Radio-frequency circuit

---Mixer
 Radio-frequency circuits

Radio-frequency Amplifiers
Radio-frequency Oscillators
Mixer
Frequency Synthesizers
 Frequency Synthesizers

advantage disadvantage

Free-running Undesired frequency changes

Vibration voltage
LC be easily tuned
oscillator Temperature changes
Component aging

Crystal inconvenient for continuous frequency

Good stability
oscillator or a few discrete frequencies

Receiver agility stability accuracy

And
transmitter Switchable crystal Phase-locked frequency synthesizer
 Phase-Locked Loops PLL
A device that locks the frequency of a VCO exactly to that of an input signal.

Voltage
“loop” filter controlled
Low-pass filter oscillator

Reference Phase output

LPF VCO
signal Detector
Error voltage

Phase detector: a device whose output voltage is a function of the phase difference between
two input signals.

Voltage Controlled Oscillator(VCO): an oscillator whose frequency can be controlled by

changing an external control voltage.
 Phase-Locked Loops PLL
The purpose of the PLL is to lock the VCO to the reference signal.

Reference Phase Loop output

LPF VCO
signal f Detector Amplifier fo
i u D (t )  0

Any tendency of the VCO to drift in frequency will result in a change in the control
voltage in the direction required to bring the loop back into a locked condition.

fi  f o Locked
Phase-locked
indefinitely
i   o  cons tan t

acquisition of phase lock

Free-running
unlocked fi  f o frequency
 Phase-Locked Loops PLL
The purpose of the PLL is to lock the VCO to the reference signal.

Reference Phase Loop output

LPF VCO
signal f Detector Amplifier fo
i u D (t )  0

PLL specification
Capture range: The total frequency range over which a PLL can become locked to a signal.
It determines how far apart the external an d internal frequencies can be for the loop to achieve
lock.
Lock range: The range of frequencies over which a PLL, once locked, can remain locked.

lock range

Capture range
Free-Running
frequency

f
Example a phase loop has a VCO with a free-running frequency of 12MHz.
As the frequency of the reference input is gradually raised from zero, the
loop locks at 10MHz and comes out of lock again at 16MHz.
(a) find the capture range and lock range.
(b) suppose that the experiment is repeated, but this time the reference
input begins with a very high frequency and steadily moves downward.
Predict the frequencies at which lock would be achieved and lost.
Solution
lock range

Capture range
Free-Running
frequency

f
8 10 12 14 16 MHz

(a) Capture range= 2  12 MHz  10 MHz   4 MHz

lock range= 2  16 MHz  12 MHz   8MHz
Example a phase loop has a VCO with a free-running frequency of 12MHz.
As the frequency of the reference input is gradually raised from zero, the
loop locks at 10MHz and comes out of lock again at 16MHz.
(a) find the capture range and lock range.
(b) suppose that the experiment is repeated, but this time the reference
input begins with a very high frequency and steadily moves downward.
Predict the frequencies at which lock would be achieved and lost.
Solution
lock range

Capture range
Free-Running
frequency

f
8 10 12 14 16 MHz

(b) Lock frequency: 12MHz  2 MHz  14MHz

Lost frequency: 12 MHz  4 MHz  8MHz
 Simple Frequency Synthesizers
Our original goal: creating an oscillator with crystal-controlled stability and
VFO agility without using a great number of crystal.

f ref Phase
LPF VCO
fo
Detector

fo N
N Programmable
divider

Assuming the PLL is locked: 100kHz

FM Channel space=100kHz

f ref  f o N f o  Nf ref AM Channel space=10kHz

This means that a large number of different output frequencies, all locked to
a single crystal-controlled reference frequency, can be generated simply by
changing the modulus (the value of N).

Modulus: The number by which a digital divider chain divides.

