Design Superheterodyne Receiver Using Analog Device Components
R2026bThis example shows how to analyze the RF budget of a dual-conversion superheterodyne receiver built from Analog Devices® amplifiers and mixers in the RF Parts Catalog. The example uses the intermodulation table (IMT) mixer model, which characterizes mixer behavior from measured data at the operating frequencies.
The receiver design and part selection follow directly from the receiver architecture, so the next section defines that architecture before you pick the parts.
Receiver Architecture
A superheterodyne receiver translates an incoming RF signal to a lower intermediate frequency (IF). Splitting the total 10 GHz-to-100 MHz translation into two mixing stages keeps each stage's LO-to-IF frequency ratio , which optimizes the filter selectivity required to reject image and spurious products.
In this example, the receiver downconverts a 10 GHz RF input to a 100 MHz output through the following parts connected in cascade:
RF Input (10 GHz) -> LNA -> 1st Mixer -> IF Amp -> 2nd Mixer -> Output
The low-noise amplifier (LNA) sets the receiver noise floor. The first mixer performs the frequency translation, and the IF amplifier restores level between mixers. The second mixer places the signal at the final IF for baseband processing.
The frequency plan uses high-side local oscillator (LO) injection at each stage (LO above RF), which produces a lower-sideband IF and places the image frequency far above the input band where preselection or LNA rolloff attenuates it:
1st Stage: RF = 10 GHz, LO = 12.5 GHz, IF1 = 2.5 GHz (HMC8191LC4) 2nd Stage: IF1 = 2.5 GHz, LO = 2.6 GHz, IF2 = 100 MHz (HMC8193LC4)
For a complete receiver chain that adds filters and interconnects and uses the nonlinear mixer model, see Design Superheterodyne Receiver with Nonlinear Mixers.
Select Low-Noise Amplifier for RF Front End
The first stage sets the system noise figure, so choose an amplifier with high gain and low noise figure across the RF band. The HMC902LP3E covers 5-10 GHz with 19.9 dB gain and 2.0 dB noise figure at 10 GHz.
warning off; installRFParts() lnaSelector = rfPartSelector("Type", "amplifier"); add(lnaSelector,"SelectedSearchParameters", "RFPrimaryFunction", "LNA",... "InputFrequency", 10e9, "NoiseFigureRange", [0 2.5], "GainRange", [15 30]); show(lnaSelector, 'selected') lna = rfPart(lnaSelector, "HMC902LP3E"); fprintf("LNA: %s (Gain=%.1f dB, NF=%.1f dB @ %.0f GHz)\n", ... lna.Name, lna.Gain, lna.NF, lna.InputFrequency/1e9);
List_No Part Number RF Primary Function Min Freq (MHz) Max Freq (MHz) Gain (dB) @ 10000 MHz Noise Figure (dB) @ 10000 MHz OP1dB (dBm) @ 10000 MHz OIP3 (dBm) @ 10000 MHz OPSAT (dBm) @ 10000 MHz Voltage (V) Current (mA) Operating Temp (degC) Package Type
_______ ______________ ________________________________ ______________ ______________ _____________________ _____________________________ _______________________ ______________________ _______________________ ___________ ____________ _____________________ _______________
1 "ADL8105" "Driver Amp Gain Block LNA" 4000 22000 28.396 1.748 18.777 29.913 20.478 5 90 25 "8-lead LFCSP"
2 "ADL9006ACGZN" "LNA Wideband Distributed Amps" 2000 28000 15.482 1.75 18.94 24.49 19.44 5 53 25 "32-Lead LFCSP"
3 "ADL9006_Die" "LNA Wideband Distributed Amps" 2009.5 28010 15.249 1.5996 19.061 24.307 20.061 5 55 25 "CHIPS OR DIE"
4 "HMC516_Die" "LNA" 6000 18000 20.338 2.1 15 24.5 17 3 65 25 "CHIPS OR DIE"
5 "HMC564LC4" "LNA Low Phase Noise" 7000 14000 18.387 1.9 13 25.867 15 3 51 25 "24-Lead LCC"
