What is upconverter and downconverter?
Up Converter. – Up conveter is a part to convert signal up for transmission. Basically, mixer part for frequency upward conversion is called UP CONVERTER. When input signal combines LO signal, RF signal is generated as much as input signal with LO signal. Down Converter.
What is a mixer in communication system?
In electronics, a mixer, or frequency mixer, is a nonlinear electrical circuit that creates new frequencies from two signals applied to it. Mixers are widely used to shift signals from one frequency range to another, a process known as heterodyning, for convenience in transmission or further signal processing.
How does an RF upconverter work?
A block upconverter (BUC) is used in the transmission (uplink) of satellite signals. It converts a band of frequencies from a lower frequency to a higher frequency. The 10 MHz reference frequency is usually sent on the same feedline as the main carrier.
Where the up converting mixers and Downconverting mixers are used?
When converting to a higher frequency, the device is said to up-convert, and when it converts a high frequency to a lower one it is said to down-convert. They are typically used in receiver front-ends or in the transmitter signal path to generate the RF signal for subsequent amplification.
What is an upconverter RF?
The device which converts low radio frequency signal to high radio frequency signal is known as RF upconverter. The common RF component which is used for the conversion is RF mixer. There can be one or two stages of mixing. Often RF upconverter is used in combination with RF PA (Power Amplifier). …
What is the function of upconverter?
BUC (Block Up converter) It converts the radio signals from a lower frequency to higher to transmit to the satellite. On the other hand LNB (Low Noise Block Converter) collects the radio waves from the satellite and converts them to a signal sent to the modem at the endpoint through a cable.
What are types of mixer?
Learn About the Three Main Types of Mixers
- Horizontal Mixer. This type of mixer has the capability of producing the largest volume of dough in the shortest amount of time.
- Spiral Mixer. One of the most popular types of mixers, the spiral mixer is used in many different settings due to its flexibility.
- Planetary Mixer.
Is a diode an ideal mixer?
The best mixers use diodes that closely approximate the ideal commutator. 4. The lower the RF power, the better the spurious performance (since the LO will control the diode transconductance more effectively). High performance mixers are designed using four or eight diodes.
What is the difference between IF and RF?
In order to clarify the difference between RF and IF amplifiers, we need to know that in most radio receiver topologies the incoming high-frequency signal is not shifted down to the baseband in a single step. RF amplifiers used at those lower frequencies are referred to as intermediate frequency (IF) amplifiers.
What does a RF mixer do?
An RF mixer is a three-port passive or active device that can modulate or demodulate a signal. The purpose is to change the frequency of an electromagnetic signal while (hopefully) preserving every other characteristic (such as phase and amplitude) of the initial signal.
What does a mixer do in RF?
An RF (or IF) mixer (not to be confused with video and audio mixers) is an active or passive device that converts a signal from one frequency to another. It can either modulate or demodulate a signal.
Why do we convert RF to IF?
So a high frequency signal is converted to a lower IF for more convenient processing. The bandwidth of a filter is proportional to its center frequency. In receivers like the TRF in which the filtering is done at the incoming RF frequency, as the receiver is tuned to higher frequencies, its bandwidth increases.
When to use Upconversion or downconversion in a mixer?
When the desired frequency is less than the second input frequency, the process is called downconversion. The RF is then the input while the IF is the output. When the desired output frequency is greater than the second input frequency the process is called upconversion.
When is a mixer called a low side downconverter?
Here the IF is the input while the RF is the output. In a receiver, when the LO frequency is less than the RF frequency, it is called low-side injection and the mixer is a low-side downconverter. When the LO frequency is above the RF, it is called high-side injection, and the mixer is a high-side downconverter.
How are upconverter and downconverters chip integrated?
Each upconverter and downconverter chip is highly integrated (see Figure 1), comprised of in phase (I) and quadrature phase (Q) mixers with on-chip quadrature phase-shifter configurable for direct conversion to/from the baseband (operable from dc to 6 GHz) or to/from an intermediate frequency (IF) that can operate from 800 MHz to 6 GHz.
What kind of driver does a upconverter have?
The upconverter RF output has an on-chip transmit driver amplifier with a voltage variable attenuator (VVA), while the downconverter’s RF input contains a low noise amplifier (LNA) and gain stage with a VVA. Both chips’ local oscillator (LO) chain consists of an integrated LO buffer, a frequency quadrupler, and a programmable band-pass filter.