AN231 - Infineon

B GA 7 2 8 L 7
Bro a d b a n d L o w No i s e A m p l i fi e r f o r
FM R a d i o Ap p l i c a ti o n s u s i n g
B GA 7 2 8 L 7
In c l u d i n g a c o n f i g u r a ti o n fo r
mi n i mu m NF a n d o n e fo r b e s t i n p u t
ma tc h i n g i n a 5 0 Oh m s ys te m
Ap p l i c a ti o n N o te A N 2 3 1
Revision: Rev. 1.0
2010-08-02
RF a n d P r o te c ti o n D e vi c e s
Edition 2010-08-02
Published by
Infineon Technologies AG
81726 Munich, Germany
© 2010 Infineon Technologies AG
All Rights Reserved.
Legal Disclaimer
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characteristics. With respect to any examples or hints given herein, any typical values stated herein and/or any
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Information
For further information on technology, delivery terms and conditions and prices, please contact the nearest
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BGA728L7
BGA728L7 as a LNA for FM Radio
Application Note AN231
Revision History: 2010-08-02
Previous Revision: prev. Rev. x.x
Page
Subjects (major changes since last revision)
Trademarks of Infineon Technologies AG
A-GOLD™, BlueMoon™, COMNEON™, CONVERGATE™, COSIC™, C166™, CROSSAVE™, CanPAK™,
CIPOS™, CoolMOS™, CoolSET™, CONVERPATH™, CORECONTROL™, DAVE™, DUALFALC™,
DUSLIC™, EasyPIM™, EconoBRIDGE™, EconoDUAL™, EconoPACK™, EconoPIM™, E-GOLD™,
EiceDRIVER™, EUPEC™, ELIC™, EPIC™, FALC™, FCOS™, FLEXISLIC™, GEMINAX™, GOLDMOS™,
HITFET™, HybridPACK™, INCA™, ISAC™, ISOFACE™, IsoPACK™, IWORX™, M-GOLD™, MIPAQ™,
ModSTACK™, MUSLIC™, my-d™, NovalithIC™, OCTALFALC™, OCTAT™, OmniTune™, OmniVia™,
OptiMOS™, OPTIVERSE™, ORIGA™, PROFET™, PRO-SIL™, PrimePACK™, QUADFALC™, RASIC™,
ReverSave™, SatRIC™, SCEPTRE™, SCOUT™, S-GOLD™, SensoNor™, SEROCCO™, SICOFI™,
SIEGET™, SINDRION™, SLIC™, SMARTi™, SmartLEWIS™, SMINT™, SOCRATES™, TEMPFET™,
thinQ!™, TrueNTRY™, TriCore™, TRENCHSTOP™, VINAX™, VINETIC™, VIONTIC™, WildPass™,
X-GOLD™, XMM™, X-PMU™, XPOSYS™, XWAY™.
Other Trademarks
AMBA™, ARM™, MULTI-ICE™, PRIMECELL™, REALVIEW™, THUMB™ of ARM Limited, UK. AUTOSAR™
is licensed by AUTOSAR development partnership. Bluetooth™ of Bluetooth SIG Inc. CAT-iq™ of DECT
Forum. COLOSSUS™, FirstGPS™ of Trimble Navigation Ltd. EMV™ of EMVCo, LLC (Visa Holdings Inc.).
EPCOS™ of Epcos AG. FLEXGO™ of Microsoft Corporation. FlexRay™ is licensed by FlexRay Consortium.
HYPERTERMINAL™ of Hilgraeve Incorporated. IEC™ of Commission Electrotechnique Internationale. IrDA™
of Infrared Data Association Corporation. ISO™ of INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR
STANDARDIZATION. MATLAB™ of MathWorks, Inc. MAXIM™ of Maxim Integrated Products, Inc.
MICROTEC™, NUCLEUS™ of Mentor Graphics Corporation. Mifare™ of NXP. MIPI™ of MIPI Alliance, Inc.
