Computer Sciences and Information Technology
Title : | A Widely Programmable Integrated Radio Receiver for sub-6 GHz Wireless Applications |
Area of research : | Computer Sciences and Information Technology |
Principal Investigator : | Dr. Imon Mondal, Indian Institute Of Technology Kanpur (IITK), Uttar Pradesh |
Timeline Start Year : | 2024 |
Timeline End Year : | 2027 |
Contact info : | imon@iitk.ac.in |
Equipments : | High frequency clock generator with low phase noise |
Details
Executive Summary : | Wideband receivers (Rx) are crucial for receiving narrow-band signals with a wide frequency range in software-defined radios. However, they are exposed to the unfiltered spectrum of signals, which can jam the Rx in the presence of high-power blockers. To address this issue, the IC-design industry has been seeking a solution to replace SAW filters with on-chip programmable circuitry, particularly in the increasingly fragmented and congested sub-6GHz frequency bands, especially for applications involving software defined radio and IoT. N-path filter-based Rx has opened up a potential solution. N-path filters work by having switched capacitor filters store the average value of the part of the sinusoid they are exposed to when fed with a sinusoidal signal at the frequency of switching (fLO). This allows the capacitors to hold voltages equal to the average of the parts of the sinusoid they are exposed to, and when the input deviates from the switching frequency, the voltage on the capacitors gets attenuated. However, few bottlenecks have hindered the adoption of N-path filters, such as violating electromagnetic interference (EMI) specifications, being transparent to inputs appearing at harmonics of fLO, and designing multi-phase accurate clocks with skewed duty cycles at high frequencies. Additionally, multi-phase accurate clocks with skewed duty cycles are challenging at high frequencies and significantly increase buffer power consumption. Despite these challenges, N-path filters are expected to be the future of radio-receivers. This proposal aims to address these issues and design a programmable Rx that can reject blocking interferers up to 6fLO with only four path filters, meeting EMI and blocker specifications for the entire sub-6GHz band for cognitive radio and IoT applications. |
Co-PI: | Dr. AshwinKumar Ramakrishnan Sivakumar, Indian Institute Of Technology Kanpur (IITK), Uttar Pradesh-208016 |
Total Budget (INR): | 62,77,700 |
Organizations involved