6 "HMC564_Die" "LNA Low Phase Noise" 7000 13500 17.952 1.8333 12.5 23.967 14.5 3 51 25 "CHIPS OR DIE"
7 "HMC565LC5" "LNA" 6000 20000 23.638 2.5 9.3 20.1 11.3 3 53 25 "32-Lead LCC"
8 "HMC565_Die" "LNA" 6000 20000 22.944 2.2 9.3 20.5 11.3 3 53 25 "CHIPS OR DIE"
9 "HMC772" "LNA" 2000 12000 16.017 2 12.3 25.3 14.3 4 45 25 "24-Lead LCC"
10 "HMC8410_Die" "Gain Block LNA Low Phase Noise" 1100 10000 15.11 1.64 19.31 30.57 22.24 5 65 25 "CHIPS OR DIE"
11 "HMC902LP3E" "LNA" 5000 10000 19.88 2 15.6 27.6 17.6 3.5 80 25 "16-Lead LFCSP"
12 "HMC902_Die" "LNA" 5000 10000 21.241 1.7 16.9 28.4 18.9 3.5 80 25 "Die"
13 "HMC903LP3E" "LNA" 6000 17000 17.389 1.6 14.2 25.533 16.2 3.5 80 25 "16-Lead LFCSP"
14 "HMC903_Die" "LNA" 6000 18000 19.404 1.4 16.1 27.8 18.1 3.5 90 25 "Die"
LNA: HMC902LP3E (Gain=20.6 dB, NF=1.6 dB @ 8 GHz)
Downconvert RF Signal to First IF with Wideband IQ Mixer
To translate the 10 GHz input to a 2.5 GHz first IF, use the HMC8191LC4 in-phase/quadrature (IQ) mixer with a 12.5 GHz local oscillator. Filter the IMT-modeled parts by selecting the DownConverter converter type. The mixer takes the lower-sideband product LO - RF.
mixer1Selector = rfPartSelector("Type", "mixer");
Use the add function to add the search parameters to refine your component selection.
add(mixer1Selector,"SelectedSearchParameters", ... "ModelType", "IMT", ... "ConverterType", "DownConverter","Sideband","LSB", ... "InputFrequency", 10e9, "LOFrequency", 12.5e9); remove(mixer1Selector, 'DisplayColumns', {'Package Type','Operating Temp (degC)'}); add(mixer1Selector, 'DisplayColumns', {'Converter Type','Model Type','Sideband','Gain (dB)'}); show(mixer1Selector,'selected')
List_No Part Number RF Primary Function Converter Type Model Type Sideband Min RF Freq (MHz) Max RF Freq (MHz) Min IF Freq (MHz) Max IF Freq (MHz) Min LO Freq (MHz) Max LO Freq (MHz) Gain (dB) @ 10000 MHz
_______ ____________ _______________________ _______________ __________ ________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _____________________
1 "ADMV1530" "Double Sideband Mixer" "DownConverter" "IMT" "LSB" 3000 23000 1000 10000 8000 24000 -10.396
2 "HMC8191LC4" "IQ Mixer" "DownConverter" "IMT" "LSB" 5000 27000 100 5000 6100 31000 -9.3548
Use the rfpart function to create a mixerIMT object from lower-sideband HMC8191LC4 mixer.
mixer1 = rfPart(mixer1Selector, "HMC8191LC4"); fprintf("1st Mixer: %s (RF=%.1f GHz, LO=%.1f GHz, IF=%.1f GHz)\n", ... mixer1.Name, mixer1.InputFrequency/1e9, mixer1.LO/1e9, ... abs(mixer1.LO - mixer1.InputFrequency)/1e9);
1st Mixer: HMC8191LC4 (RF=15.0 GHz, LO=15.1 GHz, IF=0.1 GHz)
Amplify First IF Signal Before Second Downconversion
The first mixer has conversion loss, so restore signal level and preserve the dynamic range budget with an IF amplifier. The ADL5521_5V covers 850-3600 MHz with 13.4 dB gain and 0.9 dB noise figure at 2.5 GHz.
ifAmpSelector = rfPartSelector("Type", "amplifier"); add(ifAmpSelector, 'SelectedSearchParameters', ... 'InputFrequency', 2.5e9, 'OIP3Range', [30 50], 'OP1dBRange', [18 30]); ifAmp = rfPart(ifAmpSelector, "ADL5521_5V"); fprintf("IF Amp: %s (Gain=%.1f dB, NF=%.1f dB @ %.1f GHz)\n", ... ifAmp.Name, ifAmp.Gain, ifAmp.NF, ifAmp.InputFrequency/1e9);
IF Amp: ADL5521_5V (Gain=21.0 dB, NF=0.9 dB @ 0.8 GHz)
Downconvert to Final 100 MHz IF Output
The second stage translates the 2.5 GHz first IF to a 100 MHz output suitable for baseband processing. Use the HMC8193LC4 IQ mixer with a 2.6 GHz local oscillator to take the LO - IF1 product.
