18ECO101T

SHORT RANGE WIRELESS COMMUNICATION

A
A
A
R
N

D
LE
LE
LE
Dr. D. Tharani
ECE
 SHORT RANGE WIRELESS COMMUNICATION

Unit-3 – RF transceivers
1 RF-Transmitters- Introduction, RF-Source-Frequency control
2 Modulation types, Amplifiers, Frequency synthesizer
3 Impedance matching in transmitter and receivers, Filtering
4 SAW band pass filter matching, Tuned Radio Frequency (TRF)
5 ASH Receiver, Super regenerative Receiver – Block diagram
6 Super regenerative Receiver – Operation
Super heterodyne Receiver Block diagram
7 Super heterodyne Receiver Operation
Direct Conversion Receiver Block diagram
8 Direct Conversion Receiver Operation
Digital Receivers-Software radio
9 Software radio operation, Repeaters

Ref[1]: chapter 5, 6
RF Transceiver
• A transceiver is a combination transmitter/receiver in a single package.
• Convert IF frequency to RF frequency and vice versa.
• It is used in satellite communication, for radio transmission and reception, for
television signal transmission and reception, and in wimax/wlan/zigbee/lte networks.
RF Transmitter

• The basic constituents of a radio transmitter consists of

• Source data, which may be analog or digital,
• is imposed on a radio-frequency carrier wave by a modulator,
• then amplified, filtered, and applied to an antenna.
• The transmitter must also have a source of power.
RF Source
• Frequency control in short-range transmitters is based on
• LC
• SAW (Surface Acoustic Wave)
• crystal
 synthesizer
• direct digital synthesis(DDS)
• Attributes of frequency-controlling methods accuracy and stability.
• Accuracy is the degree of deviation from a nominal frequency at a given temperature.
• Stability expresses how much the frequency may change over a temperature range
and under other external conditions such as proximity to surrounding objects.

Frequency synthesizer

• Generate more than one frequency using only one frequency-determining element,
usually a crystal.
• Other reasons for using a synthesizer are
• The output frequency is derived directly from an oscillator without using multipliers.
• It allows higher deviation in frequency modulation than when directly modulating a
crystal oscillator.
•A block diagram of a frequency synthesizer, essentially a phase locked loop (PLL).
Frequency synthesizer

• Its basic components are the reference crystal oscillator, a phase frequency detector
(PFD), a low-pass loop filter, a voltage (or current) controlled oscillator (VCO), a
divider in a feedback loop and an optional reference divider.
• The output frequency of the VCO is controllable by a voltage or current input at
the control terminal.
• A common way to vary the frequency of the VCO is to use a varactor diode, which
has a capacitance vs. voltage transfer characteristic
• The frequency synthesizer is a feedback control device.
• An error signal is created in the phase detector, which outputs a voltage (or current)
whose value is proportional to the difference in phase between a signal derived from
the output signal and the reference signal.
RF Source

• The reference input to the phase detector may be connected directly to the crystal
oscillator or derived from it through a frequency divider.
• The low-pass filter (LPF) following the phase detector determines the stability of the
PLL, its speed of response, and the rejection of spurious output frequencies and noise.
• The division ratio N of the main frequency divider determines the output frequency,
• Increasing or decreasing N by 1 increases or decreases the output frequency by the
amount of the reference frequency.
• The reference divider is inserted in the circuit when frequency resolution smaller than
the value of the crystal is needed.
• A prescaler, included in the main divider, is a low value high frequency divider.
Amplifier
• An RF amplifier stage may be added for the following reasons:
• to reduce proximity effects by isolating the oscillator from the antenna,
• to make up for losses in a spurious response rejection filter,
• to increase power output for greater range.

• Proper input and output matching is very important for achieving maximum power
gain from an amplifier.
• In order to design the matching circuits, you have to know the transistor input and
output impedances.
• Manufacturer’s data sheets give the linear circuit parameters for finding these
impedances.
Amplifier
• However, in many cases, the amplifier stage does not operate in a linear mode so these
parameters are not accurate.
• Trial and error may be used to find good matching, or a non-linear SPICE simulator may
be used to determine the matching components.
• Non-linear amplification is most efficient but linear amplification is necessary
• In order to design matching networks, the output impedance of the previous stage, which
may be the oscillator, must be known, and also the input impedance of the following
stage, which may be a filter or an antenna.
• Low-power transistor amplifiers typically have low-impedance inputs and high-
impedance outputs.
Filtering
• Maximum power output that can be used in a low-power transmitter is essentially
determined by the spurious radiation and not by the maximum power specification.
• The harmonics radiated directly from an oscillator will rarely be less than 20dB down so
an output filter, before the antenna, must be used in order to achieve the full allowed
power.

