A low-cost quad-band single-chip GSM/GPRS radio in 90nm digital CMOS

In this paper we present a quad-band single-chip GSM/GPRS radio in 90 nm digital CMOS process based on the digital RF Processor (DRPtrade) technology. This chip integrates all functions from physical layer to the protocol stack and peripheral support in a single chip RF SoC. The transmitter uses a low-area small-signal digital polar architecture merging amplitude and phase information directly in an RF DAC. The receiver is based on direct RF sampling and discrete-time analog signal processing. A dedicated internal microprocessor manages the digital RF controls to provide best achievable RF performances. The transceiver exceeds all 3GPP specifications demonstrating a receive NF of 1.8 dB and a margin of 8 dB on TX spectral mask at 400 KHz offset in GSM850/900 bands. The transceiver is best-in-class in area and occupies only 3.8 mm
²
of silicon area.