Chapter 4

The Receiver Front End:

An Overview

The front end of the receiver is key to its dy- the simplest form of front-end architecture. It
namic performance. Specifications such as the consists of a mixer stage and local oscillator
dynamic range, intermodulation distortion, −1 preceded by a bandpass filter. The input sig-
dB compression point, and third-order inter- nal to the bandpass filter will come from the
cept point demonstrate how well the front antenna. The bandpass filter can be narrow
end of the receiver performs. or broad depending on design.
Two main theories stand behind this
type of architecture. First, it costs less than
FRONT-END ARCHITECTURES the other architectures in some implementa-
tions. Second, some authorities ask, “Why
Several different architectures are used in re- amplify noise prior to mixing?” The goal is to
ceiver front-end circuits. Figure 4.1 shows not use up the mixer’s head room with

ANTENNA

BANDPASS TO IF
MIXER
FILTER AMPLIFIER

Fig. 4.1
Bandpass filter at the input of the OSCILLATOR
receiver.

37
38 THE TECHNICIAN’S RADIO RECEIVER HANDBOOK

unneeded energy. This theory has some benefit of the RF amplifier is that it im-
merit, as was evident in the Squires-Sanders proves the isolation of the mixer/LO circuit
SS-1 receiver in the 1960s. from the antenna circuit.
The main attributes of the bandpass filter A third version is shown in Figure 4.3.
are good forward performance (i.e., within Like the other two architectures, this has a
the passband) and good reverse isolation. The mixer and local oscillator circuit (or a con-
isolation is needed to prevent the local oscilla- verter, which contains both mixer and local
tor signal from reaching the antenna, where it oscillator). The difference between this archi-
can be radiated. The bandpass filter has three tecture and the previous ones is in the addi-
important duties: tion of a second bandpass filter.
This second bandpass filter may have
1. It must limit the bandwidth of the in-
the same frequency as the first bandpass fil-
put signal to minimize intermodulation
ter but that is not the only arrangement.
distortion.
The second bandpass filter often is tuned to
2. It must attenuate spurious responses, the image frequency. This frequency is the
mainly the image frequency and the RF frequency plus or minus twice the IF, lo-
1/2-IF frequency problems. cated on the other side of the local oscilla-
tor from the RF signal (Figure 4.4). That
3. It must suppress local oscillator energy
way, the image frequency gets the same
to prevent it from reaching the antenna.
treatment in the mixer as the RF, so it
A second version of the front-end ar- comes through the system as a valid signal.
chitecture is shown in Figure 4.2. This ver- By having a filter tuned to notch the image
sion uses an RF amplifier. The gain of the frequency, while passing the desired fre-
RF amplifier is low, certainly less than 20 quency, we can limit this problem. Of
dB. Gains in excess of 20 dB may compro- course, the image filter must track the
mise stability, and the intercept point may bandpass filter at the input if the receiver
not be achieved. The purpose of the RF am- has multiple frequencies.
plifier is to isolate the mixer as well as give The second bandpass filter also may at-
the signal a small boost prior to mixing. tenuate the receiver’s other spurious re-
The boost overcomes the losses in the sponse and direct IF pick-up. Further, it
mixer and the bandpass filter. The principal attenuates noise originating in the RF ampli-

ANTENNA

RF AMPLIFIER

BANDPASS TO IF
MIXER
FILTER AMPLIFIER

OSCILLATOR

Fig. 4.2 RF amplifier and bandpass filter at the input of the receiver.
 The Receiver Front End: An Overview 39

ANTENNA

RF AMPLIFIER

BANDPASS BANDPASS TO IF
MIXER
FILTER 1 FILTER 2 AMPLIFIER

OSCILLATOR

Fig. 4.3 Dual RF bandpass filters.

LO
posite occurs: All the spurious signals will
be on the high side of the RF signal. The
trade-off between insertion loss and selec-
tivity in the filter usually is made in favor of
insertion loss in bandpass filter number 1,
RF IMAGE
but it can be sacrificed in bandpass filter
number 2.

