Linearity considerations for multi-standard cellular base station transmitters

Contemporary cellular base stations are becoming increasingly multi-standard for improved efficiency and manageability. Primary among prospective multi-standard base station deployments will be those that are reconfigurable but also capable of simultaneous transmission of several cellular signals. The simultaneous transmission of multiple cellular signals however poses a challenge for design, in particular the linearity requirements of the transceiver. In order to identify the feasibility of multi-mode transmission, we present an overview of transmitter non-linearity (OIP3) requirements for future multi-standard, multi-carrier, macro-cell base stations based on first-order approximations, highlighting the dynamic range issue. Simulation and measurement results are also presented.