A radiated signal outside of a transmitter's assigned channel is an example of

a spurious emission

[Link]
SAW band pass filter matching

• An effective filter for a transmitter is a SAW-coupled filter.

• It has a wide enough pass-band and very steep sides.
• However, to be effective, the oscillator must be shielded to prevent its radiation from
bypassing the filter.
• The filter has an insertion loss of several dB.
• It has relatively high input and output impedances and can be matched to a low
impedance, usually 50 Ω, by the circuit.
• Values for the matching circuit components are given by the device manufacturer.

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) band pass filters employ the piezoelectric effect to convert an
electromagnetic signal into an acoustic signal and vice versa.
Impedance matching

• Important in transmitters and receivers for getting the best transfer of power between
the antenna and the device.
• An impedance mismatch between the antenna and the transmitter or receiver can lead
to signal reflections, power losses, and decreased system efficiency.
• Receiver modules most often have 50 ohms input impedance.
• Receiver integrated circuits or low-noise RF amplifiers may have 50 ohms input.
• The degree of matching to a specified impedance, usually 50 ohms, can be expressed
by the reflection coefficient.
Receiver
• ultimately determines the performance of the wireless link.
• Given a particular transmitter power, which is limited by the regulations, the range of
the link will depend on the sensitivity of the receiver, which is not legally constrained.
• For some applications, operate at short distances of several meters or even
centimeters.
• In these cases simplicity, size, and cost are the primary considerations.
• By far most shortrange receiver designs today use the superheterodyne topology
Tuned Radio Frequency (TRF)

• simplest type conceptually. The antenna is followed by a band-pass filter (BPF) or

turning circuit for the input RF frequency.
• The signal is amplified by high-gain RF amplifier stages and then demodulated, typically
by a diode detector.
• The digital baseband signal is reconstructed by a comparator circuit.
• The gain of the RF amplifier is restricted.
Advantage  doesn’t have a local oscillator or any other radiating source so it causes no
interference and doesn’t require FCC or European-type approval.
ASH Receiver
• A clever variation of the TRF receiver is the amplifier-sequenced hybrid (ASH) receiver.
• The selectivity of the ASH receiver is determined principally by the SAW BPF
• The TRF receiver is a good choice for wireless communication using ASK at distances of
several meters, which is adequate for a wireless computer mouse or other very short-
range control device.
• Longer ranges are achieved by the ASH design
• The TRF and ASH receivers have low current consumption, on the order of 3 to 5 mA,
and are used in battery operated transceivers.
Super regenerative Receiver
• Most widely used receiver type for garage door openers and security systems
• It has relatively high sensitivity, is very inexpensive and has a minimum number of
components.
• In spite of its simplicity and good sensitivity, the superregenerative receiver has been
largely replaced because of the availability of inexpensive superheterodyne receiver
chips.
Disadvantages:
• it re-radiates broad-band noise centered on its nominal receiving frequency;
• it has a relatively broad bandwidth of several MHz on UHF frequencies, and thus
is sensitive to interference; dynamic range is limited; and
• it is usable only with ASK modulation.
Super heterodyne Receiver
• most common configuration for radio communication.
• Its basic principle of operation is the translation of all received channels to an
intermediate frequency (IF) band where the weak input signal is amplified before being
applied to a detector.

• The antenna is followed by a BPF that passes all signals within the tuning range of the
receiver.
• The mixer multiplies the RF signals by a tunable signal from a local oscillator and outputs
the sum and the difference of frf and fosc.
• The IF amplifier amplifies and filters either the difference or the sum signal and rejects
the other.
• In VHF and higher frequency receivers it is the lower, difference frequency signal (frf-
fosc) that is retained.
• The result is an IF signal that has all of the characteristics of the input RF signal except
for the shift in frequency.
Super heterodyne Receiver

LPF

• This signal can now be demodulated in the detector.

