A 2 to 5 GHz-band self frequency dividing quadrature mixer using current re-use configuration

A 2 to 5 GHz-band self frequency dividing quadrature mixer utilizing current re-use configuration with small size and broad band operation is proposed for a direct conversion receiver and a low-IF receiver of cognitive radio. The proposed mixer operates at twice the LO frequency by directly using a static type flip-flop frequency divider as the LO switching circuit for quadrature signal generation. The current re-use configuration is realized because the dc current of the frequency divider and the RF common-emitter amplifier share the same current flow path. Simulations and experiments verify that the proposed mixer offers broad band operation, miniaturization, and low power consumption. The mixer IC fabricated by 0.35 μm SiGe-BiCMOS technology achieved the conversion gain of 20.6 dB, noise figure of 11.9 dB and EVM for π/4-shift QPSK signal of 4.4% at 2.1 GHz with power consumption of 15mW and size of 0.22×0.31mm². For the confirmation of broad band operation, the characteristics of conversion gain and noise figure were measured at 5.2 GHz. The proposed mixer could operate at 5.2 GHz with enough conversion gain, but the noise figure was inferior to that of 2.1 GHz. Therefore the further investigation and improvement about the noise figure will be needed for higher frequency.