COMMUNICATION

RECEIVERS
Prepared by:
Engr. Joy J. Labo
 LEARNING OUTCOMES:

1. Describe the basic superheterodyne system and

explain why it is the preferred design for most
receivers.
2. Identify the function of each component of a
superheterodyne receiver
3. Distinguish between single- and multiple- conversion
receivers and decide which type would be more
suitable for a given application.
 BASIC PRINCIPLES OF SIGNAL
REPRODUCTION
• A communication receiver must be able to identify and
select a desired signal from thousands of others present in
the frequency spectrum (selectivity) and to provide
sufficient amplification to recover the modulating signal
(sensitivity).

• A receiver with good selectivity will isolate the desired

signal in the RF spectrum and eliminate or at least greatly
attenuate all other signals.
 SELECTIVITY
• Selectivity in a receiver is obtained by using tuned
circuits and/or filters. The LC tuned circuits provide
initial selectivity; filters, which are used later in the
process, provide additional selectivity

• Q and Bandwidth

• By carefully controlling the Q of the resonant

circuit, you can set the desired selectivity. The
optimum bandwidth is wide enough to pass the
signal and its sidebands but also narrow enough
to eliminate or greatly attenuate signals on
adjacent frequencies.
• The rate of attenuation or roll-off of
an LC tuned circuit is gradual.

• Increasing the Q will further narrow

the bandwidth and improve the
steepness of attenuation, but
narrowing the bandwidth in this way
can be taken only so far.

• At some point, the circuit bandwidth

may become so narrow that it starts
to attenuate the sidebands, resulting
in loss of information (Fig. 9-1 )
• The ideal receiver selectivity curve would have perfectly vertical sides, Fig.
9-2(a). Such a curve cannot be obtained with tuned circuits. Improved
selectivity is achieved by cascading tuned circuits or by using crystal,
ceramic, or SAW filters. At lower frequencies, digital signal processing (DSP)
can provide almost ideal response curves.
 SHAPE FACTOR
• The sides of a tuned circuit response curve are known as
skirts. The steepness of the skirts, or the skirt selectivity, of a
receiver is expressed as the shape factor, the ratio of the 60-
dB down bandwidth to the 6-dB down bandwidth. Fig. 9-2(b).

• The lower the shape factor, the steeper the skirts and the
better the selectivity. The ideal, shown in Fig. 9-2(a), is 1.
Shape factors approaching 1 can be achieved with DSP filters.
SENSITIVITY
A communication receiver’s sensitivity, or ability to pick up weak
signals, is mainly a function of overall gain, the factor by which an
input signal is multiplied to produce the output signal. In general, the
higher the gain of a receiver, the better its sensitivity.

The greater gain that a receiver has, the smaller the input signal
necessary to produce a desired level of output. High gain in
communication receivers is obtained by using multiple amplification
stages.

Another factor that affects the sensitivity of a receiver is the signal-to-

noise (S/N) ratio (SNR). Noise is the small random voltage variations
from external sources and from noise variations generated within the
receiver’s circuits.
One method of expressing the sensitivity of a receiver is
to establish the minimum discernible signal (MDS). The
MDS is the input signal level that is approximately equal
to the average internally generated noise value. This
noise value is called the noise floor of the receiver.

MDS is the amount of signal that would produce the same

audio power output as the noise floor signal. The MDS is
usually expressed in dBm. Another often used measure of
receiver sensitivity is microvolts or decibels above 1 mV
and decibels above 1 mW (0 dBm).
Fig. 9-3 shows what a spectrum analyzer
display would show as it monitored two
input signals and the background noise.
• There is no one fixed way to
define sensitivity. For analog
signals, the signal-to-noise
ratio is the main consideration
in analog signals.

• For digital signal transmission,

the bit error rate (BER) is
the main consideration. BER is
the number of errors made in
the transmission of many
serial data bits.
 THE SIMPLEST RECEIVER
C O N F I G U RAT I O N
• Fig. 9-4 shows the simplest radio receiver: a crystal
set consisting of a tuned circuit, a diode (crystal)
detector, and earphones. The tuned circuit provides
the selectivity, the diode and C2 serve as an AM
demodulator, and the earphones reproduce the
recovered audio signal.

• It does not provide the kind of selectivity and

sensitivity necessary for modern communication. Only
the strongest signals can produce an output, and
selectivity is often insufficient to separate incoming
signals. and selectivity, so that the demodulator can
perform better.
 S U P E R H E T E R O DY N E
RECEIVERS
• A sensitive and selective receiver can be made using
only amplifiers, selective filters, and a demodulator.
This is called a tuned radio frequency or TRF
receiver. Early radios used this design. However, it
does not usually deliver the kind of performance
expected in modern communications applications.

