Dynamically-configurable multimode transmitter systems for wireless handsets, cognitive radio and SDR applications

A unified transmit chain for handsets, SDR, and cognitive radio addresses the need for an efficient low-cost multimode solution. The 65nm CMOS control block contains a small state machine that interprets IQ data inputs and selects settings from memory, which are based on characterization of the modulating device for the operating regime. Nonlinear functions map the desired output into control signals that manipulate a 130nm-SiGe vector-power-amplifier to construct a full-power RF waveform.