Transceiver Phase Noise Teardown Informs Performance Capability With An External LO

By Peter Delos, Analog Devices

Software-defined radios are one of the leading topics in the industry today. The software-defined radio’s performance
capability has been fueled by the release of radio frequency (RF) transceivers offering complete radio solutions in monolithic integrated circuits (ICs). The Analog Devices transceiver product line provides an enabling IC, proliferating into many radio designs that are completely software controlled. One of the areas still to be explored with these devices is the capability for low phase noise applications. This article evaluates the phase noise performance of these highly integrated radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) with emphasis on cases wherein external frequencies are provided. To learn more about this topic, download the full white paper.