ABSTRACT
Today, the digital revolution and the high growth of the wireless market also bring many changes to the analog transceiver front-ends. The front-ends are the interface between the antenna and the digital modem of the wireless transceiver. They have to detect very weak signals (µV) which come in at a very high frequency (1 to 2 GHz) and, at the same time, they have to transmit at the same high-frequency high power levels (up to 2 W). This requires high-performance analog circuits, like filters, amplifiers, and mixers which translate the frequency bands between the antenna and the A/D-conversion and digital signal processing. Low cost and a low power consumption are the driving forces and they make the analog front-ends the bottleneck for future RF design. Both low cost and low power are closely linked to the trend toward full integration. An even further level of integration renders significant space, cost, and power reductions. Many different techniques to obtain a higher degree of integration for receivers, transmitters, and synthesizers have been presented over the past years.
