Introduction

Calibration
PA Power Management IC
TX Timing Optimization
RF Power Amplifier

RF Connector
VCO
Supply Voltage
I/Q Signal
Power Management IC
Common GND
 Introduction

By Criterion 4
 ACPR(Adjacent Channel Power Ratio)

n For many of the current and future transmission

standards(GSM, CDMA, TD-SCDMA, WCDMA, and LTE),
ACPR (sometimes also termed adjacent channel
leakage ratio-ACLR) is an important test parameter for
characterizing the distortion of subsystems and the
likelihood that a given system may cause interference
with a neighboring radio[32].

By Criterion 5
 ORFS(Output Radio Frequency Spectrum)

n In GSM, As part of the out-of-channel measurements,

the ACPR is defined by two measurements: spectrum
due to modulation and wideband noise, and spectrum
due to switching. These two measurements are usually
grouped together and referred to as output RF
spectrum (ORFS)[34].

By Criterion 6
 ORFS due to Modulation

n The modulation process in a transmitter causes

continuous wave carriers to spread spectrally. The
spectrum due to modulation and wideband noise
measurement is used to ensure that the modulation
process does not cause excessive spread. This would
cause interference to adjacent channel users[34].

With max PCL,

why is the
carrier power
merely 22 dBm?

By Criterion 7
 ORFS due to Modulation

n The analyzer is tuned to a spot frequency and then

time-gated across 50% ~ 90% part of the modulated
burst to avoid training sequence[34].
n Besides, spectral components that result from the
effect of bursting do NOT appear because the ramps
are gated out[34].

By Criterion 8
 ORFS due to Switching

n GSM/EDGE transmitters ramp RF power rapidly due to

burst mode. If RF power is ramped too quickly,
undesirable spectral components exist in the
transmission. Users operating on different frequencies,
especially those close to the channel of interest, will
experience significant interference[34].

By Criterion 9
 ORFS due to Switching

n In this case, no time gating is used, so power from both

the ramping and modulation processes affect the
measurement[34].

n Nevertheless, because ORFS due to switching level is

larger than modulation level, the effect of ramping
dominates the spectrum due to switching
measurements[34].

By Criterion 10
 Calibration

By Criterion 11
 DPD

n DPD(Digital Predistortion) is applied to linearize the PA

to improve the linearity in the linear region and increase
the linear region by compensating the compression
with an inverse function[39].
n As shown below, DPD can be used to lower spectral
regrowth to improve both ACLR and ORFS as
well[1,41,66].

By Criterion 12
 GMSK and 8PSK

n GMSK is a constant-envelope modulation, but 8PSK is

NOT[59].

n Thus, 8PSK has larger PAPR than GMSK. In other

words, 8PSK has more strict linearity than GMSK[61].

Power

Peak Power

Average Power

Time

By Criterion 13
 GMSK and 8PSK

n With the identical output power, 8PSK has worse ORFS-

SW than GMSK[62].

n Thus, Pre-distortion calibration helps EDGE 850/900

ORFS-SW margin, not ORFS-MOD[12].

By Criterion 14
 Path Delay for EDGE

n A source of distortion is a delay that might occur

between the amplitude and phase path[42,74].

By Criterion 15
 Path Delay for EDGE

n The existence of two separate waveform paths could

lead to different signal delays on the phase path and
the envelope path, affecting the EDGE waveform
quality[1,42].

n As shown below, the larger the delay is, the worse the
ORFS due to modulation and EVM will be[42].

By Criterion 16
 Path Delay for EDGE

n Hence, while calibration, the chipset solution allows for

delays to be added to either path to make sure that the
phase and envelope paths remain in sync to improve
ORFS due to modulation[1,9].

By Criterion 17
 Path Delay for EDGE

n Path Delay Cal Tree is as below[9]:

By Criterion 18
 Path Delay for EDGE

n The best-case delay is determined by finding the delay

value resulting in the lowest ORFS due to the
modulation measurement at +400 kHz and -400 kHz[1,9].

By Criterion 19
 Path Delay for EDGE

n As shown below, the figure shows a 8PSK modulation

spectrum for various values of delay mismatch. With a
delay mismatch more than 30ns, the spectrum fails.
And the spectrum passes with a delay mismatch less
than 30ns[54].