MIPS™ of MIPS Technologies, Inc., USA. muRata™ of MURATA MANUFACTURING CO. OmniVision™ of
OmniVision Technologies, Inc. Openwave™ Openwave Systems Inc. RED HAT™ Red Hat, Inc. RFMD™ RF
Micro Devices, Inc. SIRIUS™ of Sirius Sattelite Radio Inc. SOLARIS™ of Sun Microsystems, Inc. SPANSION™
of Spansion LLC Ltd. Symbian™ of Symbian Software Limited. TAIYO YUDEN™ of Taiyo Yuden Co.
TEAKLITE™ of CEVA, Inc. TEKTRONIX™ of Tektronix Inc. TOKO™ of TOKO KABUSHIKI KAISHA TA.
UNIX™ of X/Open Company Limited. VERILOG™, PALLADIUM™ of Cadence Design Systems, Inc. VLYNQ™
of Texas Instruments Incorporated. VXWORKS™, WIND RIVER™ of WIND RIVER SYSTEMS, INC. ZETEX™
of Diodes Zetex Limited.
Last Trademarks Update 2009-10-19
Application Note AN231, Rev. 1.0
3 / 28
2010-08-02
BGA728L7
BGA728L7 as a LNA for FM Radio
List of Content, Figures and Tables
Table of Contents
List of Figures ........................................................................................................................................................ 4
1
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 6
2
Overview ............................................................................................................................................. 7
3
3.1
3.2
3.3
Circuit optimized for Noise Figure ................................................................................................... 8
Summary of Measurement Results ...................................................................................................... 8
Schematic Diagram .............................................................................................................................. 9
Measured Graphs............................................................................................................................... 10
4
4.1
4.2
4.3
Circuit optimized for input matching ............................................................................................. 16
Summary of Measurement Results .................................................................................................... 16
Schematic Diagram ............................................................................................................................ 17
Measured Graphs............................................................................................................................... 18
5
Evaluation Board .............................................................................................................................. 24
Appendix 1: ESD protection circuit for system level ESD robustness .......................................................... 25
Authors
27
List of Figures
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 9
Figure 10
Figure 11
Figure 12
Figure 13
Figure 14
Figure 15
Figure 16
Figure 17
Figure 18
Figure 19
Figure 20
Figure 21
Figure 22
Figure 23
Figure 24
Figure 25
Figure 26
Figure 27
Figure 28
Figure 29
Figure 30
FM Radio RF front-end block diagram ................................................................................................. 6
Schematic diagram for minimum NF. ................................................................................................... 9
Insertion power gain at minimum NF. ................................................................................................ 10
Noise figure at minimum NF............................................................................................................... 10
Out-of-band Gain at minimum NF ...................................................................................................... 11
Input matching at minimum NF. ......................................................................................................... 11
Output matching of at minimum NF. .................................................................................................. 12
Reverse isolation at minimum NF. ..................................................................................................... 12
Input P1dB compression point at minimum NF.................................................................................. 13
Stability factor K at minimum NF. ....................................................................................................... 13
Stability factor µ1 and µ2 at minimum NF. ......................................................................................... 14
rd
Output 3 order intermodulation distortion at minimum NF. .............................................................. 14
Input and Output impedance at minimum NF. ................................................................................... 15
Schematic diagram for best input matching. ...................................................................................... 17
Insertion Power Gain with best input matching .................................................................................. 18
Noise figure with best input matching ................................................................................................ 18
Out-of-Band attenuation with best input matching ............................................................................. 19
Input matching with best input matching ............................................................................................ 19
Output Matching with best input matching ......................................................................................... 20
