Principles of Super-
Regenerative Receivers (SRR)
IHCT Klausurtagung
Marcel Andree
High-Frequency and Communication Technology (IHCT)
University of Wuppertal
SRR
Outline
• History of SRR
• Fundamentals
• Detection Principle
• Example
• Applications and State of the Art
• Conclusion and Discussion
2
SRR
History of Super-Regenerative Receivers
• 1912: Invention of the Regenerative Receiver
– Idea: Cost effective radio receiver with only one vacuum tube
• 1921: First Super-Regenerative Receiver
Edwin Howard Armstrong
• 1930 - 1950: Widely for international broadcasts,
amateur and commercial communication (3 – 30 MHz)
• Late 1950s: Replacement by super-heterodyne receivers
3
SRR
Oscillator Fundamentals
𝟏
𝒇𝒓 =
𝟐𝝅 𝑳𝑪
• LC tank works as oscillator
• Assumption 1: |-R2| > |R1| R = R2+R1 is negative and constant!
Two cases in this scenario:
(1) Switch open No Oscillations
(2) Switch closed Oscillations
How do chopped oscillators work as (super - regenerative) receivers?
4
SRR
Oscillator Fundamentals
• Starting with KVL:
𝑑𝐼 𝑡 1
L∙ 𝑑𝑡
−𝑅∙𝐼 𝑡 +
𝐶
𝐼 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = 𝐴𝑅𝐹 ∙ 𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝜔𝑡)
• Differentiate (with respect to t):
𝑑2 𝐼 𝑡 𝑑𝐼 𝑡 𝐼(𝑡)
𝐿∙ −𝑅∙ + = 𝐴𝑅𝐹 ∙ 𝜔 ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜔𝑡)
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝐶
• Solving this differential equation, a possible solution is [3]:
𝐼 𝑡 = 𝐾1 𝑒 𝑎+𝑏 𝑡 + 𝐾2 𝑒 𝑎−𝑏 𝑡 − 𝐷1 𝐴𝑅𝐹 ∙ 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜔𝑡 + 𝐷2 𝐴𝑅𝐹 ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜔𝑡 (Eq. 1)
1
𝑅 R2 1 𝑅 𝜔𝐿−
𝜔𝐶
𝑎= ,𝑏 = 2 − , 𝐷1 = 1 2
, 𝐷2 = 1 2
, 𝐾1, 𝐾2 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡.
2𝐿 4L LC 𝑅2 + 𝜔𝐿−𝜔𝐶 𝑅2 + 𝜔𝐿−𝜔𝐶
Imaginary 5
SRR
Fundamentals
• Initial condition t = 0 i = 0:
1 1
−𝐴 ∙ [𝑅𝜔 − 𝜔𝐿 −
𝐴𝑅𝐹 ∙ [𝑅𝜔 − 𝜔𝐿 − 𝜔𝐶 ∙ 𝑎 − 𝑏 ] 𝑅𝐹 𝜔𝐶 ∙ 𝑎 + 𝑏 ]
𝐾1 = 𝐾2 =
2 1 2 2𝑏[𝑅 2 ∙ (𝜔𝐿 − 1 )2 ]
2𝑏[𝑅 ∙ (𝜔𝐿 − ) ] 𝜔𝐶
𝜔𝐶
• Assumption 2: Input frequency close to resonant frequency: 1 𝜔𝑟
𝑓𝑅𝐹 = =
2𝜋 𝐿𝐶 2𝜋
• Include the imaginaryWhat do Euler
b and we learn from this equation?
