Biography

Enrollment Date: 2009

Graduation Date：2012

Degree：M.S.

Defense Date：2012.05.24

Advisors：Baoyong Chi

Department：Institute of Microelectronics，Tsinghua University

Title of Dissertation/Thesis：Research on Wideband Low-noise Amplifier for SDR Receivers

Abstract:
In the 21st century, wireless communications develop rapidly towards the goal of software-defined radio (SDR), which has become the basis for future mobile communications systems. At the same time in the field of smart mobile devices, SDR technology is the key to solve the compatible and interoperable problems among communication standards. However, at the present state of technological development, the realization of SDR faces many challenges. One of them is the SDR highly integrated transceiver RF front-end, there exist many problems to be solved. With the continuous development of deep sub-micron CMOS process, the inherent low cost and high integration advantages of CMOS process are increasingly being presented. CMOS realization of SDR front-end has become a research hotspot. This thesis discusses the design issues of one key circuit block LNA of SDR front-end. The thesis mainly includes two parts.The first part presents a broadband LNA based on active feedback implemented in TSMC 65nm CMOS, it is a simple structure, covering SDR frequency band, the LNA employsan on-chip inductor only in the high frequency band, making it ideal for low-cost transceiversystem. Test results show that this LNA achieves a broadband input matching over the frequency range from 100MHz to 4GHz, and minimum 2.4dB noise figure at 1.8GHz. The second part of the thesis discusses the design of a multi-band LNA covering 900MHz to 5GHz, the goal is to achieve wideband tuning. The circuit uses a modified common-gate LNA, it can achieve high linearity, and break the tradeoff of a traditional common-gate LNA between the noise and input matching. Wideband tuning needs multiple on-chip inductors, which will result in a large area overhead and can not meet the design trends of today's low-cost transceiver. The thesis presents a novel nested inductor with good isolation performance, which is used to implement the tuning of the common-gate LNA while consuming small die area. The LNA realizes a broadband tuning covering from 900MHz to 5GHz with flat in-band gain and noise performance. It achieves a in-band gain of 20dB, IIP3 can best achieve 0dBm.The LNA alsoshows good RF filtering to reduce the effects of in-band interference and blocking signal.

Publications

Papers：：

[1] Yun Yin,Baoyong Chi,Zhaokang Xia,Zhihua Wang, A Reconfigurable Dual-Mode CMOS Power Amplifier With Integrated T/R Switch for 0.1–1.5-GHz Multistandard Applications, IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs, Vol.61, No.7, pp. 471 - 475, 2014.

[2] Xinwang Zhang,Baoyong Chi,Meng Cao,Ling Fu,Zhaokang Xia,Yun Yin,Hongxing Feng,Xing Zhang,Patrick Chiang, Zhihua Wang, A 0.1–4 GHz SDR receiver with reconfigurable 10–100 MHz signal bandwidth in 65 nm CMOS, Analog Integrated Circuits and Signal Processing, Vol.77, No.3, pp. 567 - 582, 2013.

[3] Zhaokang Xia,Xinwang Zhang,Baoyong Chi, A 0.1-4GHz Reconfigurable Multi-band CMOS LNA for SDR Applications, ICEICE 2012, pp. 5 - 8, 2012.

[4] Xinwang Zhang,Yun Yin,Meng Cao,Zhigang Sun,Ling Fu,Zhaokang Xia,Hongxing Feng,Xing Zhang,Baoyong Chi, Ming Xu, Zhihua Wang, A 0.1∼4GHz receiver and 0.1∼6GHz transmitter with reconfigurable 10∼100MHz signal bandwidth in 65nm CMOS, CICC 2012, pp. 1 - 4, 2012.

Patents：

[1] Baoyong Chi, Xinwang Zhang, Zhaokang Xia, Bingqiao Liu, Qian Yu, Yang Xu, Zehong Zhang, Siyang Han, Qiongbing Liu, Zhihua Wang. Software radio receiver circuit: China, 201310289188.1[P]. 2017-04-12.

[2] Baoyong Chi, Xinwang Zhang, Meng Cao, Zhigang Sun, Ling Fu, Yun Yin, Zhaokang Xia, Hongxing Feng, Xing Zhang, Zhihua Wang. A RF front-end circuit of software radio transceiver: China, 201110187783.5[P]. 2013-10-16.