A frequency translation technique for SAW-Less 3G receivers

A frequency translation technique exploiting properties of the current-driven passive mixers is presented to implement built-in out-of-band blocker filtering, intended for FDD applications such as 3G. The mathematical findings enable us to optimally size the components for maximal RF front-end gain and minimal noise figure. A prototype zero-IF receiver is fabricated in 65nm CMOS, and achieves a NF of 2.6dB, a maximum gain of 84 dB, out-of-band IIP3 of +2 dBm, and consumes 32mA from a single 1.2-V supply.