Radio frequency front-end circuit for receiver and low noise amplifier thereof

This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 101140339, filed on Oct. 31, 2012. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.

1. Technical Field

The invention relates to a radio frequency front-end circuit for a receiver and low noise amplifier thereof.

2. Related Art

A radio frequency (RF) front-end circuit for receiver is mainly applied in a communication system, which amplifies a signal received from an antenna to facilitate signal process. Since the signal comes from the antenna is very weak, the RF front-end circuit is generally closed to the antenna to minimize a signal loss on the transmission line. Such configuration is widely used in receiver of a wireless communication system, etc., for example, a wireless local area network (WLAN) or a global positioning system (GPS), etc. In some real applications, a low noise amplifier applied in the receiver is followed by a quadrature passive mixer, which mixes and converts the RF signal received from the antenna into a baseband signal then pass to next stage. According to the existing technique, the quadrature passive mixer followed by the low noise amplifier shares the differential RF signal from the low noise amplifier output, and converts the differential RF signal into a differential in-phase baseband signal and a differential quadrature-phase baseband signal. However, a 25% duty cycle local oscillation generator has to be used to avoid the signal and noise interfering between in-phase channel and quadrature-phase channel, so as to avoid the degradation of signal to noise ratio.

The invention is directed to a radio frequency (RF) front-end circuit for a receiver, a low noise amplifier of the RF front-end circuit provides two differential RF output signals to a quadrature passive mixer, such that the quadrature passive mixer does not share the RF signal from the low noise amplifier output, and can avoid signal and noise interfering between an in-phase channel and a quadrature-phase channel without using a 25% duty cycle local oscillation generator.

The invention provides a RF front-end circuit, configured for a receiver, includes a low noise amplifier and a quadrature passive mixer. The low noise amplifier has a first input node, a second input node, a first output node, a second output node, a third output node and a fourth output node. The low noise amplifier receives a first and second RF input signal differential to each other through the first and second input node, and respectively outputs a first to fourth RF output signal through the first to fourth output node. The quadrature passive mixer is coupled to the first to fourth output nodes of the low noise amplifier, and respectively receives the first to fourth RF output signal, and mixes with a local oscillation signal to obtain a first to fourth baseband signal.

The invention provides a low noise amplifier having a first to fourth output node, and includes a main differential input pair, a main tail current source module, a first and second sub differential pair. The main differential input pair has a common node, a first and second input nodes and a first and second differential nodes, where the first and second input nodes of the main differential input pair respectively receive a first and second RF input signal differential to each other. The main tail current source module is coupled between the common node of the main differential input pair and the ground. The first sub differential pair has a common node, a first and second input nodes and a first and second differential nodes, where the common node of the first sub differential pair is coupled to the first differential node of the main differential input pair, the first differential node of the first sub differential pair is coupled to a first output impedance and the first output node of the low noise amplifier, and the second differential node of the first sub differential pair is coupled to a second output impedance and the third output node of the low noise amplifier. The second sub differential pair has a common node, a first and second input nodes and a first and second differential nodes, where the common node of the second sub differential pair is coupled to the second differential node of the main differential input pair, the first differential node of the second sub differential pair is coupled to a third output impedance and the second output node of the low noise amplifier, and the second differential node of the second sub differential pair is coupled to a fourth output impedance and the fourth output node of the low noise amplifier.

In order to make the aforementioned and other features and advantages of the invention comprehensible, several exemplary embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below.

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a radio frequency (RF) front-end circuit for a receiver according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of a low noise amplifier according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are circuit diagrams of frequency mixing units according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of a RF front-end circuit for a receiver according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are relationship diagrams of local oscillation signals and duty cycles thereof.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a radio frequency (RF) front-end circuit for a receiver according to an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1 , the RF front-end circuit 20 includes a low noise amplifier 10 and a quadrature passive mixer 200 . The low noise amplifier 10 has a first input node, a second input node, a first output node, a second output node, a third output node and a fourth output node. The low noise amplifier 10 receives a first and second RF input signal IN 1 , IN 2 differential to each other through the first and second input node, and respectively outputs a first to fourth RF output signal RF 1 -RF 4 through the first to fourth output node.

