High-Resolution RF to Digital Converter for Next Generation Broadband Communication Systems

Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, College Station TX

Investigators

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this research is to demonstrate the feasibility and robustness of a new mixer-less high-performance receiver architecture for multi-standard wireless radio systems based on a programmable bandpass sigma-delta modulator. The approach uses a highly linear low-noise amplifier as the input stage to a programmable high resolution analog-to-digital converter and enables low-noise conditioning, filtering and high-resolution signal digitization at radio frequencies. Intellectual Merit: The research aims at eliminating the analog down-conversion that is traditionally used in existing receiver front-ends. The new architecture employs highly selective LC filters embedded in the control loop that rejects the out-of-band interferers. This further relaxes the requirements of the analog circuits employed in the digitizer. This approach lowers the complexity and power consumption of the receiver while providing high resolution. Additionally, a unique self-healing software based calibration scheme will be developed to optimize the analog-to-digital converter for performance. Broader Impacts: The new adaptive analog-to-digital interface has the potential to enable the efficient implementation of broadband systems such as cognitive and software defined radios. The new architecture can also be readily reconfigured as a high-performance spectrum-analyzer for monitoring frequency spectrums. The project will involve graduate and undergraduate students and will include substantial participation by under-represented groups. The research results will be incorporated into courses and disseminated through technical journals and conferences as well as web postings.