equation:
1 𝑅2
𝑏 = 𝑗𝛽 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝛽 = − 2
𝐿𝐶 4𝐿
• In total: 𝐴𝑅𝐹 ∙ 𝜔𝑟 𝑎𝑡 (𝑒 𝑗𝛽𝑡 −𝑒 −𝑗𝛽𝑡 ) 𝐴𝑅𝐹 ∙ sin 𝜔𝑟 ∙ 𝑡
𝐼 𝑡 = ∙𝑒 ∙ −
𝛽𝑅 2𝑗 𝑅
𝐴𝑅𝐹 ∙ 𝜔𝑟 𝑅 ∙𝑡 𝐴𝑅𝐹 ∙ sin 𝜔𝑟 ∙ 𝑡
= 𝑒 2𝐿 ∙ sin(𝛽𝑡) −
𝛽𝑅 𝑅
6
SRR
Fundamentals
𝐴𝑅𝐹 ∙ 𝜔𝑟 𝑅 ∙𝑡
𝐼0 = 𝑒 2𝐿
𝛽𝑅
• Amplitude proportional to the applied RF signal amplitude (ARF)
𝑅
∙𝑡
• Factor 𝑒2𝐿 gives large RF gain
• Differentiate:
𝑑𝐼0 𝐴𝑅𝐹 ∙ 𝜔𝑟 𝑅 ∙𝑡
= 𝑒 2𝐿
𝑑𝑡 2𝐿𝛽
• The slope of building up the oscillation
also depends on ARF
• Two modes of operation:
(1) Switch opens after steady-state (logarithmic)
(2) Switch opens before steady-state (linear) 7
SRR
Detection Principles
Case 1: Logarithmic
𝐴𝑅𝐹 ∙ 𝜔𝑟 𝑅 ∙𝑡 2𝐿 𝐼𝑚 𝑅𝛽
𝐼0 = 𝑒 2𝐿 𝑇1 = [ln − ln(𝐴𝑅𝐹1 )]
𝛽𝑅 𝑅 𝜔𝑟
• T1: Time to build up an oscillator current Im
• With two different amplitudes,
the difference in build up time is:
2𝐿 𝐴𝑅𝐹1
𝑇 = 𝑇2 − 𝑇1 = ln
𝑅 𝐴𝑅𝐹2
• "time of advance" due to
increasing signal voltage ratio
proportional to the logarithm of
the ratio of two voltage amplitudes. 8
SRR
Detection Principles
Case 2: Linear
𝑡1 𝑡1
𝜔𝑟 𝑅
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 = 𝐼0 𝑑𝑡 = 𝐴𝑅𝐹 𝑒 2𝐿∙𝑡
0 𝛽𝑅 0
• Area proportional to ARF
• Envelope detector for
signal detection
9
SRR
Selectivity
1 𝜔𝑛
• Assumption 2: 𝑓𝑅𝐹 = 𝑓𝑛 =
2𝜋 𝐿𝐶 2𝜋
1 1
|𝑅| ≪ 𝜔𝑛 𝐿 − 𝑅𝜔𝑛 ≪ (𝜔𝑛 𝐿 − ) ∙ (𝑎 ∓ 𝑗𝛽)
𝜔𝑛 𝐶 𝜔𝑛 𝐶
• In Eq. 1 + gives an expression for the Amplitude In of the free
oscillation: 𝐴𝑛 ∙ 𝜔𝑟 𝑅
𝐼𝑛 = 𝑒 2𝐿∙𝑡
1 Has to be large!!
(𝜔𝑛 𝐿 − )𝛽
𝜔𝑛 𝐶
• Compare to oscillatory current:
𝐴0 ∙ 𝜔𝑟 𝑅 ∙𝑡 Has to be low!!
