Active inductor based fully integrated CMOS transmit/ receive switch for 2.4 GHz RF transceiver

Abstract

Modern Radio Frequency (RF) transceivers cannot be imagined without high-performance (Transmit/ Receive) T/R switch. Available T/R switches suffer mainly due to the lack of good trade-off among the performance parameters, where high isolation and low insertion loss are very essential. In this study, a T/R switch with high isolation and low insertion loss performance has been designed by using Silterra 0.13µm CMOS process for 2.4GHz ISM band RF transceivers. Transistor aspect ratio optimization, proper gate bias resistance, resistive body floating and active inductor-based parallel resonance techniques have been implemented to achieve better trade-off. The proposed T/R switch exhibits 0.85dB insertion loss and 45.17dB isolation in both transmit and receive modes. Moreover, it shows very competitive values of power handling capability (P1dB) and linearity (IIP3) which are 11.35dBm and 19.60dBm, respectively. Due to avoiding bulky inductor and capacitor, the proposed active inductor-based T/R switch became highly compact occupying only 0.003mm 2 of silicon space; which will further trim down the total cost of the transceiver. Therefore, the proposed active inductor-based T/R switch in 0.13µm CMOS process will be highly useful for the electronic industries where low-power, high-performance and compactness of devices are the crucial concerns.

Design of a band-pass filter in 0,18 μm CMOS for 2,4 GHz reader-less RFID transponder

“…The active inductors are preferred because of their large inductance values, high quality factor, low chip area and tenability. But the usage of active inductors in RF bandpass filter encounters a few difficulties like poor noise performance, inadequate dynamic range and relatively higher power consumption [19]. Fig.…”

Design of an Active Inductor-Based T/R Switch in 0.13 μm CMOS Technology for 2.4 GHz RF Transceivers

“…The insertion loss is inversely proportional to the S21 parameter of the switch core, as follows: (1) According to Fig. 4, the value of S21 is derived by the following equation: (2) where Z0 is the characteristic impedance of the system, and Z1 is the total impedance at port 1; therefore, the following equations have been achieved: (6) According to Eq. (6), the insertion loss of a transistor is primarily dependent on its on-state resistance (Ron), and this is given by Eq.…”

“…1). During the transmission phase, the switch connects the antenna to the power amplifier of the transmitter so that the large signal is radiated to the surroundings, and the low-power receiver circuit is simultaneously protected from being damaged [2]; alternatively, during the reception phase, it ensures that the low-noise amplifier receives the intended signal with a minimum loss. The key requisites for a T/R switch are an enhanced isolation, the minimal insertion loss, the maximum power-handling capacity, a high linearity, and an acceptable reliability for a large range of signal amplitudes [2,3].…”

Design Architectures of the CMOS Power Amplifier for 2.4 GHz ISM Band Applications: An Overview

“…CMOS technology enables operation at a lower power supply, resulting in a reduced power dissipation in the circuit [3,4] and a minimized fabrication cost because of the compact chip size. CMOS offers the prospect of integrating radiofrequency (RF)/digital/analog functions on a single chip in a low-cost manner [5][6][7]. The CMOS power amplifier (PA) is a promising solution for modern wireless devices to satisfy the demand of a low-power and low-cost design.…”