• Any type of modulation may be used. A low-pass filter that gives additional noise
reduction follows the detector.
• In a digital data receiver, a signal-conditioning stage converts the baseband received
signal to binary levels for digital signals.
• The signal conditioner in an analog receiver is often a signal expander for audio analog
signals that were compressed in the transmitter to improve their dynamic range.
• Image frequency rejection is essential in a superheterodyne receiver.
• The IF BPF should be as narrow as possible in order to reduce the noise
• The lower the IF frequency, the narrower the BPF can be. However, using a low IF
frequency means that the oscillator frequency must be close to the received RF
frequency.
Super heterodyne Receiver
• It is the function of the input BPF to reject the undesired image frequency.
• To reduce input noise at the image frequency, including the circuit noise of the RF amplifier,
the image frequency BPF should be included between the RF amplifier and the mixer.
• Inorder to reduce the response to image frequencies and have a low IF for effective filtering,
UHF superheterodyne receivers, may employ dual or triple conversion.
• A dual conversion superheterodyne receiver has a first mixer and an IF high enough to
reject the image frequency using a simple BPF, followed by another mixer and IF at a low
frequency for effective filtering.
• The IF frequency must be chosen according to the image rejection and filtering
considerations, but the final choice frequency for which standard BPF and frequency
determining components are readily available.
• The two most common IF frequencies are 455 kHz and 10.7 MHz, are standarized for AM
and FM broadcast bands.
Image
frequency BPF LPF

[Link]
%20image,same%20time%2C%20thus%20producing%20interference.
Direct Conversion Receiver

• The direct conversion receiver, also called zero-IF receiver, is similar to the
superheterodyne in that a local oscillator and mixer are used, but in this case the IF
frequency is zero.

• The image frequency, a potential problem in the superheterodyne, coincides with the
desired signal, so it is no issue in this topography.

• Achieves high sensitivity with high noise and adjacent channel interference rejection.

• On the negative side, the local oscillator is at the same frequency as the received
signal, so there is a potential for self-interference, and for interference with close-by
receivers tuned to the same frequency.

• Design and layout are very important to limit radiation from the local oscillator and
prevent leakage back through the mixer and RF amplifier to the antenna.

• Also, because of the very narrow bandwidth, the crystal-controlled local oscillator
frequency must be accurate and stable.
Digital Receivers-Software radio
• Digital receivers are often called software defined radio (SDR).

• Digital signal processing(DSP) components are extensively used in them and many
performance characteristics are determined by software.
• The basic architecture is superheterodyne, but mixing and IF filtering is done by
analog-to-digital converters and digital filters.
• Although not presently used in short range products we are focusing, they can be
expected to be applied to them as costs come down and demands for
uncompromising wireless performance and compliance with multiple standards in a
single radio force a break from the traditional topologies.
Digital receiver and transmitter

• As in a conventional superheterodyne receiver, the signals from the antenna are

amplified by a LNA, then down-converted by mixer and local oscillator to an IF.
• Analog-to-digital converter (ADC) replaces the second mixer of double superhet and
DSP software performs IF filtering and demodulation.
• The digital transmitter uses direct digital synthesis (DDS) to generate the modulated
transmitter frequency.
• This device outputs digital words which represent the waveform of the signal to be
transmitted.
Digital Receivers-Software radio

• Phase, frequency and amplitude variations of the carrier as functions of the baseband data
are implemented by the software, and many modulation formats can be used as required
with no change in hardware.
• The digital output of DDS is converted to analog signal by DAC (digital-to-analog converter),
upconverted by LO and mixer and amplified, then coupled to antenna.
• From the output of the DAC the analog signal is up-converted to the output frequency
according to superheterodyne principles and amplified to the required power output.
• By performing modulation and demodulation in software, and also filtering, great
flexibility is achieved, as well as high performance and stability.
• Elimination of many hardware components reduce size and cost, while giving high
communication efficiency in bandwidth utilization and error correction.
Repeaters

• While range and communication link reliability are limited in unlicensed devices by the
low power allowed by telecommunication standards, the use of repeaters can overcome
these limitations.
• In the repeater, a weak signal is received and demodulated.
• The re-created baseband signal then modulates a transmitter whose signal can be
received at a distance where the original signal could not be heard.
• In digital systems, the relaying of a signal through one or more receivers is done without
errors.
• The repeater receiver and transmitter operate at the same frequency as used in the
original link, and its operation is transparent in the sense that the receiver doesn’t have
to know whether the signal is to be received direct or through an intermediary.
Repeaters

• The repeater does create a time delay, however, since its transmitter must wait until the
original transmitter has completed transmitting, in order to avoid interference.
• Repeaters may be chained, but each link creates an additional delay.
• A potential problem –> when more than one repeater is deployed is that a repeater
closer to the transmitter may repeat the transmission from a repeater further along the
link, thereby causing a ping-pong effect.
• One way to avoid this is to include in the message protocol identification of the
repeaters so that a repeater will ignore messages received from a device further down
the link.
• Another way is to force a time delay after transmission of a frame during which an
identical frame (received from another repeater) will not be retransmitted.