Reverse Isolation with best input matching ........................................................................................ 20
Input 1dB ompression point with best input matching........................................................................ 21
Stability factor K with best input matching. ........................................................................................ 21
Stability factor µ1 and µ2 of with best input matching ........................................................................ 22
rd
Output 3 order intermodulation distortion with best input matching ................................................. 22
Input and Output impedance with best input matching. ..................................................................... 23
Picture of Evaluation Board ................................................................................................................ 24
PCB Layer Information ....................................................................................................................... 24
ESD test pulse according to system level specification IEC61000-4-2 – Contact Discharge 15kV .. 25
Smart 2-step ESD protection approach based on external and internal ESD protection structure ... 26
Standard ESD protection topology with optional ESD resistor, blocking capacitor and a serial
inductor ............................................................................................................................................... 26
Application Note AN231, Rev. 1.0
4 / 28
2010-08-02
BGA728L7
BGA728L7 as a LNA for FM Radio
List of Content, Figures and Tables
List of Tables
Table 1
Table 2
Table 3
Table 4
Table 5
Comparison of the two circuits. ............................................................................................................ 7
Performance with min. NF at Vcc=Von=2.8 V, Vgs=0V ....................................................................... 8
Bill-of-Materials for minimum NF .......................................................................................................... 9
Performance with best input matching at Vcc=Von=2.8 V, Vgs=0V .................................................. 16
Bill-of-Materials for best input matching ............................................................................................. 17
Application Note AN231, Rev. 1.0
5 / 28
2010-08-02
BGA728L7
BGA728L7 as a LNA for FM Radio
Introduction
1
Introduction
FM Radio has a long history to its credit starting from its development in 1933. Today, FM radio is an integral
part of almost all mobile phones, including the ultra low cost phones. FM Radio broadcast today is not just used
to listento songs and news, but also used for RDS (Radio Data System) to receive various services including
TMC (Traffic Message Channel) which gives traffic information for navigation purposes. In addition, some
handsets are being equipped with FM Radio transimission capability to send voice signals to car audio systems
or Hi-Fi systems.
Therefore, FM system design in a phone is getting more and more complex. Till recently, the headset served as
the antenna for FM Radio reception, wherein the antenna size is a bit relaxed and the antenna performance is
satisfactory. A new trend has emerged to be able to use FM radio also without the headset, wherein the
antenna embedded into the phone. But in this case, the space constraint poses a challenge on the antenna
design. Shrinking the size of the antenna reduces antenna gain and bandwidth, which introduces a high loss
into the system which deteriorates the receiver performance, namely the receiver sensitivity. This application
note presents Infineon solution to the aforementioned challenges leading to the design of a high performance
RF front end with the lowest power consumption.
A general topology for the RF front-end of FM Radio is as shown in Figure 1. Variations of the given application
schematic are possible based on the complete system design and concept. These may include systems with
only external headset antenna, only internal embedded antenna or both antennas co-existing. Infineon offers
the complete chain of RF front-end parts between the antenna and the receiver IC for FM Radio, which include
ESD protection devices, RF switches and LNAs. The focus of this application note is Low Noise Amplifier for
FMR.
Figure 1
FM Radio RF front-end block diagram
An ESD protection circuit is needed at the antenna to protect the front-end system from ESD strikes, as the
antenna is susceptible to ESD events. For more information please see Appendix 1.
A Single Pole Double Throw or SPDT RF switch is used to toggle between the headset and embedded antenna.
The switch being in front of the LNA and in the vicinity of strong cellular signals should introduce minimal loss to
the system and offer high linearity. To know more about Infineon solutions for RF Switches, please refer to
application note AN175.
A Low Noise Amplifier or LNA follows the switch, which significantly reduces the noise figure of the whole
receiver chain, thereby improving the receiver sensitivity. However, there are a few challenges in the design of
the LNA for this purpose. Using it in a hand held device demands low current consumption and high linearity
due to the coexistence of cellular bands. In a system with internal antenna, due to the very small size, the
antenna impedance is very high and thus the LNA has to be matched to this high impedance and in addition
offer a low noise figure.
