A phase-frequency transfer description of analog and mixed-signal front-end architectures for system-level design

A novel approach for the modeling of front-end architectures is presented. Architectures are described as a system transforming polyphase harmonic signals through building blocks modeled by polyphase harmonic transfer matrices and distortion tensors. The major goal of the method is to provide a model that is suited for systematic architectural exploration during front-end system design. An example of a downconversion architecture describes the system non-idealities as the result of parasitic transfers between phases and frequencies.