Apparatuses and Methods for Conversion of Radio Frequency (RF) Signals to Intermediate Frequency (IF) Signals

An apparatus for conversion of radio frequency (RF) signals in a plurality of frequency bands to intermediate frequency (IF) signals, comprising:

• an oscillator capable of generating an oscillator frequency LO;
• a first down conversion chain, comprising:
• a first first-stage mixer coupled to the oscillator and configured to down convert a received RF signal RF1 using the oscillator frequency LO to generate a first first-stage IF signal IFa,
• a first frequency divider coupled to the oscillator and configured to generate a first divided oscillation frequency by dividing the oscillator frequency LO, and
• a first second-stage mixer coupled to the first frequency divider and configured to down convert the first first-stage IF signal IFa using the second divided oscillation frequency to generate a first second-stage IF signal IF1 using the first divided oscillation frequency;
• and
• a second down conversion chain, comprising:
• a second first-stage mixer coupled to the oscillator and configured to down convert a received RF signal RF2 using the oscillator frequency LO, to generate a second first-stage IF signal IFb,
• a second frequency divider coupled to the oscillator and configured to generate a second divided oscillation frequency by dividing the oscillator frequency LO, and
• a second second-stage mixer coupled to the second frequency divider and configured to down convert the second first-stage IF signal IFb using the second divided oscillation frequency to generate a second second-stage IF signal IF2.

A method of converting radio frequency (RF) signals in a plurality of frequency bands to intermediate frequency (IF) signals in a multi-band receiver, comprising:

• providing an oscillator frequency LO using an oscillator;
• down converting a received RF signal RF using the oscillator frequency LO to generate a set of first-stage IF signals IF1P;
• dividing the oscillator frequency by a plurality of predetermined numbers to generate a plurality of divided oscillation frequencies;
• and
• down converting the plurality of first-stage IF signals IF1P using the plurality of divided oscillation frequencies to generate a plurality of second-stage IF signals IF2P, respectively.

A method, comprising:

• of designing an apparatus for converting radio frequency (RF) signals in a plurality of frequency bands to intermediate frequency (IF) signals, comprising:
• receiving a frequency value RFreq corresponding to an input RF signal RF for a receiver;
• receiving a set of frequencies values IFreq={IFreq1, IFreq2, . . . IFreqi} such that IFreq1 IFreq2 {tilde over (□)}IFreqi, wherein the frequency value IFreqi respectively corresponds to an output IF signal IFi in a set of output IF signals IF={IF1, IF2, . . . IFi} for the receiver, and the frequency values in the set of frequency values IFreq are within substantially the same frequency band;
• determining an oscillator frequency LO and a set of divisors D={D1, D2, D3, . . . Di}, such that |LO/D1−|LO−RF|||LO/D2−|LO−RF||{tilde over (□)}|LO/D1−|LO−RF||IFreq1 IFreq2 {tilde over (□)}IFreqi, wherein the fraction value Di respectively corresponds to a frequency divider in a set of frequency dividers Div={Div1, Div2, . . . Divi} included in the receiver;
• providing an oscillator for the receiver configured to generate the oscillator frequency LO,
• providing a first-stage mixer for the receiver configured to down convert the input RF signal RF using the oscillator frequency LO to generate a first-stage IF signal IFa,
• providing the set of frequency dividers Div for the receiver, wherein frequency divider Divi is configured to generate a divided oscillation frequency DLOi in a set of divided oscillation frequencies DLO={DLO1, DLO2, DLO3, . . . DLO i} by dividing the oscillator frequency LO by the fraction Di, and
• providing a set of second-stage mixers Mix={Mix1, Mix2, . . . Mixi} for the receiver, wherein second-stage mixer Mixi is configured to down convert the first-stage IF signal IFa using divided oscillation frequency DLOi in the set of divided oscillation frequencies DLO to generate the output IF signal IFi.