Application Note AN231, Rev. 1.0
6 / 28
2010-08-02
BGA728L7
BGA728L7 as a LNA for FM Radio
Overview
2
Overview
This application note shows the performance of Infineon’s BGA728L7 as an LNA for FM radio.
BGA728L7 is a broadband MMIC originally targeted at mobile TV applications but may also being used for FM
radio applications. It offers high integration including biasing, on/off switch and a low gain mode.
The application note is divided in two parts. The first part shows the MMIC in a configuration that is optimized for
low noise figure, in the other part the LNA is optimized for a good matching to 50 Ohms.
Comparison of the two circuits.Table 1 gives a quick overview of the performance difference of the two circuits.
Test conditions are the same for both configurations
Table 1
Comparison of the two circuits.
Optimized for
Parameter
Noise Figure
Input matching
Noise figure / dB
1.3
1.65
Gain / dB
14.3
16.4
Input return loss / dB
7.3
12.2
Output return loss / dB
9.7
9.6
Input 1dB compression point / dBm
-9
-6.5
Application Note AN231, Rev. 1.0
7 / 28
2010-08-02
BGA728L7
BGA728L7 as a LNA for FM Radio
Circuit optimized for Noise Figure
3
Circuit optimized for Noise Figure
3.1
Summary of Measurement Results
Table 2
Performance with min. NF at Vcc=Von=2.8 V, Vgs=0V
Parameter
Symbol
Value
Unit
Frequency Range
Freq
78-108
MHz
DC Voltage
Vcc
2.8
V
DC Current
Icc
5.7
mA
Gain
G
14.3
dB
Pin=-30dBm
Noise Figure
NF
1.3
dB
SMA and PCB loss of 0.1 dB included
RLin
7.3
dB
Pin=-30dBm
RLout
9.7
dB
Pin=-30dBm
IRev
28.8
dB
Pin=-30dBm
Input P1dB
IP1dB
-9.3
Output P1dB
OP1dB
4
dBm
Input IP3
IIP3
-7.2
dBm
Output IP3
OIP3
7.1
dBm
k
>1
--
Input Return Loss
Output Return Loss
Reverse Isolation
Stability
Application Note AN231, Rev. 1.0
Note/Test Condition
dBm Measured @ 100MHz
In-band, f1=100MHz, f2=101MHz,
Pin=-30dBm
Unconditionally stable from DC to 10GHz
8 / 28
2010-08-02
BGA728L7
BGA728L7 as a LNA for FM Radio
Circuit optimized for Noise Figure
3.2
Schematic Diagram
C4
1µF
Von, 2.8V
C1
270pF
In
1
VCC, 2.8V
6
7
L2
150nH
C6
9pF
Out
2 BGA728L7 5
L1
470nH
3
TSLP-7-6
4
Top View
VCC, 2.8V
C5
10nF
Figure 2
Table 3
Schematic diagram for minimum NF.
Bill-of-Materials for minimum NF
Symbol
Value
Unit
Size
Manufacturer
C1
270
pF
0402
Various
Input matching
C4
1
uF
0402
Various
HF to ground
C5
10
nF
0402
Various
HF to ground
C6
9
pF
0402
Various
Output matching
L1
470
nH
0603
Tayio Yuden LK
DC Feed/ Input matching
L2
150
nH
0402
Murata LQG15A
Output matching
N1
BGA728L7
TSLP-7-1
Infineon
Technologies
Application Note AN231, Rev. 1.0
9 / 28
Comment
SiGe:C LNA MMIC
2010-08-02
BGA728L7
BGA728L7 as a LNA for FM Radio
Circuit optimized for Noise Figure
3.3
Measured Graphs
Insertion Power Gain InBand
20
15
10
5
78 MHz
14.89 dB
0
110 MHz
14.3 dB
-5
-10
-15
-20
0
Figure 3
100
200
300
Frequency (MHz)
400
500
Insertion power gain at minimum NF.