 Simple Frequency Synthesizers
Crystal with frequencies much low 100kHz are impractical.

f ref Q

f ref Q Phase
LPF VCO
fo
Detector
Fixed-modulus fo N
divider N Programmable
divider

Assuming the PLL is locked: 100kHz

FM Channel space=100kHz

f ref  f o N f o  Nf ref AM Channel space=10kHz

 f ref 
f ref Q  f o N fo   N
 Q 
Example configure a simple PLL synthesizer using a 10MHz crystal so that
it will generate the AM broadcast frequencies from 540 to 1700kHz.

Solution

f osc f ref
Q Phase
LPF VCO
fo
10MHz 10kHz Detector 540kHz ~ 1700kHz
10kHz
N

f osc 10 MHz
AM Channel space=10kHz Q   1000
f ref 10kHz

At the low end of band: At the high end of

band:
540kHz 1700kHz
N  54 N  170
10kHz 10kHz
 Prescaling
VHF
f osc f ref
Q Phase
LPF VCO
fo
Detector
prescaler

N M
Programmable ECL
fixed-modulus
Emitter-coupled logic
divider divider

There is a problem with the basic synthesizer when output frequencies in

the VHF range and higher are required. Because the programmable dividers
are not available at frequencies much above 100MHz.

Prescaler: A divider that precedes the main programmable divider in a frequency synthesizer.

fo
f ref  f o  MNf ref
MN AM Channel space=10kHz

We seem to have taken one step forward and one back.

 Frequency synthesizer with two-modulus prescaler
fixed-modulus
divider

Q Phase
LPF VCO
fo
Detector

P
N
  P  1
Programmable
N M divider Two-modulus
prescaler
Programmable
divider M

The output of M counter switches the modulus of the two-modulus counter

between P and P+1.

M  P  1  N M P  MP  M  NP  MP
f o   M  NP  f ref
 Example the synthesizer in the follow figure has P=10 and f ref =10kHz.
Find the minimum frequency step size and compare it with that obtained
using a fixed diveded-by-10 prescaler.
Solution
f ref
Q Phase
Detector
LPF VCO
fo

P
N M N
  P  1

M

f o   M  NP  f ref
f 'o  f o  f ref  10kHz
f 'o   M  1  NP  f ref
 Frequency Translation
When such a synthesizer is used to generate a high frequency, a very large of
N is required. The very large values of N can cause instability.

Frequency translation: Movement of a signal from one frequency to another using a mixer-
oscillator combination.
fo
98.8 ~ 118.6MHz

BPF

f ref 20 ~ 39.8MHz
Phase mixer
LPF VCO
Detector

f LO
N
78.8MHz
 Frequency Translation
When such a synthesizer is used to generate a high frequency, a very large of
N is required. The very large values of N can cause instability.

Frequency translation: Movement of a signal from one frequency to another using a mixer-
oscillator combination.

f ref
Phase
LPF VCO
Detector
f LO
N BPF

Nf ref  f LO
Example a synthesizer of the type shown in the follow figure hasf ref  20kHz
and a local oscillator operating at 10MHz.
(1) Find the frequency range of the output as the value of N ranges from
10 to 100.
(2) Find the minimum amount by which the frequency can be varied.
Solution
f ref
Phase
LPF VCO ? Nf ref  f LO
20kHz Detector

f ref f LO10MHz
N BPF
Nf ref
10 ~ 100
f o  Nf ref  f LO

N  10 f o  10* 20kHz  10MHz  10.2MHz

N  100 f o  100* 20kHz  10 MHz  12MHz
Example a synthesizer of the type shown in the follow figure hasf ref  20kHz
and a local oscillator operating at 10MHz.
(1) Find the frequency range of the output as the value of N ranges from
10 to 100.
(2) Find the minimum amount by which the frequency can be varied.
Solution
f ref
Phase
LPF VCO ? Nf ref  f LO
20kHz Detector

f ref f LO10MHz
N BPF
Nf ref
10 ~ 100

12 MHz  10.2 MHz 1.8MHz

Step size=   20kHz
100  10 90