Mismatch considerations in an RF-DAC design for a digital polar EDGE transmitter

We present a systematic approach for the design and analysis of a high-resolution RF-DAC. The RF-DAC is implemented in 65 nm CMOS as an integral part of a digital polar EDGE transmitter based on the Digital-RF-Processor (DRP™). It combines the functionality of a traditional baseband DAC and a mixer. This paper addresses the issue of a transistor mismatch, which has become a key design challenge at fine geometry process nodes. A method is presented to analyze the mismatch, quantify it and relate it to the system specifications. The presented techniques are used in a commercial GSM/EDGE SoC radio, in which the transmitter's wideband noise (WBN) performance significantly exceeds the EDGE specifications with more than 6 dB margin at 20 MHz offset from the carrier frequency.