• Superheterodyne receivers can provide that

performance, it converts all incoming signals to a
lower frequency, known as the intermediate
frequency (IF), at which a single set of amplifiers and
filters is used to provide a fixed level of sensitivity
and selectivity.
 RF AMPLIFIERS
• The antenna picks up the weak radio signal and
feeds it to the RF amplifier, also called a low-noise
amplifier (LNA). Because RF amplifiers provide
some initial gain and selectivity, they are
sometimes referred to as preselectors.

• Tuned circuits help select the desired signal or at

least the frequency range in which the signal
resides. The tuned circuits in fixed tuned receivers
can be given a very high Q, so that excellent
selectivity can be obtained.
• RF amplifiers also minimize oscillator radiation.
The local oscillator signal is relatively strong, and
some of it can leak through and appear at the
input to the mixer.

• The RF amplifier between the mixer and the

antenna isolates the two, significantly reducing
any local oscillator radiation. Both bipolar and
field-effect transistors, made with silicon, GaAs,
or SiGe, can be used as RF amplifiers.

• The selection is made based upon frequency,

cost, integrated versus discrete, and desired
noise performance.
 M I X E R S A N D LO C A L
O S C I L L AT O R S

• The output of the RF amplifier is applied to the

input of the mixer. The mixer also receives an
input from a local oscillator or frequency
synthesizer.
• The mixer may be a diode, a balanced modulator,
or a transistor. MOSFETs and hot carrier diodes
are preferred as mixers because of their low-
noise characteristics.
• The local oscillator is made tunable so that its
frequency can be adjusted over a relatively wide
range.
 IF AMPLIFIERS
• The output of the mixer is an IF signal containing the
same modulation that appeared on the input RF
signal. This signal is amplified by one or more IF
amplifier stages, and most of the receiver gain is
obtained in these stages.

• Selective tuned circuits provide fixed selectivity.

• Crystal, ceramic, or SAW filters are used in most IF

sections to obtain good selectivity. Some forms or
receivers use DSP filters for selectivity.
 DEMODUL ATORS
• The highly amplified IF signal is finally applied to
the demodulator, or detector, which recovers the
original modulating information. The demodulator
may be a diode detector (for AM), a quadrature
detector (for FM), or a product detector (for SSB).

• In modern digital superheterodyne radios, the IF

signal is first digitized by an analog-to-digital
converter (ADC) and then sent to a digital signal
processor (DSP) where the demodulation is carried
out by a programmed algorithm.
 AUTOM AT I C G AI N C ONT R OL
• The output of a demodulator is usually the original
modulating signal, the amplitude of which is directly
proportional to the amplitude of the received signal.
The recovered signal, is rectified and filtered into a
dc voltage by a circuit known as the automatic gain
control (AGC) circuit.

• AGC circuits help maintain a constant output voltage

level over a wide range of RF input signal levels; they
also help the receiver to function over a wide range
so that strong signals do not produce performance-
degrading distortion.
• The amplitude of the RF signal at the antenna of
a receiver can range from a fraction of a
microvolt to thousands of microvolts; this wide
signal range is known as the dynamic range.

• With AGC, the overall gain of the receiver is

automatically adjusted depending on the input
signal level. The signal amplitude at the output of
the detector is proportional to the amplitude of
the input signal; if it is very high, the AGC circuit
produces a high dc output voltage, thereby
reducing the gain of the IF amplifiers.
 FREQUENCY CONVERSION
• Frequency conversion is the process of translating a
modulated signal to a higher or lower frequency while
retaining all the originally transmitted information.

• In radio receivers, high-frequency radio signals are

regularly converted to a lower, intermediate frequency,
where improved gain and selectivity can be obtained. This
is called down conversion.

• In satellite communications, the original signal is generated

at a lower frequency and then converted to a higher
frequency for transmission. This is called up conversion.
 MIXING PRINCIPLES

• Frequency conversion is a form of amplitude modulation or analog

multiplication carried out by a mixer circuit or converter. The function
performed by the mixer is called heterodyning.
• Fig. 9-6 is a schematic diagram of a mixer circuit. Mixers accept two inputs.
The signal fs, which is to be translated to another frequency, is applied to one
input, and the sine wave from a local oscillator fo is applied to the other
input.

• The signal to be translated can be a simple sine wave or any complex

modulated signal containing sidebands. Like an amplitude modulator, a mixer
essentially performs a mathematical multiplication of its two input signals
 MIXER AND CONVERTER CIRCUIT

Diode Mixers
• The primary characteristic of mixer circuits is nonlinearity. Any device or
circuit whose output does not vary linearly with the input can be used as a
mixer.