Noise figure
2
NF(dB)
1.8
78 MHz
1.249 dB
1.6
110 MHz
1.309 dB
1.4
1.2
1
78
Figure 4
86
94
Frequency (MHz)
102
110
Noise figure at minimum NF.
Application Note AN231, Rev. 1.0
10 / 28
2010-08-02
BGA728L7
BGA728L7 as a LNA for FM Radio
Circuit optimized for Noise Figure
Out of band attenuation
20
15
10
1575 MHz
-19.45 dB
5
900 MHz
-22.12 dB
0
2400 MHz
-33.9 dB
-5
5000 MHz
-27.16 dB
-10
-15
-20
-25
-30
-35
-40
0
Figure 5
1000
2000
3000
4000 5000 6000
Frequency (MHz)
7000
8000
700
800
9000 10000
Out-of-band Gain at minimum NF
Input Matching
0
78 MHz
-7.289 dB
-5
110 MHz
-7.395 dB
-10
-15
-20
-25
0
Figure 6
100
200
300
400
500
600
Frequency (MHz)
900
1000
Input matching at minimum NF.
Application Note AN231, Rev. 1.0
11 / 28
2010-08-02
BGA728L7
BGA728L7 as a LNA for FM Radio
Circuit optimized for Noise Figure
Output Matching
0
-5
110 MHz
-9.717 dB
-10
-15
-20
78 MHz
-14.99 dB
-25
-30
0
Figure 7
100
200
300
Frequency (MHz)
400
500
400
500
Output matching of at minimum NF.
Reverse Isolation
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
78 MHz
28.82
110 MHz
29.18
0
Figure 8
100
200
300
Frequency (MHz)
Reverse isolation at minimum NF.
Application Note AN231, Rev. 1.0
12 / 28
2010-08-02
BGA728L7
BGA728L7 as a LNA for FM Radio
Circuit optimized for Noise Figure
Compression point at 1dB
20
-27 dBm
14.69 dB
-9.693 dBm
13.69 dB
Gain(dB)
15
10
5
0
-27
Figure 9
-22
-17
-12
Pin (dBm)
-7
-2
0
Input P1dB compression point at minimum NF.
Stability K Factor
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
34.975 MHz
1.894
3
2
1
0
0
Figure 10
2000
4000
6000
Frequency (MHz)
8000
10000
Stability factor K at minimum NF.
Application Note AN231, Rev. 1.0
13 / 28
2010-08-02
BGA728L7
BGA728L7 as a LNA for FM Radio
Circuit optimized for Noise Figure
Stability Mu factor
Mu2 factor
5
Mu1 factor
4
3
2
1
0
0
2000
4000
6000
Frequency (MHz)
Figure 11
Stability factor µ1 and µ2 at minimum NF.
Figure 12
Output 3 order intermodulation distortion at minimum NF.
8000
10000
rd
Application Note AN231, Rev. 1.0
14 / 28
2010-08-02
BGA728L7
BGA728L7 as a LNA for FM Radio
Circuit optimized for Noise Figure
0.8
1.0
Z Parameters Input output matching
2.
0
6
0.
Z11
Swp Max
110MHz
0.
4
Z22
3.
0
0
4.
10.0
5.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
78 MHz
r 1.0849
x -0.367454
78 MHz
r 2.50056 10.0
x 0.209126
110 MHz
r 2.24402
x -0.672187
-10.0
0.2
2
-5.
0
-0.
5.0
110 MHz
r 1.87693
x 0.357998
-4
.0
.0
Figure 13
-
0
2.
-1.0
-0.8
-0
.6
.4
-3
-0
Swp Min
78MHz
Input and Output impedance at minimum NF.