The quadrature passive mixer 200 is coupled to the first to fourth output node of the low noise amplifier, and respectively receives the first to fourth RF output signals RF 1 -RF 4 , and mix with a local oscillation signal to obtain baseband signals BB 1 -BB 4 .

In the present embodiment, the quadrature passive mixer 200 includes frequency mixing units 210 , 230 , transimpedance amplifiers 220 , 240 and a local oscillation signal generator 250 . In the present embodiment, the local oscillation signal includes a first local oscillation signal LO 1 and a second local oscillation signal LO 2 , which are respectively generated by the local oscillation signal generator 250 and transmitted to the frequency mixing units 210 , 230 .

The frequency mixing unit 210 receives the RF output signals RF 1 , RF 2 and mixes with the first local oscillation signal LO 1 and an inverted signal of LO 1 to obtain baseband current signals IBB 1 , IBB 2 . The transimpedance amplifier 220 is coupled to the frequency mixing unit 210 , and receives the baseband current signals IBB 1 , IBB 2 and outputs the baseband signals BB 1 , BB 2 . The frequency mixing unit 230 receives the RF output signals RF 3 , RF 4 and mixes with the second local oscillation signal LO 2 and an inverted signal of LO 2 to obtain baseband current signals IBB 3 , IBB 4 . The transimpedance amplifier 240 is coupled to the frequency mixing unit 230 , and receives the baseband current signals IBB 3 , IBB 4 and outputs the baseband signals BB 3 , BB 4 .

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of a low noise amplifier according to an embodiment of the invention, which is a detailed implementation of the low noise amplifier 10 of the embodiment of FIG. 1 . Referring to FIG. 2 , the low noise amplifier 10 has output nodes OUT 1 -OUT 4 , and includes a main differential input pair 110 , a main tail current source module 120 , a first sub differential pair 130 and a second sub differential pair 140 . The main differential input pair 110 has a common node, a first and second input nodes and a first and second differential nodes, where the first and second input nodes of the main differential input pair 110 respectively receive a first RF input signal IN 1 and a second RF input signal IN 2 differential to each other. The main tail current source module 120 is coupled between the common node of the main differential input pair 110 and the ground GND. In the present embodiment, the main tail current source module 120 includes a resistor RCM, though implementation of the main tail current source module 120 is not limited thereto.

The first sub differential pair 130 has a common node, a first and second input nodes and a first and second differential nodes, where the common node of the first sub differential pair 130 is coupled to the first differential node of the main differential input pair 110 , the first differential node of the first sub differential pair 130 is coupled to a first output impedance ZL 1 and the first output node OUT 1 of the low noise amplifier 10 , and the second differential node of the first sub differential pair 130 is coupled to a second output impedance ZL 2 and the third output node OUT 3 of the low noise amplifier 10 .

The second sub differential pair 140 has a common node, a first and second input nodes and a first and second differential nodes, where the common node of the second sub differential pair 140 is coupled to the second differential node of the main differential input pair 110 , the first differential node of the second sub differential pair 140 is coupled to a third output impedance ZL 3 and the second output node OUT 2 of the low noise amplifier 10 , and the second differential node of the second sub differential pair 140 is coupled to a fourth output impedance ZL 4 and the fourth output node OUT 4 of the low noise amplifier 10 .

In the present embodiment, the main differential input pair 10 includes a first main transistor M 1 and a second main transistor M 2 . A drain of the first main transistor M 1 is coupled to the first differential node of the main differential input pair 110 , and a source thereof is coupled to the common node of the main differential input pair 110 . A gate of the first main transistor M 1 is coupled to the first input node of the main differential input pair 110 for receiving the first RF input signal IN 1 . A drain of the second main transistor M 2 is coupled to the second differential node of the main differential input pair 110 , and a source thereof is coupled to the common node of the main differential input pair 110 . A gate of the second main transistor M 2 is coupled to the second input node of the main differential input pair 110 for receiving the second RF input signal IN 2 .