• A diode mixer circuit using a single diode is shown in Fig. 9-7. The input
signal, which comes from an RF amplifier or, in some receivers, directly from
the antenna, is applied to the primary winding of transformer T1 . The signal
is coupled to the secondary winding and applied to the diode mixer, and the
local oscillator signal is coupled to the diode by way of capacitor C1 .
 DOUBLY BAL ANCED MIXER
• Balanced modulators are also widely used as mixers. These circuits
eliminate the carrier from the output, making the job of filtering
much easier. Both the diode lattice balanced modulator and the
integrated differential amplifier-type balanced modulator are quite
effective in mixing applications.

• A doubly balanced mixer illustrated in Figure 9-8 is probably the

single best mixer available, especially for VHF, UHF, and
microwave frequencies. The transformers are precision-wound and
the diodes matched in characteristics so that a high degree of
carrier or local oscillator suppression occurs.
 FET MIXERS

• FETs make good mixers because

they provide gain, have low noise,
and offer a nearly perfect square-
law response. An example is shown
in Fig. 9-9.

• The FET mixer is biased so that it

operates in the nonlinear portion of
its range. The input signal is
applied to the gate, and the local
oscillator signal is coupled to the
source.
 IC MIXERS

• A typical IC mixer, the NE602 mixer, is shown in Fig. 9-11(a). The

NE602/SA612, also known as a Gilbert transconductance cell, or
Gilbert cell, consists of a doubly balanced mixer circuit made up of
two cross-connected differential amplifiers and uses bipolar transistors.

• Also on the chip is an NPN transistor that can be connected as a stable

oscillator circuit and a dc voltage regulator. It is housed in an 8-pin DIP
and operates from a single dc power supply voltage of 4.5 to 8 V. It can
be used at frequencies up to 500 MHz, making it useful in HF, VHF, and
low-frequency UHF applications.
 IMAGE REJECT MIXER
• A special type of mixer is used in designs in
which images cannot be tolerated. All
superheterodyne receivers suffer from images
but some more than others because of the
frequency of operation, chosen IF, and
interfering signal frequency.

• When proper choice of IF and front-end

selectivity cannot eliminate the images, an
image reject mixer can be used.
 LO C A L O S C I L L AT O R S A N D F R E Q U E N C Y
SYNTHESIZERS
LC Oscillators

• A representative local oscillator for frequencies up to 100 MHz is shown

in Fig. 9-13. This type of circuit, which is sometimes referred to as a
variable frequency oscillator, or VFO, uses a JFET Q1 connected as a
Colpitts oscillator.

• Feedback is developed by the voltage divider, which is made up of C5

and C6 . The frequency is set by the parallel-tuned circuit made up of L1
in parallel with C1 , which is also in parallel with the series combination
of C2 and C3 .
 F R E Q U E N CY S Y N T H E S I Z E R S
• Most new receiver designs incorporate
frequency synthesizers for the local
oscillator, which provides some important
benefits over the simple VFO designs.

• First, since the synthesizer is usually of the

phase-locked loop (PLL) design, the output is
locked to a crystal oscillator reference, providing
a high degree of stability.

• Second, tuning is accomplished by changing the

frequency division factor in the PLL, resulting in
incremental rather than continuous frequency
changes.
 INTERMEDIATE FREQUENCY AND
IMAGES
• The choice of IF is usually a design compromise. The primary objective
is to obtain good selectivity.

• Narrowband selectivity is best obtained at lower frequencies,

particularly when conventional LC tuned circuits are used. Even active
RC filters can be used when IFs of 500 KHz or less are used.

• At low frequencies, the circuits are far more stable with high gain. At
higher frequencies, circuit layouts must take into account stray
inductances and capacitances, as well as the need for shielding, if
undesired feedback paths are to be avoided.
• An image is a potentially interfering
RF signal that is spaced from the
desired incoming signal by a
frequency that is two times the
intermediate frequency above or
below the incoming frequency,

where = image frequency

= desired signal
frequency
= intermediate frequency
 F R E Q U E N C Y R E L AT I O N S H I P S A N D I M A G E S

• The frequency of the local oscillator is usually chosen to be

higher in frequency than the incoming signal by the IF. However,
the local oscillator frequency could also be made lower than the
incoming signal frequency by an amount equal to the IF. Either
choice will produce the desired difference frequency.

• If an image signal appears at the input of the mixer, the mixer

will produce the sum and difference frequencies regardless of
the inputs. Therefore, the mixer output will again be the
difference frequency at the IF value
• Fig. 9-16, shows the relationships between the signal, local oscillator, and
image frequencies. The mixer produces the difference between the local
oscillator frequency and the desired signal frequency, or the difference
between the local oscillator frequency and the image frequency.
 SOLVING THE IMAGE PROBLEM

• Image interference occurs only when the image signal is allowed

to appear at the mixer input. This is the reason for using high-Q
tuned circuits ahead of the mixer, or a selective RF amplifier. If
the selectivity of the RF amplifier and tuned circuits is good
enough, the image will be rejected.

