A digital sideband-separating receiver for the millimeter band

Abstract

Sideband-separating receivers are usually preferred in the presence of high atmospheric noise. However, one of the most important figures of merit for this kind of receiver, the sideband ratio, is still low and typically around 10 dB. This is because keeping low amplitude and phase imbalances over large RF and IF frequencies is extremely difficult. However, by introducing a digital back-end that mimics the performance of an IF-hybrid, such imbalances can be calibrated out. We have recently presented a digital sideband-separating receiver, working at the W band, that can achieve sideband ratios well above 35 dB. Here we extend this work by demonstrating that it can also be applied to receivers that incorporate a second down-conversion stage with the same performance.