mixer2Selector = rfPartSelector("Type", "mixer"); mixer2Selector.add("SelectedSearchParameters", ... "ModelType", "IMT", ... "ConverterType", "DownConverter"); mixer2 = rfPart(mixer2Selector, "HMC8193LC4"); mixer2.InputFrequency = 2.5e9; mixer2.LO = 2.6e9; fprintf("2nd Mixer: %s (RF=%.1f GHz, LO=%.1f GHz, IF=%.0f MHz)\n", ... mixer2.Name, mixer2.InputFrequency/1e9, mixer2.LO/1e9, ... abs(mixer2.LO - mixer2.InputFrequency)/1e6);
2nd Mixer: HMC8193LC4 (RF=2.5 GHz, LO=2.6 GHz, IF=100 MHz)
Assemble Receiver Cascade for RF Budget Analysis
Combine the four Analog Devices parts into a cascade and pass them to the rfbudget object with the RF input conditions. Use a -30 dBm input power to keep all stages in their linear region and a 20 MHz bandwidth typical of a wideband communication channel.
rfFreq = 10e9; % RF input frequency inputPower = -30; % Available input power (dBm) bw = 20e6; % Signal bandwidth rxBudget = rfbudget([lna, mixer1, ifAmp, mixer2], rfFreq, inputPower, bw);
Report Stage-by-Stage and System-Level Performance
Inspect gain, noise figure, and third-order intercept at each stage to verify that the receiver meets the design goals. The final-row values summarize end-to-end system performance.
fprintf("\n=== Superheterodyne Receiver RF Budget ===\n"); fprintf("%-15s %-12s %-12s %-12s %-12s %-12s\n", ... "Stage", "Freq(GHz)", "Gain(dB)", "NF(dB)", "IIP3(dBm)", "OIP3(dBm)"); fprintf("%s\n", repmat('-', 1, 75)); stageNames = {lna.Name, mixer1.Name, ifAmp.Name, mixer2.Name}; for k = 1:numel(stageNames) fprintf("%-15s %-12.3f %-12.2f %-12.2f %-12.2f %-12.2f\n", ... stageNames{k}, ... rxBudget.OutputFrequency(k)/1e9, ... rxBudget.TransducerGain(k), ... rxBudget.NF(k), ... rxBudget.IIP3(k), ... rxBudget.OIP3(k)); end fprintf("\n=== System Performance Summary ===\n"); fprintf("RF Input: %.2f GHz\n", rfFreq/1e9); fprintf("1st IF: %.2f GHz\n", 2.5); fprintf("2nd IF (output): %.0f MHz\n", 100); fprintf("Signal Bandwidth: %.0f MHz\n", bw/1e6); fprintf("Input Power: %.0f dBm\n", inputPower); fprintf("Output Power: %.2f dBm\n", rxBudget.OutputPower(end)); fprintf("System Gain: %.2f dB\n", rxBudget.TransducerGain(end)); fprintf("System NF: %.2f dB\n", rxBudget.NF(end)); fprintf("System IIP3: %.2f dBm\n", rxBudget.IIP3(end));
=== Superheterodyne Receiver RF Budget === Stage Freq(GHz) Gain(dB) NF(dB) IIP3(dBm) OIP3(dBm) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- HMC902LP3E 10.000 19.88 2.00 7.69 27.60 HMC8191LC4 5.100 9.08 2.00 7.69 16.80 ADL5521_5V 5.100 18.58 2.10 7.29 25.90 HMC8193LC4 2.500 11.38 2.10 7.29 18.70 === System Performance Summary === RF Input: 10.00 GHz 1st IF: 2.50 GHz 2nd IF (output): 100 MHz Signal Bandwidth: 20 MHz Input Power: -30 dBm Output Power: -18.62 dBm System Gain: 11.38 dB System NF: 2.10 dB System IIP3: 7.29 dBm
Explore Chain Interactively in RF Budget Analyzer App
Open the RF Budget Analyzer app to visualize gain, noise figure, and other parameters across the chain.
show(rxBudget)
See Also
Superheterodyne Receiver Using RF Budget Analyzer App | Design Superheterodyne Receiver with Nonlinear Mixers