• In a fixed tuned receiver designed for a specific frequency, it is

possible to optimize the receiver front end for the good selectivity
necessary to eliminate images.
• Using a Q of 20 would not solve the image problem completely, but
still higher Qs would further narrow the bandwidth, attenuating the
image even more.
 DUAL-CONVERSION RECEIVERS
• Another way to obtain selectivity while eliminating the image problem is to
use a dual-conversion superheterodyne receiver (Fig. 9-18). It uses
two mixers and local oscillators, and so it has two IFs. The first mixer
converts the incoming signal to a relatively high intermediate frequency for
the purpose of eliminating the images; the second mixer converts that IF
down to a much lower frequency, where good selectivity is easier to obtain.

• It shows how the different frequencies are obtained. Each mixer produces
the difference frequency. The first local oscillator is variable and provides
the tuning for the receiver. The second local oscillator is fixed in frequency.
• Example 1:
• A superheterodyne receiver must cover the range from 220 to
224 MHz. The first IF is 10.7 MHz; the second is 1.5 MHz. Find
(a) the local oscillator tuning range, (b) the frequency of the
second local oscillator, and (c) the first IF image frequency
range. (Assume a local oscillator frequency higher than the
input by the IF.)
 DIRECT CONVERSION
RECEIVERS
• A special version of the superheterodyne is known as
the direct conversion (DC) or zero-IF (ZIF) receiver.
Instead of translating the incoming signal to another
(usually lower) intermediate frequency, dc receivers
convert the incoming signal directly to baseband. In
other words, they perform the demodulation of the
signal as part of the translation.
• Fig. 9-19 shows the basic ZIF receiver architecture. The
low-noise amplifier (LNA) boosts the signal level before
the mixer. The local oscillator (LO) frequency, usually
from a PLL frequency synthesizer fLO, is set to the
frequency of the incoming signal fs

The sum and difference frequencies as a result of

mixing are

=
• Without modulation, there is no output. With AM, the sidebands mix
with the LO to reproduce the original modulation baseband signal.
In this instance, the mixer is also the demodulator. The sum is twice
the LO frequency that is removed by the low-pass filter (LPF).
Example 2:
• Assume a carrier of 21 MHz and a voice modulation signal
from 300 to 3000 Hz and AM. The sidebands extend from
20,997,000 to 21,003,000 Hz. At the receiver, the LO is set to
21 MHz. The mixer produces
• Fig. 9-20 shows a direct conversion receiver that is typical of those
using digital modulation.
 LOW IF RECEIVER
• An alternative to a direct conversion receiver is the low IF receiver.
This design is used to mitigate or eliminate the LO leakage and dc
output problems. The resulting receiver is still a superheterodyne,
but using a low IF offers other benefits such as simpler filters.

• What is a low IF? It depends upon the operating frequency. Early cell
phone designs used an IF in the 125 kHz range, making it possible to
use simple on-chip RC filters. In other designs, a low IF may be in the
1 or 2 MHz range if the operating frequency is above 1 GHz.
 SOFTWARE-DEFINED RADIO

• A software-defined radio (SDR) is a receiver in which most of the

functions are performed by a digital signal processor (Fig. 9-21). A LNA
provides initial amplification and a mixer down-converts the signal to an IF or
to baseband in a DC receiver.

• The binary words representing the IF signal with its modulation are stored in
RAM. A DSP chip then performs additional filtering, demodulation, and
baseband operations.

• The fastest A/D converters available today can digitize at a rate of up to 300
MHz. To meet the Nyquist requirement, this means that the highest
frequency that can be digitized is less than 150 MHz.
Solve the following problems:

1. A radio receiver is tuned to 750 kHz

and its oscillator frequency is 925
kHz. What is the image frequency?

2. A dual-conversion superhet has an

input frequency of 62 MHz and local
oscillators of 71 and 8.6 MHz. What
are the two IFs?
REFERENCES:

• Blake, Roy. (2018). Electronic Communication Systems, Paperback International Edition. Cengage,
India

• Frenzel, Louise Jr, E. (2016). Principles of Electronic Communication Systems, 4 th Edition. McGraw
Hill Education, New York

• Tomasi, Wayne. (2019). Advanced Electronic Communications Systems, 6th Edition. Pearson
Education, Inc. New Jersey

• Testbook. Retrieved June 17, 2020, from

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