By Criterion 20
 PA Power
Management IC

By Criterion 21
 QFE2101

n The main QFE2101 functional blocks are[4]:

u APTbuck converter – essentially a programmable buck
converter, or switched-mode power supply (SMPS).
u Bypass switch – routes battery or primary phone power
(VPH_PWR) directly to the PA(s).
u GSM switches – bypass switches (or optional extra GSM
capacitor switch).
l Bypass – a separate bypass switch for GSM with a very low
resistance that connects the GSM PA directly to battery.

l GSM capacitor switch – C_GSM pin should be connected to primary

phone power (VPH_PWR); utilize this switch as the third bypass
switch to further reduce the IR drop.

By Criterion 22
 QFE2101

By Criterion 23
 QFE2101

n To switch-in extra load capacitance at the VPA node

(C_GSM to capacitor only) during GSM Tx. This option
can be used to improve the margin for GSM
ORFS/RxBN due to less IR drop, and APT mode instead
of bypass mode.[2-4].

By Criterion 24
 TX Timing
Optimization

By Criterion 25
 Ramping Profile

n Effect of different Ramp timing on Switching

Transients[44].

By Criterion 26
 Ramping Profile

n Nevertheless, there is a trade-off between GSM PvT and

GSM ORFS due to switching @400kHz with high PCL[6].
n Hence, tune ramping profile to pass PVT and ORFS
specification simultaneously[6,8].

By Criterion 27
 GSM RF Timing Adjustment

n In general, there are six types of GSM RF timing

adjustment, as shown below[10]:

By Criterion 28
 GSM RF Timing Adjustment

By Criterion 29
 GSM RF Timing Adjustment

n pa_en_start/stop_offset_adj:The PA enable signal

start/stop time adjustment value can be altered to move
the rising edge of the PA enable signal forward or
backward to get the optimal configuration[9].

n pa_start/stop_offset_adj :The PA turn-on/off time

adjustment value can be altered to adjust the rising
edge of the TDMA Tx power burst[9].

n ant_timing_start/stop_offset_adj : The antenna

select control signal start/stop time adjustment value
can be altered to move the falling edge of antenna
select control signal forward or backward relative to the
PA enable signal falling edge to get the optimal
configuration[9].

By Criterion 30
 PA ON Timing[9]

By Criterion 31
 PA OFF Timing[9]

By Criterion 32
 PA Ramp Up Timing[9]

By Criterion 33
 PA Ramp Down Timing[9]

By Criterion 34
 Antenna ON Timing[9]

By Criterion 35
 Antenna OFF Timing[9]

By Criterion 36
 Potential Issues of Improper Tx Timing

n In addition to PvT and ORFS, Improper Tx timing value

may cause improper power in certain hardware
boards[9].

n For MIPI PA device, PA ON signal is expected earlier

than the PA range signal, since PA ON script sets PA to
the lowest gain state and overrides the settings in the
PA range script[9].

By Criterion 37
 Potential Issues of Improper Tx Timing

n If PA ON is later than PA range timing, the power will be

lower than expected; e.g. Max Tx power is merely ~20
dBm[9]

n The error message can be observed in QXDM log[9].

By Criterion 38
 Potential Issues of Improper Tx Timing

n And the improper power may cause EDGE calibration or

registration failure in certain hardware boards[9]
n Failed to calibrate GSM850 due to improper PA timing
applied[9].

n Failed to calibrate GSM900 per improper PA timing

applied[9].

By Criterion 39
 Potential Issues of Improper Tx Timing

n In the case, PCS1900, there is ORFS issue at low

temperature, and which is independent of PCL.

n Nevertheless, the issue was NOT observed in DCS1800.

By Criterion 40
 Potential Issues of Improper Tx Timing

n First, we did NOT observe this issue in FTM(Factory

Test Mode). In other words, the issue disappears
without RX operation.
n Second, we did NOT observe this issue at transceiver
output, as shown below :

By Criterion 41
 Potential Issues of Improper Tx Timing

n Because there are merely two blocks(transceiver and

PAMiD) in TX chain, so we conclude that this issue is
related to PAMiD[74], especially ASM timing.