In the present embodiment, the first sub differential pair 130 includes a first sub transistor MC 1 and a second sub transistor MC 2 , and the second sub differential pair 140 includes a third sub transistor MC 3 and a fourth sub transistor MC 4 . A gate of the first sub transistor MC 1 receives a first sub differential pair bias BV 1 , a drain of the first sub transistor MC 1 is coupled to the first differential node of the first sub differential pair 130 , and a source of the first sub transistor MC 1 is coupled to the common node of the first sub differential pair 130 .

A gate of the second sub transistor MC 2 receives a second sub differential pair bias BV 2 , a drain of the second sub transistor MC 2 is coupled to the second differential node of the first sub differential pair 130 , and a source of the second sub transistor MC 2 is coupled to the common node of the first sub differential pair 130 .

On the other hand, the second sub differential pair 140 includes a third sub transistor MC 3 and a fourth sub transistor MC 4 . A gate of the third sub transistor MC 3 receives a third sub differential pair bias BV 3 , a drain of the third sub transistor MC 3 is coupled to the first differential node of the second sub differential pair 140 , and a source of the third sub transistor MC 3 is coupled to the common node of the second sub differential pair 140 . A gate of the fourth sub transistor MC 4 receives a fourth sub differential pair bias BV 4 , a drain of the fourth sub transistor MC 4 is coupled to the second differential node of the second sub differential pair 140 , and a source of the fourth sub transistor MC 4 is coupled to the common node of the second sub differential pair 140 .

Referring to FIG. 2 , in the present embodiment, the low noise amplifier 10 includes output impedances ZL 1 -ZL 4 , which are respectively coupled between the first differential node of the first sub differential pair 130 and a power VDD, between the second differential node of the first sub differential pair 130 and the power VDD, between the first differential node of the second sub differential pair 140 and the power VDD, and between the second differential node of the second sub differential pair 140 and the power VDD. The output impedances ZL 1 -ZL 4 are mainly used to amplify signals and adjust the voltage between the power VDD and the first, second differential nodes of the sub differential pairs 130 , 140 . Impedance values of the output impedances ZL 1 -ZL 4 and whether the output impedances are implemented or not are determined according to an actual requirement of implementation, the invention is not limited thereto.

When the low noise amplifier 10 receives the first RF input signal IN 1 and the second RF input signal IN 2 differential to each other from the main differential input pair 110 , through amplification of the low noise amplifier 10 , the low noise amplifier 10 respectively outputs the first to fourth RF output signals RF 1 -RF 4 through the output nodes OUT 1 -OUT 4 , where the first RF output signal RF 1 and the second RF output signal RF 2 have a phase difference of 180 degrees, and the third RF output signal RF 3 and the fourth RF output signal RF 4 have a phase difference of 180 degrees.

In the present embodiment, the low noise amplifier 10 further includes a first and second feedback circuit 150 and 160 , which are respectively coupled between the first input node and the first differential node and between the second input node and the second differential node of the main differential input pair 110 , i.e. between the drain and the gate of the main transistor M 1 and between the drain and the gate of the main transistor M 2 . The first and second feedback circuits 150 and 160 are used to improve stability of the low noise amplifier 10 , and are further used to adjust the equivalent input impedances seeing into the low noise amplifier 10 from the input nodes IN 1 -IN 2 .

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are circuit diagrams of frequency mixing units according to an embodiment of the invention, which respectively correspond to the frequency mixing units 210 , 230 of the embodiment of FIG. 1 . Referring to FIG. 3A , the frequency mixing unit 210 includes a first and second differential pair 211 , 212 , which respectively have a common node, a first and second control nodes and a first and second differential nodes. The common node of the first differential pair 211 receives the first RF output signal RF 1 through a capacitor CP 1 , the first control node of the first differential pair 211 receives the first local oscillation signal LO 1 , and the second control node of the first differential pair 211 receives an inverted signal LO 1 B of the first local oscillation signal LO 1 .

