Analysing the characteristics of the memory effects of mixers using two-tone measurements

Abstract

With the development of communication systems, the memory effects of mixers, defined as frequency dependence and asymmetry of intermodulation (IM) products, have become prominent. Conventional mixer models cannot describe the changing characteristics of mixers’ memory effects versus tone spacing. Thus, this study aims to analyse the characteristics of mixers’ memory effects instead of developing a high-accuracy model to characterise memory effects. IM3 product characteristics are described using simplified generalised frequency-response functions and a multi-box behavioural mixer model. These characteristics show that the lower and upper IM3 products have inverse trends compared to tone spacing, except for frequency dependence and asymmetry.