Experimental Performance Comparison of Six-Port and Conventional Zero-if/Low-if Receivers for Software Defined Radio

Abstract

Abstract-This paper presents an experimental performance comparison among three RF architectures that are very suitable for Software Defined Radio (SDR) implementation: zero-IF, low-IF, and six-port network. A six-port receiver and a dual zero-IF/low-IF receiver have been developed for this purpose. Six-port receiver is a very promising and flexible RF architecture for the low-cost implementation of integrated microwave and millimeter-wave systems. Competitive advantages such as ultra-broadband behavior, low-cost, reconfigurability, and low power consumption, point to the six-port architecture as a good candidate to implement a SDR. However, two issues on broadband six-port receivers require intensive research: dynamic range extension, and miniaturization. In this paper, two solutions are proposed to solve these problems: the use of biased detector diodes for dynamic range extension, and the use of low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology for six-port reduction. The measurement results indicate that the six-port receiver shows high potential benefits and advantages compared to conventional zero-IF and low-IF receivers. In addition, the capability of the six-port architecture to operate as both zero-IF and low-IF receivers has been experimentally demonstrated for the first time.

New Implementation of Mm-Wave Heterodyne Receiver Based on Six-Port Technology: Circuit Characterization and High Data-Rate Demodulation Results

“…It was extended in the 1970's by Engen and Hoer [6][7][8][9] for accurate automated measurements of the complex reflection coefficient in microwave network analysis. Since 1993, the six-port techniques have been further expanded and developed for direct modulation and demodulation of microwave signals [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17].…”

“…The six-port technology, widely recognized in microwave low-cost circuit characterizations [5][6][7][8][9] has been used as an unconventional technique to perform frequency down-conversion [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. The millimeter wave frequency conversion is performed using a passive circuit, multiport, and related power detectors, avoiding the conventional millimeter-wave active costly mixers.…”

A wide dynamic range four-port spectrum sensor for cognitive radio

“…sensing strategy faster than that employed in [2], [3]. However, large schematic area and narrow dynamic range are the main issues of such a six-port receiver [5]. The dynamic range is mainly limited by the accuracy of calibration and the use of square-law detectors for detecting the input signal [6].…”

Miniaturized 0.3-6 GHZ LTCC Six-Port Receiver for Software Defined Radio

“…Consequently, and continuing our previous work [7,8], we have developed a new version of the six-port receiver based on LTCC technology. It was briefly mentioned in [5], and now it is presented in this paper in detail.…”

“…Six-port network is an interesting radiofrequency (RF) architecture that is nowadays emerging as a promising alternative for the implementation of a SDR [1][2][3], as it presents significant advantages with respect to conventional receiver architectures [4,5]. Six-port architecture has been demonstrated to operate at high frequencies [3] and to perform high data rates [6,7].…”