Digitally-Assisted Architectures for Next Generation RF Transceivers

The objective of this research is to discover circuit architectures that enable the next generation of wireless transceivers for communications and biomedical applications. The approach is to focus on digitally assisted architectures, which exploit digital signal processing to enable transceiver performance. The wireless and biomedical fields are the most important, highest-impact applications in integrated circuit design because of exploding commercial and military demand. The difficulty is that transistors in modern processes do not permit the use of analog architectures that have, for decades, served so well. For the first time in many years, therefore, there is an exciting opportunity to innovate at the architectural level in traditional RF and analog design.