The Impact of Process Faults on Specific Parameters of a 1.9GHz CMOS Mixer

This paper presents the impact of process faults - such as parameter variations and process variations - on specific parameters of a mixer - like linearity (1 dB CP, IIP3), noise figure, voltage conversion gain, voltage output signal. A review of mathematical types that shows the relations between specifications and parameters of the mixer is the tool to explain the behavior of the circuit under the presence of process shifts and parasitic elements. A differential Gilbert-Cell active mixer with degeneration resistors has been designed in a 90 nm CMOS UMC technology to validate the theoretical conclusions and investigate the possibility of restoring the circuit prescriptions to the desired values, varying one or more parameters.