Application Note AN231, Rev. 1.0
15 / 28
2010-08-02
BGA728L7
BGA728L7 as a LNA for FM Radio
Circuit optimized for input matching
4
Circuit optimized for input matching
4.1
Summary of Measurement Results
Table 4
Performance with best input matching at Vcc=Von=2.8 V, Vgs=0V
Parameter
Symbol
Value
Unit
Frequency Range
Freq
78…110
MHz
DC Voltage
Vcc
2.8
V
DC Current
Icc
5.8
mA
Gain
G
14.6
dB
Pin=-30dBm
Noise Figure
NF
1.65
dB
SMA and PCB loss of 0.10 dB included
RLin
12.2
dB
Pin=-30dBm
RLout
9.6
dB
Pin=-30dBm
IRev
28.8
dB
Pin=-30dBm
Input P1dB
IP1dB
-10.4
Output P1dB
OP1dB
3.7
dBm
Input IP3
IIP3
-6.4
dBm
Output IP3
OIP3
8.2
dBm
k
>1
--
Input Return Loss
Output Return Loss
Reverse Isolation
Stability
Application Note AN231, Rev. 1.0
Note/Test Condition
dBm Measured @ 100MHz
In-band, f1=100MHz, f2=101MHz,
Pin=-30dBm
Unconditionally stable from DC to 10GHz
16 / 28
2010-08-02
BGA728L7
BGA728L7 as a LNA for FM Radio
Circuit optimized for input matching
4.2
Schematic Diagram
Von, 2.8V
C1
39pF
In
1
C4
1µF
VCC, 2.8V
6
7
L2
150nH
C6
9pF
Out
2 BGA728L7 5
L1
180nH
3
TSLP-7-6
4
Top View
VCC, 2.8V
C5
10nF
Figure 14
Table 5
Schematic diagram for best input matching.
Bill-of-Materials for best input matching
Symbol
Value
Unit
C1
39
pF
0402
Various
Input matching/DC block
C4
1
uF
0402
Various
HF to ground
C5
10
nF
0402
Various
HF to ground
C6
9
pF
0402
Various
Output matching
L1
180
nH
0402
Murata LQG15A
DC Feed/ Input matching
L2
150
nH
0402
Murata LQG15A
Output matching
N1
BGA728L7
TSLP-76
Infineon
Technologies
Application Note AN231, Rev. 1.0
Size
Manufacturer
17 / 28
Comment
SiGe:C MMIC LNA
2010-08-02
BGA728L7
BGA728L7 as a LNA for FM Radio
Circuit optimized for input matching
4.3
Measured Graphs
Insertion Power Gain InBand
20
15
10
78 MHz
15.26 dB
5
110 MHz
14.6 dB
0
-5
-10
-15
-20
0
Figure 15
100
200
300
Frequency (MHz)
400
500
Insertion Power Gain with best input matching
Noise figure
2
NF(dB)
1.8
78 MHz
1.654 dB
110 MHz
1.471 dB
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
78
Figure 16
86
94
Frequency (MHz)
102
110
Noise figure with best input matching
Application Note AN231, Rev. 1.0
18 / 28
2010-08-02
BGA728L7
BGA728L7 as a LNA for FM Radio
Circuit optimized for input matching
Out of band attenuation
20
15
10
900 MHz
-23.41 dB
5
2400 MHz
-32.97 dB
0
-5
1575 MHz
-19.12 dB
-10
5000 MHz
-24.85 dB
-15
-20
-25
-30
-35
-40
0
Figure 17
1000
2000
3000
4000 5000 6000
Frequency (MHz)
7000
8000
700
800
9000 10000
Out-of-Band attenuation with best input matching
Input Matching
0
-5
110 MHz
-12.21 dB
-10
-15
-20
78 MHz
-30.82 dB
-25
-30
-35
0
Figure 18
100
200
300
400
500
600
Frequency (MHz)
900
1000
Input matching with best input matching
Application Note AN231, Rev. 1.0
19 / 28
2010-08-02
BGA728L7
BGA728L7 as a LNA for FM Radio
Circuit optimized for input matching
Output Matching
0
-5
110 MHz
-9.599 dB
-10
-15
78 MHz
-15.49 dB
-20
-25
-30
0
Figure 19
100
200
300
Frequency (MHz)
400
500
400
500
Output Matching with best input matching
Reverse Isolation
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
78 MHz
28.79
110 MHz
29.18
0
Figure 20
100
200
300
Frequency (MHz)
Reverse Isolation with best input matching
Application Note AN231, Rev. 1.0
20 / 28
2010-08-02
BGA728L7
BGA728L7 as a LNA for FM Radio
Circuit optimized for input matching
Compression point at 1dB
20
-27 dBm
15.09 dB
-10.36 dBm
14.09 dB
Gain(dB)
15
10
5
0
-27
Figure 21
-22
-17
-12
Pin (dBm)
-7
-2
0
Input 1dB ompression point with best input matching
Stability K Factor
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
92.73 MHz
2.353
3
2
1
0
0
Figure 22
2000
4000
6000
Frequency (MHz)
8000
10000
Stability factor K with best input matching.
