E3 237 Integrated Circuits for Wireless

Communication

Lecture 5: RLC Networks

Gaurab Banerjee
Department of Electrical Communication Engineering,
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
banerjee@ece.iisc.ernet.in
 Outline

Passive RLC Networks

Tuned bandpass networks
Impedance Transformations
Power and Noise Matching
 Parallel RLC Tank
Low frequencies: Treat
capacitor as open ->
Inductive network
i in L C R vout

In Typical RFICs High frequencies: Treat

inductor as open ->
R = 50 Ohms
Capacitive network
L = 0.1-10 nH
C = 0.01 10 pF

Admittance of the parallel network:

 Parallel RLC Tank: Resonance
At Resonance:

Equivalent Circuit: Purely Resistive -> Does NOT

mean that the L and C
disappear

Remember !!!
1 pF || 1nH -> 5 GHz
Let Z()
) be the impedance of the parallel RLC network

R < Z()
) + 90o
| Z()
) | Inductive 0 deg. @ resonance
Capacitive

log

- 90o
log
 Parallel RLC Tank: Quality Factor
(Dimensionless)

Fundamental Definition: Does not assume any lumped or distributed components.

-> At = 0, V out = I pk . R (purely resistive), and the energy circulates between L
and C with a constant sum.

-> Peak Energy in L or C = Total energy at resonance

Characteristic
Check: As R -> , losses -> 0, Q -> impedance
 Parallel RLC Tank: Q and Resonance

At Resonance:
Characteristic
impedance

Basic forms of Q for parallel RLC Circuits at Resonance:

Check: As R -> , losses -> 0, Q ->

 Branch Currents at Resonance

-> At resonance, very large currents can flow through the components.

-> Sometimes, careful layout is required to accommodate this effect.

Thin
inductor
Thick
inductor
 Series RLC Tank

vL Low frequencies: Treat

L inductor as short ->
capacitive

v in C vC

R High frequencies: Treat

capacitor as short ->
inductive

-> Reactive terms cancel at resonance

-> vC + vL = 0
-> Individual voltage drops across L and C do not become zero, only the sum = zero.
 Series RLC Tank: Resonance
At Resonance:

Equivalent Circuit:
-> Purely Resistive at Resonance

Capacitive Inductive + 90o

| Z()
) | < Z()
)
0 deg. @ resonance

log
R

- 90o
log

-> Series RLC circuit turns inductive at high frequencies

-> Parallel RLC circuit turns capacitive at high frequencies
 Series RLC Tank: Quality Factor

-> At = 0, I = Vin /R => Ipk = Vpk /R

Characteristic
impedance

Check: As R -> 0 , losses -> 0, Q ->

 Series RLC Tank: Q and Voltages
Basic forms of Q for series RLC Circuits at Resonance:

Check: As R -> 0 , losses -> 0, Q ->

Branch Voltages:

-> Beware of large voltages : Dielectric Breakdown

-> Useful in voltage amplication, e.g. LNA inputs
 Series-Parallel Transformations
-> Neither series or parallel
network
Ls
C -> First, convert the series C Rp Lp
branch to a parallel equivalent
Rs
-> Next, equate the two circuits
at resonance

-> Next, equate the real and imaginary parts

 Series-Parallel Transformations
-> Recall the series and parallel definitions of Q

-> Also, Qs = Qp (in terms of energy and loss, the network has the same behavior)
-> After reduction of the expressions,

-> For a given Q, the parallel resistance is much larger than the series resistance
-> inductance stays almost the same, larger the Q, less the change
 Series-Parallel Transformations
-> Similarly, for a series R-C segment,

Cs
L L Rp Cp

Rs

General Relationship

Approximations
are true in case of
high Q
 The Need for Impedance Transformers

For a fixed source impedance, what load impedance

maximizes the power delivered to the load?
Zs

-> Power delivered to the load is due to RL, no

dissipation in reactive elements vs vR
ZL

-> After an evaluation of maximum,

Most matching networks maximize the power delivered from/to the source/load.
In Low Noise Amplifiers, optimum matching is for noise and not power -- close,
but not the same.
 The Smith Chart and Impedance Transformation
Constant
Reactance

Constant
Resistance

The Smith chart plots reflection coefficients -> resistance/reactance values

appear as contours.
The impedance transformation process is equivalent to movements along
specific contours.
 L-Match Networks
Upward Impedance Transformer -> Low Rs transformed to high Rp
Known as a Low-Pass L-Match

Ls
200 Ohms at
200 Ohms resonance
C 50 Ohms Rs C Lp Rp

-> Series R-L circuit transformed to parallel R-L circuit

Can be implemented
on an IC
 L-Match Networks
Alternative Upward Impedance Transformer
Known as a High-Pass L-Match

Cs

200 Ohms at
200 Ohms resonance Cp Rp
L 50 Ohms Rs L

-> Series R-C circuit transformed to parallel R-C circuit

Slightly less
desirable for IC
implementation
 L-Match Networks
Downward Impedance Transformer -> Low Rs transformed to high Rp

L C
200 Ohms
200 Ohms
50 Ohms 50 Ohms
Cp Rp Lp Rp

Low Pass Match High Pass Match

Key Limitations of L-Match Networks

Only two degrees of freedom (L and C)

Amongst 0, Rp /RS and Q, specify two of three parameters
Usually accept the Q value, specify 0 and Rp /RS
 - Match Networks
Add one more element to the L-match network to obtain a 3rd degree of freedom

L L1 L2

R in C1 C2 C1 RI C2
Rp Rp

Low-pass network Upward transform Downward transform

Decompose into two L-match networks

Transform to an intermediate impedance, provides additional degree of freedom

R in L1 L2 Rp

High-pass network

Low-pass network (shunt-C) can absorb parasitic capacitances

High-pass network (shunt-L) needs DC blocking in many applications
 Other Matching Networks
L1 L2 C1 C2

R in R in L
C Rp Rp

Low-pass T- Network High-pass T- Network

C1 L1
UP L UP C
C2 DOWN L2 DOWN

Tapped - capacitor match Tapped - inductor match