Similarly, the common node of the second differential pair 212 receives the second RF output signal RF 2 through a capacitor CP 2 . The first control node of the second differential pair 212 receives the inverted signal LO 1 B, and the second control node of the second differential pair 212 receives the first local oscillation signal LO 1 . The frequency mixing unit 210 mixes the first and second RF output signal RF 1 , RF 2 with the local oscillation signal LO 1 and the inverted signal LO 1 B thereof by using the differential pairs 211 , 212 to produce the baseband current signals IBB 1 , IBB 2 .

Similarly, referring to FIG. 3B , the frequency mixing unit 230 includes a third and fourth differential pair 231 and 232 , which respectively have a common node, a first and second control nodes and a first and second differential nodes. The common node of the third differential pair 231 receives the third RF output signal RF 3 through a capacitor CP 3 , the first control node of the third differential pair 231 receives the second local oscillation signal LO 2 , and the second control node of the third differential pair 231 receives an inverted signal LO 2 B of the second local oscillation signal LO 2 .

The common node of the fourth differential pair 232 receives the fourth RF output signal RF 4 through a capacitor CP 4 . The first control node of the fourth differential pair 232 receives the inverted signal LO 2 B, and the second control node of the fourth differential pair 232 receives the second local oscillation signal LO 2 . The frequency mixing unit 230 mixes the third and fourth RF output signal RF 3 , RF 4 with the local oscillation signal LO 2 and the inverted signal LO 2 B thereof by using the differential pairs 231 and 232 to produce the baseband current signals IBB 3 and IBB 4 .

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of a RF front-end circuit for a receiver according to an embodiment of the invention, which provides a more detailed implementation compared to that of the embodiment of FIG. 1 . It should be noticed that since the circuit is complicated, the local oscillation signal generator 250 is omitted in FIG. 4 , and the frequency mixing units 210 , 230 still receive the first local oscillation signal LO 1 and the second local oscillation signal LO 2 and the respective inverted signals thereof from the local oscillation signal generator 250 .

Referring to FIG. 4 , the RF front-end circuit 20 includes the low noise amplifier 10 and the quadrature passive mixer 200 , where coupling relations of various components in the low noise amplifier and detailed operation content thereof can refer to related descriptions in the embodiment of FIG. 1 , which are not repeated. The quadrature passive mixer 200 is coupled to the first to fourth output nodes OUT 1 -OUT 4 of the low noise amplifier 10 to respectively receive the first to fourth RF output signals RF 1 -RF 4 . The quadrature passive mixer 200 respectively mixes the first to fourth RF output signals RF 1 -RF 4 with the local oscillation signal to obtain the first to fourth baseband signals BB 1 -BB 4 . Coupling relations and operations of various components in the quadrature passive mixer 200 are described in detail below.

Referring to FIG. 4 , the same to the embodiment of FIG. 1 , the local oscillation signal includes the first local oscillation signal LO 1 and the second local oscillation signal LO 2 , and the quadrature passive mixer 200 includes the first frequency mixing unit 210 , the first transimpedance amplifier 220 , the second frequency mixing unit 230 , and the second transimpedance amplifier 240 . The first frequency mixing unit 210 further includes the first and second differential pair 211 and 212 , which respectively have the common node, the first and second control nodes and the first and second differential nodes. The common node of the first differential pair 211 receives the first RF output signal RF 1 , the first control node of the first differential pair 211 receives the first local oscillation signal LO 1 , and the second control node of the first differential pair 211 receives the inverted signal LO 1 B. The first and second differential nodes of the first differential pair 211 are coupled to the first transimpedance amplifier 220 .

Similarly, the common node of the second differential pair 212 receives the second RF output signal RF 2 . The first control node of the second differential pair 212 receives the inverted signal LO 1 B, and the second control node of the second differential pair 212 receives the first local oscillation signal LO 1 . The first and second differential nodes of the second differential pair 212 are coupled to the first transimpedance amplifier 220 .

