Agile Blocker and Clock Jitter Tolerant Low-Power Frequency Selective Receiver with Energy Harvesting Capability

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Radio Frequency (RF) Engineering
• Integrated Circuits

Background:

• Conventional homodyne receivers face limitations in selectivity and robustness against clock jitter.
• Passive mixer (PM) receivers often require complex multi-phase clock generation circuits, increasing power consumption and susceptibility to jitter.
• Energy harvesting in RF receivers remains a challenge, particularly for low-power applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel tunable Quadrature Phase Shift Frequency Selective (QPS-FS) receiver.
• To enhance receiver selectivity, clock jitter tolerance, and reduce power consumption.
• To integrate energy harvesting capabilities for sustainable operation.

Main Methods:

• Integration of baseband to radio frequency (RF) impedance translation for improved selectivity.
• Implementation of broadband quadrature phase shift circuitry in the RF path to eliminate active clock generation.
• Utilizing a single local oscillator clock with a passive clock division network (N switches, N≥4) for jitter tolerance and frequency coverage enhancement.
• Design incorporates reflection of unwanted blocker/interferer signals for potential energy recycling.

Main Results:

• Achieved improved selectivity compared to conventional homodyne receivers.
• Demonstrated enhanced robustness against clock jitter and reduced source clock frequency by a factor of N.
• Expanded frequency coverage by a factor of N.
• Potential for significant reduction in overall receiver system power consumption.
• Successful separation of wanted RF signals from blockers/interferers.

Conclusions:

• The proposed tunable QPS-FS receiver offers a robust, low-power solution with superior selectivity and frequency coverage.
• The integrated energy harvesting capability presents a pathway for sustainable RF receiver design.
• This design effectively mitigates issues associated with clock jitter and blocker interference in RF systems.