RF and Baseband Communications

RF Communication Circuits

The research in the group deals with the design of systems and circuits for communications standards using a top-down approach. The design starts from the communication standard and moves down to determine a proper system architecture and building blocks specifications. The definition of the individual building blocks is an iterative process used to reach an optimum set of specifications. Recent research has focused on the design of receivers for short range wireless standards, i.e. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi (IEEE 812.11b). The circuits involved in the receivers are: LNA, Mixer, Baseband Filters, VGA, demodulator, ADC, Frequency Synthesizer, VCO, Prescaler. Additionally, the design of RF filters is an area of current research in the group. The group has successfully designed and fabricated the first functional Bluetooth receiver IC designed independently in a university environment, using a low cost standard CMOS process and meeting major specifications.

Journal Publications

Bo Xia; Chunyu Xin; Wenjun Sheng; Valero-Lopez, A.Y.; Sanchez-Sinencio,E.,"A GFSK Demodulator for Low-IF Bluetooth Receiver", IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, Volume: 38 Issue: 8 , August 2003, Page(s): 1405 -1410

Keliu Shu, Sanchez-Sinencio, E., Silva-Martinez, J., Embabi, S.H.K., "A 2.4-GHz monolithic fractional-N frequency synthesizer with robust phase-switching prescaler and loop capacitance multiplier," IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, Volume :38 Issue:6, June 2003, Page(s): 866- 874

Wenjun Sheng, Bo Xia, Emira, A.E., Chunyu Xin, Valero-Lopez, A.Y., Sung Tae Moon, Sanchez-Sinencio, E., "A 3-V, 0.35-/spl mu/m CMOS Bluetooth receiver IC", IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits , Volume: 38 Issue: 1 , Jan 2003, Page(s): 30 -42

Mohieldin, A.N., Emira, A.A., Sanchez-Sinencio, E., "A 100-MHz 8-mW ROM-less quadrature direct digital frequency synthesizer ", IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits , Volume: 37 Issue: 10 , Oct 2002, Page(s): 1235 -1243

Gonzales, O.A., Han, G., de Gyvez, J.P., Sanchez-Sinencio, E., “Lorenz-based chaotic cryptosystem: a monolithic implementation ,” IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems I: Fundamental Theory and Applications , Volume: 47, Issue: 8 , Aug 2000, Page(s): 1243 –1247

Carreto-Castro, F., Silva-Martinez, J., Murphy-Arteaga, R., “RF low-noise amplifiers in BiCMOS technologies ,” IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Analog and Digital Signal Processing , Volume: 46, Issue: 7 , Jul 1999, Page(s): 974 -977

Conference Publications

Keliu Shu; Sanchez-Sinencio, E.; Silva-Martinez, J.; Embabi, S.H.K.; "A 16mW, 2.23~/2.45GHz fully integrated ∑∆ PLL with Novel Prescaler and Loop Filter in 0.35μm CMOS", Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFIC) Symposium, 2003 IEEE , June 8-10, 2003 Page(s): 181 -184

Mohieldin, A.N., Sanchez-Sinencio, E., Silva-Martinez, J., “Design considerations of bandpass LC filters for RF applications,” The 2002 45th Midwest Symposium on Circuits and Systems, 2002, MWSCAS-2002 , Volume: 2 , 2002, Page(s): 73 -76

Dulger, F., Sanchez-Sinencio, E., Silva-Martinez, J., “A 2.1GHz 1.3V 5mW programmable Q-enhancement LC bandpass biquad in 0.35/spl mu/m CMOS,” Proceedings of the IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference, 2002 ., Page(s): 283 –286.

Shu, K., Sanchez-Sinencio, E., Silva-Martinez, J., “A 2.1-GHz monolithic frequency synthesizer with robust phase switching prescaler and loop capacitance scaling,” IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, 2002., ISCAS 2002 ., Volume: 4 , 2002, Page(s): IV-791 -IV-794 vol.4.

Dulger, F., Sanchez-Sinencio, E., “Design trade-offs of a symmetric linearized CMOS LC VCO,” . IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, 2002. ISCAS 2002 , Volume: 4 , 2002, Page(s): IV-397 -IV-400 vol.4

Chunyu Xin, Bo Xia, Wenjun Sheng, Valero-Lopez, A.Y., Sanchez-Sinencio, E., “A mixed-mode IF GFSK demodulator for Bluetooth, IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, 2002. ISCAS 2002 , Volume: 3 , 2002, Page(s): III-457 -III-460 vol.3

Shu, K., Sanchez-Sinencio, E., “A 5-GHz prescaler using improved phase switching,” IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, 2002. ISCAS 2002 , Volume: 3 , 2002, Page(s): III-85 -III-88 vol.3

Dulger, F., Sanchez-Sinencio, E., Bellaouar, A., “Design considerations in a BiCMOS dual-modulus prescaler,” IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFIC) Symposium, 2002 , Page(s): 177 –180

Wenjun Sheng, Bo Xia, Emira, A., Chunyu Xin, Valero-Lopez, A.Y., Sung Tae Moon, Sanchez-Sinencio, E., “A 3 V, 0.35 µm CMOS Bluetooth receiver IC,” IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFIC) Symposium, 2002 , Page(s): 107 –110

Wenjun Sheng, Bo Xia, Emira, A., Chunyu Xin, Sung Tae Moon, Valero-Lopez, A.Y., Sanchez-Sinencio, E., “A monolithic CMOS low-IF bluetooth receiver, Proceedings of the IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference , 2002, Page(s): 247 –250

Shu, K., Sanchez-Sinencio, E., Maloberti, F., Eduri, U., “A comparative study of digital S? modulators for fractional-N synthesis,” The 8th IEEE International Conference on Electronics, Circuits and Systems, 2001. ICECS 2001 , Volume: 3 , 2001, Page(s): 1391 -1394 vol.3

Dulger, F., Sanchez-Sinencio, E., “Fully-integrated LC VCOs at RF on silicon,” 2001Southwest Symposium on Mixed-Signal Design, 2001, SSMSD, 2001 , Page(s): 13 –18

Wenjun Sheng, Sanchez-Sinencio, E., “Next generation wideband multi-standard digital receiver design,” Proceedings of the 43rd IEEE Midwest Symposium on Circuits and Systems, 2000 , Volume: 1 , 2000, Page(s): 424 -427 vol.1

Sheng, W., Sanchez-Sinencio, E., “System design considerations of wideband multi-standard receiver for 3rd generation mobile system applications,” Southwest Symposium on Mixed-Signal Design, 2000. SSMSD, 2000 , Page(s): 103 –108