Application Note AN231, Rev. 1.0
21 / 28
2010-08-02
BGA728L7
BGA728L7 as a LNA for FM Radio
Circuit optimized for input matching
Stability Mu factor
Mu2 factor
5
Mu1 factor
4
3
2
1
0
0
2000
4000
6000
Frequency (MHz)
8000
Figure 23
Stability factor µ1 and µ2 of with best input matching
Figure 24
Output 3 order intermodulation distortion with best input matching
10000
rd
Application Note AN231, Rev. 1.0
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2010-08-02
BGA728L7
BGA728L7 as a LNA for FM Radio
Circuit optimized for input matching
0.8
1.0
Z Parameters Input output matching
Swp Max
110MHz
2.
0
6
0.
Z11
0.
0
0
4.
5.0
10.0
5.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
10.0
1.0
0.8
0.4
0.2
3.
110 MHz
r 1.64196
x 0.088891
-10.0
0.6
78 MHz
r 0.941334
x -0.010687
0.2
78 MHz
r 0.924681
x -0.320277
2
-0.
0
0
110 MHz
r 1.77503
x 0.523561
-5.
4
Z22
-4
.0
.0
Figure 25
-
0
2.
-1.0
-0.8
-0
.6
.4
-3
-0
Swp Min
78MHz
Input and Output impedance with best input matching.
Application Note AN231, Rev. 1.0
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2010-08-02
BGA728L7
BGA728L7 as a LNA for FM Radio
Evaluation Board
5
Evaluation Board
Figure 26
Picture of Evaluation Board
Figure 27
PCB Layer Information
Application Note AN231, Rev. 1.0
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2010-08-02
BGA728L7
BGA728L7 as a LNA for FM Radio
Evaluation Board
Appendix 1: ESD protection circuit for system level ESD robustness
Introduction
With the advancement in miniaturization of semiconductor structures, ESD handling capability of the devices is
becoming a concern. Increasing ESD handling capability of the I/O ports costs additional chip size and affects
the I/O capacitance significantly. This is very important for high frequency devices, especially when high linearity
is required. Therefore, tailored and cost effective ESD protection devices can be used to build up an ESD
protection circuit. To handle ESD events during assembly, devices normally have on-chip ESD protection
according to the device level standards e.g. “Human Body Model” JEDEC 22-A-115. To fulfill the much more
stringent system level ESD requirements according to IEC61000-4-2 as shown in Figure 28, the external ESD
protection circuit has to handle the majority of the ESD strike. The best external ESD protection is achieved
using a TVS diode assisted by additional passive components.
