ABSTRACT
This chapter presents several silicon-based solutions for large signal and small signal building blocks aimed at cellular infrastructure applications. Network operators have experienced a strong increase in demand for fast mobile broadband applications, which are also the focus of more recent releases for cellular communications standards as frequency spectrum for cellular applications is limited. There are actually only a few key building blocks in the analog domain for cellular infrastructure. A noise figure below 1 dB at operating frequencies in the cellular bands from 700 up to 2700 MHz is required for optimal receiver sensitivity. The interference resulting from operations in adjacent frequency channels demands high linearity and thus low third-order intermodulation distortion. Cellular network operators have a clear preference for flexible radio solutions. A class-E radio frequency power amplifier can serve as a building block for a variety of different cellular standards and modulation schemes.
