A modified feed-forward technique for mixer linearization

The technique of feed-forward correction for increased linearity is commonly used in amplifier design, especially in commercial cellular systems where there are strict requirements on intermodulation performance for multi-carrier signals. This paper introduces a modified version of the original feed-forward concept that can be applied to mixer design. A 2 GHz mixer designed and fabricated using this new technique showed a 33 dB reduction in the intermodulation products when the feed-forward system was activated. With the same levels of feed-forward performance common in today´s amplifiers, this technique can be used to significantly lower the intermodulation products of a mixer.