Introduction to Wireless System Design

2Receiver Design

2.1 Introduction

The design of a receiver is considered a critical aspect of any communication system. Receivers facilitate the capturing, extraction, and processing of information from received signals. In this chapter, the intricacies of receiver design will be explored, with a focus on the various circuit blocks and system architectures involved. An overview of the critical circuit blocks that constitute a receiver will be provided, including the antenna input and filter, low noise amplifier (LNA), mixer, intermediate frequency (IF) stages, IF amplifier, second IF circuitry, and IF detector. Each of these circuit blocks possesses its own unique function and requirements, which will be examined in detail.

Following the discussion on the circuit blocks, different system architectures and design considerations will be examined. The choice of system architecture greatly influences the overall performance of the receiver. The design considerations and challenges associated with various architectures will be explored. The heterodyne receiver, which utilizes the principle of frequency conversion to extract the desired signal, is one of the commonly used system architectures. The challenges of image frequency and image rejection in heterodyne receivers will be discussed, along with the concept of double‐conversion receivers. Another approach to receiver design is the direct conversion receiver (DCR), which eliminates the need for IF stages. However, DCRs are accompanied ...