As one of the few rising stars of the semiconductor industry, WLAN design is engaging more and more engineers and companies. Essential to the overall system design, is the radio design. In Wireless LAN Radios Arya Behzad covers the necessary theory while emphasizing the practical aspects of this promising technology.
This book introduces the nuances of the 802.11 WLAN PHY standards (A/B/G) and describes their specifications and impact on radio design. The possible choices for the radio architecture (direct-conversion, low-IF, super heterodyne) are examined and their impact on the transistor-level design is explained. Coverage includes the effect of certain analog/RF impairments on the overall system performance and a discussion of the choice of process technology on the radio architecture.

A high-level overview of radio design for wireless LAN systems

The Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), in both the technical and business worlds, is one of the few rising stars in the semiconductor industry. It is attracting a growing number of engineers and companies with its fairly high reliability, low cost, and high throughputs. As this trend continues, it is becoming increasingly important for both LAN system designers and circuit designers to have a solid grasp of WLAN applications to design the next generation of radios.

Wireless LAN Radios presents a sophisticated overview of the subject, covering the necessary theory while emphasizing the practical aspects of this promising technology. Coverage includes:

* 802.11 flavors and system requirements
* Receiver and transmitter radio architectures
* Analog impairments and issues
* Key radio building blocks
* Calibration techniques
* Case studies
* A brief discussion of 802.11n

Wireless LAN Radios also presents a detailed explanation of analog, digital, and mixed-mode calibration techniques for improving system performance and chip yield, while the impact of radio architecture on die size, system cost, and power consumption is also thoroughly evaluated. Complete with several case studies that explore the morass of trade-offs faced in industry, this books offers a meaningful presentation of real-world issues facing designers, engineers, theorists, and researchers working in this industry. The book is also an excellent text for graduate students in the general area of wireless LAN design.