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This leads to the concept of A/D sensitivity loss. A/D sensitivity
loss is a measure of the receiver noise degradation due to
the A/D. To minimize this degradation, the receiver noise is
desired to be well above the A/D noise. The limitation comes
in the form of dynamic range and larger receiver gain limits
the maximum signal received without A/D saturation. Thus
the receiver designer faces a constant challenge of balancing
dynamic range vs. noise figure.
Conclusion
The heterodyne, direct sampling, and direct conversion
receiver architectures have been reviewed with emphasis
on benefits and challenges of each architecture. Recent
trends and considerations in receiver design have also been
presented. With the world wide desire for more bandwidth,
combined with the advancement of GSPS data converters,
it is anticipated that many varied receiver designs will
proliferate well into the future.
References
1. McClaning, Vito, “Radio Receiver Design,” New York, Noble
Publishing, 2000.
2. “Fundamentals of RF and Microwave Noise Figure
Measurements,” Keysight Application Note
3. Razavi, “Design Considerations for Direct-Conversion
Receivers,” IEEE, 1997
4. Delos, “Receiver Design Considerations In Digital
Beamforming Phased Arrays,” Microwaves and RF, 2014
5. Henderson, “Mixers in Microwave Systems” WJ Tech-Note,
1990.
6. Harris, “What’s up with Digital Downconverters” Part 1
and 2, Analog Dialogue, 2016
7. Kester, “Analog-Digital Conversion,” Analog Devices, 2004
About the Author
Peter Delos is a Technical Lead at Analog Devices, Inc., in
the Aerospace and Defense Group. He received his BSEE
from Virginia Tech in 1990 and MSEE from NJIT in 2004.
He worked in the Naval Nuclear Power program from 1990
to 1997. This work included completion of the Naval Nuclear
Power School Officer’s Program, work as an instructor in a
Naval Submarine facility, and Lead Electrical Field Engineer
work on the Seawolf class Submarines in Groton, CT.
In 1997, Peter accepted a position with Lockheed Martin
in Moorestown NJ and began a prolific career developing
receivers/exciters and synthesizers for multiple Radar and
EW programs. This experience encompassed architecture
definition, detailed design, rapid prototypes, manufacturing
coverage, field installations, and coordination among many
engineering disciplines. This work led the migration of
phased array receiver/exciter electronics from centralized
architectures to on-array digital beamforming systems.
In 2016, Peter accepted a position with Analog Devices in
Greensboro, NC. He has nearly 20 years of experience in RF
systems designing at the architecture level, PWB level, and
IC level.
Figure 5: Receiver + A/D Noise
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