2 Nonlinearity Concepts in RF--gao.pptVIP

Effects of Nonlinearity: Cascaded Nonlinear Stages Considering only the first- and third-order terms, we have: Thus, Example of Cascaded Nonlinear Stages Solution: Two differential pairs are cascaded. Is it possible to select the denominator of equation above such that IP3 goes to infinity? With no asymmetries in the cascade, α2 = β2 = 0. Thus, we seek the condition α3β1 + α13β3 = 0, or equivalently, Since both stages are compressive, α3/α1 0 and β3/β1 0. It is therefore impossible to achieve an arbitrarily high IP3. Cascaded Nonlinear Stages: Intuitive results To “refer” the IP3 of the second stage to the input of the cascade, we must divide it by α1. Thus, the higher the gain of the first stage, the more nonlinearity is contributed by the second stage. IM Spectra in a Cascade (Ⅰ) Let us assume x(t) =Acos ω1t + Acos ω2t and identify the IM products in a cascade: IM Spectra in a Cascade (Ⅱ) Adding the amplitudes of the IM products, we have Add in phase as worst-case scenario Heavily attenuated in narrow-band circuits Thus, if each stage in a cascade has a gain greater than unity, the nonlinearity of the latter stages becomes increasingly more critical because the IP3 of each stage is equivalently scaled down by the total gain preceding that stage. For more stages: Example of Cascaded Nonlinear Stages Solution: A low-noise amplifier having an input IP3 of -10 dBm and a gain of 20 dB is followed by a mixer with an input IP3 of +4 dBm. Which stage limits the IP3 of the cascade more? With α1 = 20 dB, we note that Since the scaled IP3 of the second stage is lower than the IP3 of the first stage, we say the second stage limits the overall IP3 more. Linearity Limit due to Each Stage Examine the relative IM magnitudes at the output of each stage to find out which stage limits the linearity more Effects of Nonlinearity: AM/PM Conversion AM