MIXER AND LOCAL OSCILLATOR

PERFORMANCE
FREQUENCY
The performance of the first mixer is key to
Fig. 4.4 Image frequency. the performance of the receiver. It is a nonlin-
ear device. Furthermore, it usually sees the
highest-level radio frequency signals in the
fier, preventing the noise from reaching the system (the LO, largely). It therefore needs to
mixer. Finally, it suppresses the second har- have a very high intercept point. Single-device
monic energy arising in the RF amplifier, active mixers are cheap, but they have the
thereby improving the receiver’s second- poorest performance of all the mixers (see
order intercept point. This filter should Chapter 7). The best performance, generally
have no return responses at high frequen- speaking, is in the passive, double-balanced
cies, because the mixer has poor response mixers. These filters generally have the high-
for odd harmonics of the receive frequency est intercept points and better noise balance
and they therefore may ride through the than most mixer designs. Table 4.1 shows the
system. mixer performance parameters and the things
The RF bandpass filter’s attributes are they affect.
determined by a combination of the first IF A trade-off is made in the selection of
frequency and the injection side of the local the type of mixer circuit used in a receiver.
oscillator signal. If low side injection is se- Passive mixers have better intermodulation
lected, some of the spurious signal prod- distortion performance than active mixers.
ucts may be on the low side of the RF However, they provide no conversion gain
signal. On high side injection, just the op- and, in fact, are lossy devices. Active mixers
40 THE TECHNICIAN’S RADIO RECEIVER HANDBOOK

Table 4.1 Mixer Attributes also perform normally under microphonic

Third-order Intermodulation conditions of vibration and impact to the
intercept point distortion receiver.
Second-order intercept 1/2 IF response
point
Noise balance Sensitivity and AM noise
NOISE PERFORMANCE OF
rejection THE SYSTEM
LO to RF isolation LO energy radiated by
antenna
All radio reception is a matter of manipulat-
ing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the
RF to IF isolation Direct IF pick-up
system. Because of this problem, the noise
Conversion loss Sensitivity generated by the mixer, local oscillator,
Note: Sometimes a third bandpass filter is located at bandpass filters, and RF amplifier should be
the interface between the mixer and the local oscil- minimized.
lator. This LO filter is used to attenuate wideband The noise figure for a passive, lossy de-
noise and its harmonics around the LO frequency, vice, such as the filter or some mixer stages,
which could degrade the mixers second-order inter- is given by
cept point.
( L − 1) T
F =1+ (4.1)
290

require less in the way of local oscillator where

power but have no better noise performance F is the noise factor of the device;
than passive mixers. Furthermore, at high L is the loss of the device (1/G);
temperatures the high third-order intercept T is the temperature of the device in
point performance of the active mixer may degrees Kelvin (K).
be deteriorated.
A diplexer network often is positioned (Some double-balanced mixers can have
between the mixer’s IF output and the IF am- slightly higher noise figures.)
plifier. The diplexer network absorbs some Friis’s equation for noise governs the
frequencies, while passing others. The di- system:
plexer network must be nonreflective up to
F2 − 1 F 3 − 1
several times the LO frequency. Otherwise, F = F1 + + +K
those frequencies would be reflected back to G1 G1 G2
the mixer, degrading its performance. Fn − 1 (4.2)
The single-sideband phase noise per- +
G1 G2 K Gn − 1
formance of the local oscillator is important
to the receiver’s adjacent channel selectivity. where
The wideband noise often afflicts the re-
F is the equivalent noise factor;
ceiver sensitivity. Further, the LO signal
F1, F2, and F3 are the noise factors of
must be as pure as possible to prevent spu-
stages 1, 2, and 3;
rious responses in the receiver. It is not pru-
Fn is the gain of the nth stage;
dent to ignore the LO signal, because it is a
G1, G2, and G3 are the gains of stages
large signal that causes switching in the
1, 2, and 3;
mixer (which generates its own harmonics).
Gn−1 is the gain of the stage before the
Rather, the LO signal should be as pure as
nth stage.
possible.
The local oscillator must be able to The overall noise factor of the receiver
operate normally despite changes in tem- is determined by the noise performance of
perature and power supply voltage. It must the stages within the system.
 The Receiver Front End: An Overview 41

SPURIOUS RESPONSES
FIF FIF

A spurious response is one that is unintended.

On a superheterodyne receiver, these spurs
can be created in the mixer stage, although
they have their origin elsewhere. Most re-
ceiver spurs are a result of the heterodyning
of the receiver, according to
FIF = mFRF ± nFLO (4.3)
FRF FRF + FIF/2 FLO IMAGE
where FRF + 2 FIF

FIF is the IF frequency; Fig. 4.5 Spectrum analyzer presentation of 1/2 IF.
FRF is the RF frequency;
FLO is the local oscillator frequency;
m and n are either integers or zero.
where
By solving equation 4.3 for FRF, we get
two possible RF frequencies at which spurs FT is the transmitter frequency;
can occur: ∆f is the difference between the trans-
mitter and receiver frequencies.
nFLO − FIF
FRF = (4.4)
m
INTERCEPT POINTS
nFLO + FIF
FRF = (4.5) The intercept points are a measure of circuit
m
linearity. They allow us to calculate inter-
The most common spurs are as follows: modulation distortion levels from the input
signal levels. The intercept point represents
1. Image frequency (previously defined, an input amplitude (Figure 4.6) at which the
see Figure 4.5). desired fundamental frequency is equal in
2. 1/2 IF (see Figure 4.5). amplitude to the undesired signal.

