RFIC design Software Defined Radio

A specific branch of the MICLab is aimed at the investigation of the critical technological aspects concerning the Multimode Multiband Reconfigurable Radios.

On the side of the subsystem design a major investigation concerns the design methods for the multi-band multi-mode PA. In particular the main aspect of the concurrent mode suitable for FDD access is compared with the PA designed for TDD. The latter are PAs with reconfigurable components such that the oprative frequency can be varied according with the communication system. A first prototype was designed and fabricated using in-house capability and commercial components, it provides a test-bed for design method improvements and system level consideration.

In this area, a wideband PA in GaN is under investigation as an enabling technology of cognitive radio.

In the frame of multi-mode PA suitable for dual-band application the group demonstrated for the first time a probability distributed function conscious design, that is a PA design methodology capable to take into account of the actual pdf signal distribution and in turn to increase the average efficiency also for wide range signals. This design overcomes the present issue related to the presence of DC-DC converters in polar transmitters and has to be considered as a valuable solution for handset units. This approach is currently under detailed investigation in order to understand the dynamic biasing impact on the signal integrity.

The full achievement of the multi-band transmission is conditioned to the capability to take under control the cross-modulations between services, for this reason the team has been investigating a new concept of Digital PreDistortion suitable for multi-band PAs.

To know our vision and results download the TARGET NoE highlights.