Low power wireless communication system

A radio frequency (RF) transmitter comprising:

• a first parallel-to-serial converter to convert first parallel data corresponding to a I quadrature baseband signal component into a first set of serial data bits;
• a second parallel-to-serial converter to convert second parallel data corresponding to a Q quadrature baseband signal component into a second set of serial data bits;
• a plurality of stages, wherein each of the plurality of stages may be activated or deactivated to provide variable gain, and wherein each of the plurality of stages has
• a first XOR gate coupled to a first transistor, the first XOR gate having a pair of inputs coupled to the first set of serial data bits and a first clock that corresponds to the I quadrature baseband signal component, and having a first output coupled to drive a gate terminal of the first transistor, wherein a source terminal of the first transistor is coupled directly to ground, the first transistor to convert the first set of serial data bits corresponding to the I quadrature baseband signal component from digital-to-analog without using a digital-to-analog converter;
• and
• a second XOR gate coupled to a second transistor, the second XOR gate having a pair of inputs coupled to the second set of serial data bits and a second clock that corresponds to the Q quadrature baseband signal component, and having a second output coupled to drive a gate terminal of the second transistor, wherein a source terminal of the second transistor is coupled directly to ground, the second transistor to convert the second set of serial data bits corresponding to the Q quadrature baseband signal component from digital-to-analog without using a digital-to-analog converter;
• and
• a mixer to sum the first and second outputs of each of the plurality of stages at a node to obtain a single-side band (SSB) RF output.

A method comprising:

• converting first parallel data corresponding to a I quadrature baseband signal component into a first set of serial data bits;
• converting second parallel data corresponding to a Q quadrature baseband signal component into a second set of serial data bits;
• switching a plurality of stages, wherein each of the plurality of stages may be activated or deactivated to provide variable gain, and wherein each of the plurality of stages comprises:
• performing a first set of XOR operation on the first set of serial data bits using a first XOR gate with a first clock signal as an input to the first XOR gate;
• performing a first set of XOR operation on the second set of serial data bits using a second XOR gate with a second clock signal as an input to the second XOR gate;
• and
• driving gate terminals of first and second transistors with outputs generated from performing the first and second sets of XOR operations, wherein source terminals of the first and second transistors are coupled directly to ground, the first and second transistors to convert the first and second sets of serial data bits corresponding to the I and Q quadrature baseband signal components from digital-to-analog without using a digital-to-analog converter;
• and
• summing the outputs of the first and second transistors of each of the plurality of stages to obtain a single-side band (SSB) RF output.

A radio frequency (RF) receiver comprising:

• an antenna to receive wirelessly transmitted signals;
• an I/Q demodulator to demodulate QAM modulated serial data, the I/Q demodulator comprising:
• a first XOR gate coupled to a first transistor, the first XOR gate having a pair of inputs coupled to a first set of serial data bits corresponding to an I quadrature baseband signal and an I clock signal, and having a first output coupled to drive a gate terminal of the first transistor, wherein a source terminal of the first transistor is coupled directly to ground, the first transistor to convert the first set of serial data bits corresponding to the I quadrature baseband signal component from analog-to-digital without using an analog-to-digital converter;
• and
• a second XOR gate coupled to a second transistor, the second XOR gate having a pair of inputs coupled to a second set of serial data bits corresponding to a Q quadrature baseband signal and a Q clock signal, and having a second output coupled to drive a gate terminal of the second transistor, wherein a source terminal of the second transistor is coupled directly to ground, the second transistor to convert the second set of serial data bits corresponding to the Q quadrature baseband signal component from analog-to-digital without using an analog-to-digital converter;
• an I filter to filter demodulated serial data corresponding to the I quadrature baseband signal;
• a Q filter to filter demodulated serial data corresponding to the Q quadrature baseband signal;
• a first serial-to-parallel converter to convert demodulated serial data corresponding to the I quadrature baseband signal into a first plurality of parallel I-data bits;
• and
• a second serial-to-parallel converter to convert demodulated serial data corresponding to the Q quadrature baseband signal into a second plurality of parallel Q-data bits.