𝐼0 = 𝑒 2𝐿
𝛽𝑅 10
SRR
Selectivity
• In total:
𝐼𝑛 𝐴𝑛 𝑅
=
𝐼0 𝐴0 (𝜔 𝐿 − 1 )
𝑛 𝜔𝑛 𝐶
Noise
• For the same current amplitude:
1
𝐴𝑛 (𝜔𝑛 𝐿 − 𝜔𝑛 𝐶 )
=
𝐴0 𝑅
1
(𝜔𝑛 𝐿−𝜔 𝐶)
• 𝐴𝑛 has to be larger than 𝐴0 by a factor of 𝑛
for signal
𝑅
detection
Narrowband 11
SRR
Example
[4]
• Transconductance Amplifier isolates the antenna from the SRO
• Envelope detector + comparator for signal detection
12
SRR
Example (OOK)
Self-Quenching [4]
• Self Quenching to get rid of the external Quench-Waveform
• Quench rate twice the highest frequency component in BB signal
13
SRR
Applications
• Commercial: Low cost and low power consumer applications (<1$)
e.g. garage door opener, doorbell or walkie talkie
• Wake-up receivers for microcontroller circuits
• Short distance data transceiver with medium data rates
14
SRR
Current State of the Art
• Most applications below or around 2.4 GHz
• Programmable PLL adjusts the
varactor voltage (frequency tuning)
• Programmable frequency divider
for channel selection (9 channels)
• DAC to control gm
[5] J. Chen, M. P. Flynn and J. P. Hayes, "A Fully Integrated Auto-Calibrated Super-Regenerative
Receiver in 0.13-$\mu{\hbox {m}}$ CMOS," in IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, vol. 42, no. 9,
pp. 1976-1985, Sept. 2007, doi: 10.1109/JSSC.2007.903092.
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SRR
Current State of the Art
• 180-GHz super-regenerative oscillator
in 130nm SiGe BiCMOS
• Differential common-collector Colpitts topology
• Diode-connected transistor pair T5,6
act as varactors for oscillation frequency
tuning
[6] H. Ghaleb, C. Carlowitz, D. Fritsche, C. Carta and F. Ellinger,
"A 180-GHz Super-Regenerative Oscillator with up to 58 dB Gain for Efficient Phase Recovery,“
2019 IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Symposium (RFIC), Boston, MA, USA, 2019,
pp. 131-134, doi: 10.1109/RFIC.2019.870186
16
SRR
Current State of the Art
• Measured data-rates > 3 Gbit/s
[6] H. Ghaleb, C. Carlowitz, D. Fritsche, C. Carta and F. Ellinger,
"A 180-GHz Super-Regenerative Oscillator with up to 58 dB Gain for Efficient Phase Recovery,“
2019 IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Symposium (RFIC), Boston, MA, USA, 2019,
pp. 131-134, doi: 10.1109/RFIC.2019.8701870
17
SRR
Conclusion
• The working principle of SRR has been presented based on a chopped
oscillator with linear and logarithmic mode detection
• SRR are rather narrowband and feature lower sensitivty than super-
heterodyne receivers
• SRR are suitable for low cost applications
• The literature of SRR operating above 100 GHz is very scarce
18
SRR
Literature
[1] E. H. Armstrong, "Wireless receiving system." U.S. Patent 1113149A, issued October 6, 1914
[2] E. H. Armstrong, "Some Recent Developments of Regenerative Circuits," in Proceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers, vol. 10, no. 4,
pp. 244-260, Aug. 1922
[3] F. W. Frink, "The Basic Principles of Super-Regenerative Reception," in Proceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers, vol. 26, no. 1, pp.
76-106, Jan. 1938
[4] V. Dabbagh Rezaei and K. Entesari, "A Fully On-Chip 80-pJ/b OOK Super-Regenerative Receiver With Sensitivity-Data Rate Tradeoff
Capability," in IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, vol. 53, no. 5, pp. 1443-1456, May 2018
[5] J. Chen, M. P. Flynn and J. P. Hayes, "A Fully Integrated Auto-Calibrated Super-Regenerative Receiver in 0.13-um CMOS," in IEEE Journal
of Solid-State Circuits, vol. 42, no. 9, pp. 1976-1985, Sept. 2007
[6] H. Ghaleb, C. Carlowitz, D. Fritsche, C. Carta and F. Ellinger, "A 180-GHz Super-Regenerative Oscillator with up to 58 dB Gain for Efficient
Phase Recovery,“2019 IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Symposium (RFIC), Boston, MA, USA, 2019, pp. 131-134, doi:
10.1109/RFIC.2019.8701870
19
SRR
Discussion
• Are SRR suitable for applications above 200 GHz?
– Narrowband LNA
High oscillation gain bevor steady state is reached
– TX/RX
Data rates are limited by the chopping signal and rise time
20
SRR
BUP
Q-Enhancement technique
18