The first transimpedance amplifier 220 includes an operational amplifier TIA 1 , resistors R 1 , R 2 and capacitors C 1 , C 2 . The operational amplifier TIA 1 has a first and second input nodes, and a first and second output nodes. The resistor R 1 and the capacitor C 1 are coupled between the first input node and the first output node of the operational amplifier TIA 1 , and the resistor R 2 and the capacitor C 2 are coupled between the second input node and the second output node of the operational amplifier TIA 1 . It should be noticed that in the present embodiment, the capacitors and the resistors coupled between the first input node and the first output node and between the second input node and the second output node are respectively one resistor and one capacitor (the resistor R 1 and the capacitor C 1 , and the resistor R 2 and the capacitor C 2 ), and the number of the capacitors and the resistors and impedance/capacitance values thereof are all determined according to an actual requirement, the invention is not limited thereto.

The first differential pair 211 receives the first RF output signal RF 1 through the common node, and mixes the first RF output signal RF 1 with the first local oscillation signal LO 1 and the inverted signal LO 1 B to generate the first baseband current signal IBB 1 . The second differential pair 212 receives the second RF output signal RF 2 through the common node, and mixes the second RF output signal RF 2 with the first local oscillation signal LO 1 and the inverted signal LO 1 B to generate the second baseband current signal IBB 2 . The first frequency mixing unit 210 transmits the first and second baseband current signal IBB 1 , IBB 2 to the first transimpedance amplifier 220 , and after buffer processing, the first transimpedance amplifier 220 respectively outputs the first and second baseband signal BB 1 , BB 2 through the first and second output node.

On the other hand, the second frequency mixing unit 230 further includes the third and fourth differential pair 231 , 232 , which respectively have the common node, the first and second control nodes and the first, and second differential nodes. The common node of the third differential pair 231 receives the third RF output signal RF 3 , the first control node of the third differential pair 231 receives the second local oscillation signal LO 2 , and the second control node of the third differential pair 231 receives the inverted signal LO 2 B. The first and second differential nodes of the third differential pair 231 are coupled to the second transimpedance amplifier 240 .

Similarly, the common node of the fourth differential pair 232 receives the fourth RF output signal RF 4 . The first control node of the fourth differential pair 232 receives the inverted signal LO 2 B, and the second control node of the fourth differential pair 232 receives the second local oscillation signal LO 2 . The first and second differential nodes of the fourth differential pair 232 are coupled to the second transimpedance amplifier 240 .

The second transimpedance amplifier 240 includes an operational amplifier TIA 2 , resistors R 3 , R 4 and capacitors C 3 , C 4 . The operational amplifier TIA 2 has a first and second input nodes, and first and second output nodes. The resistor R 3 and the capacitor C 3 are coupled between the first input node and the first output node of the operational amplifier TIA 2 , and the resistor R 4 and the capacitor C 4 are coupled between the second input node and the second output node of the operational amplifier TIA 2 . The number of the capacitors and the resistors and impedance/capacitance values thereof are all determined according to an actual requirement, which is not limited by the invention.

The third differential pair 231 receives the third RF output signal RF 3 through the common node, and mixes the third RF output signal RF 3 with the second local oscillation signal LO 2 and the inverted signal LO 2 B of the second local oscillation signal LO 2 to generate the third baseband current signal IBB 3 . The fourth differential pair 232 receives the fourth RF output signal RF 4 through the common node, and mixes it with the second local oscillation signal LO 2 and the inverted signal LO 2 B to generate the fourth baseband current signal IBB 4 . The second frequency mixing unit 230 transmits the third and fourth baseband current signal IBB 3 , IBB 4 to the second transimpedance amplifier 240 , and after buffer processing, the second transimpedance amplifier 240 respectively outputs the third and fourth baseband signal BB 3 , BB 4 through the first and second output node.

