Modelling and simulation of an RF-DAC based transmitter at architectural level in SystemC/AMS

This paper presents the modelling and simulation of a multistandard, multimode RF-DAC based LTE transmitter. The RF-DAC combines DAC and up-conversion mixer. Therefore, more analogue blocks can be replaced by digital reconfigurable blocks. Each block of the transmitter is modelled in SystemC/AMS. A platform is developed to simulate and evaluate the different architectures. Because out-of-band emission is a critial issue regarding the regulatory specifications, several techniques are discussed to reduce these unwanted emission. Based on the simulation results, the verification and reconfigurability of this transmitter architecture are proven. Furthermore, design specifications for each block are derived.