3. Direct IF pick-up.
4. n × LO frequency. SECOND-ORDER INTERCEPT POINT
5. LO spurious frequencies. The second-order intercept point (SOIP)
6. Second mixer spurs (dual conversion comes from the operation of the second-
receivers only). order products of a signal and increases at
a rate of 2 dB for a 1 dB increase in the fun-
Full duplex radio receivers (i.e., those damental level. The 1/2 IF response of the
used in conjunction with a transmitter at the mixer can be predicted from the second-
same time) have two additional responses order intercept point. The 1/2 IF point is due
that must be considered: full duplex image to the second harmonics of the RF signal
and half duplex image: and the LO signal, both of which are inter-
nally generated (2FRF ± 2FLO). The 1/2 IF re-
Full Duplex Image = FT − ∆f (4.6)
jection is
∆f IP2 − S − C
Half Duplex Image = FT + (4.7) 1/2 IF rejection = (4.8)
2 2
42 THE TECHNICIAN’S RADIO RECEIVER HANDBOOK

nth-Order Intercept Point

OUTPUT LEVEL (PO) IN dBm

Response of
Fundamental Signal

nth-Order Response

Fig. 4.6
The nth-order intercept point. INPUT LEVEL (Pin) IN dBm

where where
IP2 is the second-order intercept point; IM is the intermodulation rejection
S is the receiver sensitivity (dBm); ratio (dB);
C is the capture ratio or the cochannel IP3 is the TOIP;
rejection in dB. S is the receiver sensitivity (dBm);
C is the capture ratio or cochannel re-
For example, suppose a receiver has a jection in dB.
second-order intercept point of 45 dBm
and a sensitivity of –120 dBm. If the co- Equation 4.9 covers the situation for
channel rejection is 6 dB, the 1/2 IF rejec- one carrier. Unfortunately, real receivers see
tion is (45 dBm – 120 dBm – 6 dB)/2 = 159/2 many carriers. The number of such products
= 79.5 dB. is n(n − 1), where n is the number of carriers
present for both (2F1 – F1) and (2F1 + F2),
and (for triple beats) n(n – 1)(n – 2)/2 for
THIRD-ORDER INTERCEPT POINT (F1 + F2 – F3) situations.

The third-order intercept point (TOIP) is the

point at which the fundamental signal and nTH-ORDER INTERCEPT POINT
its own third-order products are equal in
amplitude. The TOIP increases 3 dB for With knowledge of the input levels of signals
each 1 dB increase in the fundamental signal. applied to the receiver, we can calculate the
The TOIP predominantly is responsible for nth-order intercept points:
the intermodulation distortion performance
of the receiver, defined as the difference (in nPA − PIM N
IPN = (4.10)
dB) between the receiver’s sensitivity and the n −1
signal level that is sufficient to produce a
where
specified level of interference. It can be cal-
culated from IPN is the nth order intercept point;
n is the order of the intercept point;
2 IP3 − 2S − C PA is receiver input signal power level;
IM = (4.9)
3 PIMN is the power level of the IMD signal.
 The Receiver Front End: An Overview 43

RF AMPLIFIER in some cases. Care must be taken to balance

the needs of sensitivity in this respect. Third,
The RF amplifier can have a deleterious ef- you can reduce the stage gain. Again, noise
fect on the performance of the mixer stage; and SNR considerations apply. Fourth, you
hence, the entire receiver. A number of can use negative feedback in the amplifier.
methods can be used to reduce the effect. Fifth, you can increase the selectivity of the
The first method is to use a high-power de- RF amplifier. A narrower bandpass produces
vice operating well below its maximum less noise than wider bandwidths. A sixth
range. A trade-off with noise performance, way is to use push-pull amplifiers, because
however, must be taken into consideration. they tend to cancel even-order products
Second, you can reduce the signal level to (odd-order products are not affected), which
the device. This can be done with attenuators tend to take up mixer head room.