In general practice, the first and second local oscillation signals LO 1 , LO 2 have a phase difference of 90 degrees therebetween, and the first and second local oscillation signals LO 1 , LO 2 respectively have a phase difference of 180 degrees with the inverted signals LO 1 B, LO 2 B thereof, such that phase differences between the first to the fourth baseband signals BB 1 -BB 4 obtained after frequency mixing and down-conversion are all multiples of 90 degrees. For example, the first to the fourth baseband signals BB 1 -BB 4 respectively have phase differences of 0 degree, 180 degrees, 90 degrees and 270 degrees. A following circuit (not shown) coupled to the first and second transimpedance amplifier 220 , 240 can further use the first to the fourth baseband signals BB 1 -BB 4 having phase differences to perform signal processing.

It should be noticed that in the present embodiment, in order to further eliminate mutual interference between the signals (for example, the RF output signals RF 1 -RF 4 ) and the quadrature channel noise generated during transmission, the quadrature passive mixer 200 further includes capacitors CP 1 -CP 4 , which are respectively coupled between the first to fourth differential pairs 211 , 212 , 231 , 232 and the first to fourth output nodes OUT 1 -OUT 4 of the low noise amplifier 10 . Capacitance values of the capacitors CP 1 -CP 4 and whether the capacitors are implemented or not are determined according to an actual requirement.

FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are relationship diagrams of local oscillation signals and duty cycles thereof. FIG. 5A illustrates a situation that duty cycles of the first and second local oscillation signal LO 1 , LO 2 are all one half cycle. In the conventional technique, the local oscillation signals with the duty cycle of one half cycle can be easily obtained, and besides the general oscillation signal generator (not shown), the other circuit components are unnecessary to be additionally configured. However, in the RF front-end circuit of the conventional technique, since the low noise amplifier only has two RF output signals with a phase difference of 180 degrees, the frequency mixer generally has two frequency mixing units (for example, the first and second frequency mixing unit 210 , 230 ) sharing the same RF output signal. In this way, as shown in FIG. 5A , the first and second local oscillation signal LO 1 , LO 2 with the duty cycle of one half cycle are overlapped by a quarter cycle. Namely, in the quarter cycle, the two frequency mixing units connected to the output node of the low noise amplifier (for example, the first and second frequency mixing unit 210 , 230 ) share the same RF output signal, and the two quadrature frequency mixing units are simultaneously turn on, so that the signal and the noise are interfered to each other, which causes signal quality degraded.

In order to avoid the above situation, in the conventional technique structure, the duty cycles of the first and second local oscillation signal LO 1 , LO 2 have to be adjusted to a quarter cycle, so as to avoid the above problem.

However, an additional generation circuit is required in order to adjust the duty cycle to the quarter cycle, and the excessively narrow duty cycle shortens a turn on time of the frequency mixer, and decreases a conversion gain of the frequency mixer, which accordingly decreases a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the RF front-end circuit for receiver. In the structure disclosed by the invention, the low noise amplifier 10 can respectively provide the RF output signals to the differential pairs of the frequency mixing units, even if the duty cycles of the first and second local oscillation signal LO 1 , LO 2 are overlapped to each other, the aforementioned problem of signal interference caused by sharing the RF output signal is avoided, and meanwhile a quarter cycle generation circuit is saved. Moreover, since the differential pairs are used to respectively provide the RF output signals to the frequency mixing units, when the low noise amplifier 10 is coupled to the quadrature passive mixer 200 for impedance matching, a suitable impedance value can be simply adjusted.

In summary, the invention provides a low noise amplifier and a RF front-end circuit including the low noise amplifier, which can independently transmit the RF signals amplified by the low noise amplifier to each of the frequency mixing units to serve as a differential pair for frequency mixing, and even if the duty cycles of the local oscillation signals received by the differential pair are overlapped to each other, the problem of SNR degradation or mutual interference of signal and noise caused by sharing the RF output signal is avoided. On the other hand, the impedance matching between the low noise amplifier and the frequency mixer can be adjusted in a simple manner, which is simple in configuration.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.