Embodiments of power efficient radio mixers are provided. A generalized impedance matched low-voltage active mixer circuit technique, which utilizes a plurality of commutator cells and transformers, is disclosed. The low voltage active mixer function is coupled to an impedance matched amplifier allowing for insertion of image rejection filtering between the amplifier and the mixing function. The commutator cells can be driven in parallel by common local oscillator (LO) and intermediate frequency (IF) ports combined in parallel to yield highly linear mixers. A multi-channel receiver with a common impedance matched radio frequency (RF) amplifier driving a plurality of commutator cells with multiple LOs and IFs is also disclosed.

The disclosure relates to technology for shifting a frequency range of a signal. In one aspect, a circuit comprises a frequency mixer, a frequency synthesizer configured to generate an oscillator signal, a programmable driver, and a controller. The programmable driver is configured to receive the oscillator signal from the frequency synthesizer and to provide the oscillator signal to the oscillator input of the frequency mixer. The programmable driver is configured to have a variable drive strength. The controller is configured to control the drive strength of the programmable driver based on a frequency of the oscillator signal to adjust a rise time and a fall time of the oscillator signal at the oscillator input of the frequency mixer.

A method for initializing a phase adder circuit including a multiplier circuit with its two inputs receiving signals of frequency f.sub.o, a mixer circuit, an amplifier circuit, a low pass loop filter, and a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), the method including: during a first phase, determining a reference voltage which when applied to the VCO causes it to produce a signal having a frequency of nf.sub.0; during a second phase, supplying a signal of frequency nf.sub.o to a first input of the mixer and a signal of frequency (nf.sub.o+Δf) to a second input of the mixer; and determining an adjustment signal which when applied to the amplifier circuit causes the amplifier circuit to output a signal having a DC component equal to the reference voltage; and during a third phase, forming a primary phase locked loop (PLL) circuit including the mixer, the amplifier circuit, the low pass loop filter and the VCO; and applying the adjustment signal to the amplifier circuit.

A mixer includes a load portion connected between an input terminal of a first power voltage and an output terminal of the radio frequency transmit signal and configured to adjust a magnitude of the radio frequency transmit signal, a first switching unit connected to an output terminal of the radio frequency transmit signal, and configured to perform a first switching operation in response to a plurality of local oscillation signals, and a second switching unit connected between the first switching unit and an input terminal of a second power voltage, lower than the first power voltage, and configured to perform a second switching operation in response to a plurality of baseband signals, the plurality of local oscillation signals include an I+ baseband signal, an I baseband signal, a Q+ baseband signal, and a Q baseband signal, and the second switching unit includes a first branch performing a switching operation under control of the I+ baseband signal and the Q+ baseband signal, a second branch performing a switching operation under control of the I baseband signal and the Q baseband signal, a third branch performing a switching operation under control of the Q+ baseband signal and the I baseband signal, and a fourth branch performing a switching operation under control of the Q baseband signal and the I+ baseband signal.

A receiver circuit is provided. The receiver circuit includes an antenna configured to receive a radio frequency (RF) signal; a filter configured to filter the RF signal received by the antenna; and a passive mixer circuit configured to adjust a center frequency of the filtered RF signal to a predetermined frequency. The passive mixer circuit includes: a transformer which includes a first coil and a second coil that is separate from the first coil; a first passive mixer which is directly connected to a first end of the second coil; and a second passive mixer which is directly connected to a second end of the second coil and is separate from the first passive mixer.

A dual-band mixer circuit includes a mixer configured to receive an input signal and a local oscillator (LO) signal and to generate an output frequency signal, and a switchable inductance circuit coupled to an output of the mixer, and including a transformer including a primary inductor and a secondary inductor, the primary inductor being electrically coupled to the output of the mixer, a capacitor electrically coupled to the secondary inductor, and a switch electrically coupled to the capacitor and the secondary inductor.

A low-power double-quadrature receiver is disclosed. The double-quadrature receiver includes a quadrature signal generator configured to generate a first quadrature signal and a second quadrature signal based on each component of a differential input signal, and a switching stage configured to perform down-conversion on the first quadrature signal and the second quadrature signal.

A double-balanced radio-frequency (RF) mixing digital-to-analog converter (DAC) apparatus includes a load network, a first set of resistive DAC driver circuits and a first mixing core. The first mixing core can receive first RF input signals from the first set of resistive DAC driver circuits and can provide a first mixed signal to the load network. The first mixing core includes a first input differential pair coupled to two first cross-coupled differential pairs. The first input differential pair can receive first RF input signals at respective first input nodes. Each of the two first cross-coupled differential pairs can receive first positive and negative local oscillator (LO) signals at corresponding first input nodes. The first mixing core can mix the first RF input signals with the first positive and negative LO signals.

An electronic circuit including: a differential multiplier circuit with a first differential input and a second differential input and a differential output; and a phase locked loop (PLL) circuit including: (1) a balanced differential mixer circuit with a first differential input electrically connected to the differential output of the differential multiplier circuit, a second differential input, and an output; (2) a loop filter having an output and an input electrically connected to the output of the balanced differential mixer circuit; and (3) a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) circuit having an input electrically connected to the output of the loop filter and with an output electrically feeding back to the second differential input of the balanced differential mixer circuit.

The disclosure relates to technology for an apparatus having a current conveyer comprising a first stage having a first differential input, and a second stage having a second differential input. The first and second stages are configured to operate in a push-pull mode to provide an output signal at a current conveyer output between the first stage and the second stage. The apparatus has a first frequency mixer configured to generate a first mixer signal based on an input signal and an oscillator signal having a first frequency. The first frequency mixer is configured to provide the first mixer signal to the first differential input. The apparatus has a second frequency mixer configured to generate a second mixer signal based on the input signal and a second oscillator signal having the first frequency. The second frequency mixer is configured to provide the second mixer signal to the second differential input.