Low-IF topologies for high-performance analog front ends of fully integrated receivers

When it comes to integratability, the zero-intermediate frequency (IF) receiver is an alternative for the heterodyne or IF receiver. In recent years, the zero-IF receiver has been introduced in several applications, but its performance cannot be compared to that of the IF receiver yet. This lower performance is closely related to its baseband operation, resulting in filter saturation and distortion, both caused by DC-offsets and self-mixing at the inputs of the mixers. The low-IF receiver has a topology which is closely related to the zero-IF receiver, but it does not operate in the baseband, only near the baseband. The consequences are that, as for the zero-IF receiver, the implementation of a low-IF receiver can be done with a high degree of integration, however, its performance can be better. In this paper, the fundamental principles of the low-IF receiver topology are introduced. Different low-IF receiver topologies are synthesized and fully analyzed in this paper. This is done by applying the complex signal technique-a technique used in digital applications to the study of analog receiver front ends.