m6
ESD_current, A
60
Reference Pulse
15kV contact discharge
according IEC61000-4-2
m6
time=1.507nsec
ESD_current=57.68 A
m7
time=30.01nsec
ESD_current=29.43 A
40
m7
m8
20
m8
time=60.01nsec
ESD_current=15.18 A
0
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
time, nsec
Figure 28
ESD test pulse according to system level specification IEC61000-4-2 – Contact Discharge
15kV
Some examples of RF applications addressed by the Infineon ESD protection proposal are given below:
• FM Radio (76 MHz -110 MHz)
• WLAN 802.11b/g/n (2.4 GHz, Tx ~ +20 dBm)
• Bluetooth (2.4 GHz, Tx ~ +20 dBm)
• Automatic Meter Reading, AMR (900 MHz, TX ~ +20 dBm)
• Remote Keyless Entry, RKE (315 MHz - 434 MHz - 868 MHz - 915 MHz, Tx~13 dBm)
• GPS (1575 MHz, Rx only but can be affected by RF interferer)
For an ESD protection device tailored for medium power RF signals (=< +20 dBm), following requirements are
essential:
1. RF requirements
a) Bidirectional characteristic to handle DC free signals without clipping / signal distortion
b) A highly symmetrical behavior of the ESD device for positive and negative voltage swings is mandatory to
keep the power level of even Harmonics low
c) Breakdown voltage of 5 V-10V, to avoid signal distortion at high RF voltage swing applied at the TVS
diode, located close to the antenna
d) High linearity
e) Low leakage current and stable diode capacitance vs. RF voltage swing
f) Ultra low diode capacitance is mandatory
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2010-08-02
BGA728L7
BGA728L7 as a LNA for FM Radio
Evaluation Board
2. ESD requirements
a) Lowest dynamic resistance Rdyn to offer best protection for the RFIC; Rdyn is characterized by
Transmission Line Pulse (TLP) measurement
b) Very fast switch-on time (<<1nsec) to ground the initial peak of an ESD strike according to IEC61000-4-2
c) No performance degradation over a large number of ESD zaps (>1000)
Two-step ESD Protection approach
General structure for a 2-step ESD approach according to Figure 29 enables to split the entire ESD current
between the internal and external ESD protection device. The external device is much more robust and handles
the majority of the ESD current. To avoid any impact on the RF behavior of the system and to minimize non
linearity effects, the TVS diode should possess an ultra low device capacitance.
Therefore the bi-directional (symmetrical) Infineon TVS Diode ESD0P2RF is well suited, which provides a diode
capacitance as low as 0.2 pF and a Rdyn of only 1 Ohm. ESD robustness can be improved one step more by
adding a small serial resistor between the external TVS diode and the RF amplifier input. A resistor of ~2.2 Ohm
is a good compromise between additional ESD performance and insertion loss. The TVS diode ESD0P2RF in
combination with the 2.2 Ohm ESD resistor would incur less than 0.23dB insertion loss up to 3 GHz.
Figure 29
Smart 2-step ESD protection approach based on external and internal ESD protection
structure
For further ESD improvement it is highly recommend to add a serial capacitor (C1). The capacitor cuts off most
of the high energy created by the ESD strike. For better ESD robustness, C1 should be as small as possible,
but has to match to the intended application frequency as well. For a broadband ESD protection
(80MHz…3GHz) C1 should be about 100pF…150pF. Optional matching can be implemented with a serial
inductor L1 for a dedicated frequency. In combination with L1, C1 can be reduced significantly which improves
the ESD performance.
+ Vcc
OUT
LNA/
Switch/
Filter
Internal
ESD
Protection
RX antenna
RF IC
input
C1
optional
L1
ESD_ resistor
ESD_protection_2.vsd
Figure 30
Standard ESD protection topology with optional ESD resistor, blocking capacitor and a
serial inductor
Application Note AN231, Rev. 1.0
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2010-08-02
BGA728L7
BGA728L7 as a LNA for FM Radio
Authors
Authors
Anthony Thomas, Application Engineer of “RF and Protection Devices”
Dr. Lin Chih-I, Senior Staff Engineer of “RF and Protection Devices”
Dietmar Stolz, Staff Engineer of Business Unit “RF and Protection Devices”
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2010-08-02
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Published by Infineon Technologies AG
AN231