CMOS is utilized within an RF front-end?”
To answer this research question, this thesis proposes new architectures for digitalintensive transmitter line-ups. These architectures aim to enhance linearity, bandwidth, and power efficiency, and enable the full utilization of CMOS technology in digital operations within the RF front-end....