By Criterion 42
 Potential Issues of Improper Tx Timing

n There are two statuses for TX mode while RX is

operating :
ASM
u Disable Status(Default) :
RX
u Isolation Status:
PA
TX

RX ON RX ON
RX OFF RX OFF
Level Level

ASM_TX ON ASM_TX ON
ASM_TX OFF

Time Time
By Criterion 43
 Potential Issues of Improper Tx Timing

n For disable status, when switching to Tx state under

low temperature, it may take up to 100 µS for the switch
to be fully operational and RF compliant. That’s to say,
there will be delay in TX timing while switching from TX
OFF to TX ON[28].

n As mentioned earlier, the antenna select control signal

start/stop time affects ORFS performance. That’s why
ORFS fails.
RX ON
RX OFF
Level
ASM_TX ON

ASM_TX OFF

Time
By Criterion 44
 Potential Issues of Improper Tx Timing

n For isolation status, TX is still ON while RX is ON, but

TX port will shunt to ground while RX is ON. That’s why
it’s called “isolation” status.

n Because TX is always ON, there will be NO delay in TX

timing while switching from TX OFF to TX ON. Hence
the issue passes after introducing Isolation Status.

RX ON
RX OFF ASM

Level RX
PA
TX
ASM_TX ON

Time
By Criterion 45
 Potential Issues of Improper Tx Timing

n Besides, DCS1800 RX path is different from PCS1900

RX path. Chances are that PCS1900 takes longer time
switching from RX port to TX port than DCS1800, so we
did NOT observe this issue in DCS1800.
RX ON
RX OFF
Level
ASM_TX ON

PCS ASM_TX OFF

ASM_TX ON

DCS
ASM_TX OFF

Time

By Criterion 46
 RF Power Amplifier

By Criterion 47
 Linearity

n As mentioned above, ORFS is just the concept of ACLR.

And the formula of ACLR is :
ACLR = 2(Pin - OIP3 + G)+C, where C is correction coefficient

n Hence, the better the linearity is, the better the ORFS
due to switching will be[45,46].

By Criterion 48
 Temperature

n In general, the higher the temperature is, the worse the

OIP3 will be[47].

n Thus, chances are that high temperature leads to worse

ORFS due to switching[15].

By Criterion 49
 Layout

n Thus, the GND vias should be as numerous as possible

to spread the heat[48,63].

By Criterion 50
 Temperature

n As shown below, the lower the temperature is, the

higher the gain will be[47].

n Thus, with constant Pin, lower temperature leads to

higher Pout[49].

By Criterion 51
 Temperature

n As shown below, the larger Pout is, the worse the ACLR
will be.

n That’s to say, chances are that low temperature leads to

low ORFS due to switching margin[43].

By Criterion 52
 Temperature Compensation

n Hence, we have to do temperature compensation to

make Pout identical under all temperatures.

n By doing this, the Pout under low temperature will not

be too high, thereby improving ORFS due to switching
under low temperature.

By Criterion 53
 Temperature Compensation

n Nevertheless, with temperature compensation, the

ORFS due to switching under high temperature may
aggravate more.

By Criterion 54
 Temperature Compensation

n As mentioned earlier, high temperature aggravates

linearity, thereby degrading ORFS due to switching.

n With TC(Temperature Compensation), the Pout under

high temperature becomes larger. With worse linearity
and larger Pout, that’s why ORFS due to switching
under high temperature may aggravate more with TC.

By Criterion 55
 Ramping Profile Adjustment

n Hence, with TC, adjust the ramping profile under high

temperature to improve ORFS due to switching because
Power versus time (PVT) variation is one of the most
important features for describing electrothermal
performance of RF power amplifiers (PAs)[51,52].

By Criterion 56
 PA Output Matching Network Adjustment

n Besides, adjust PA output matching network to improve

linearity and lower noise floor, thereby improving ORFS
due to switching and RxBN under high temperature
with TC[6].

By Criterion 57
 PA Output Matching Network Adjustment

n As mentioned earlier, 8PSK has more strict linearity

than GMSK. In other words, if ORFS issue is related to
PA linearity, the symptom should be:

By Criterion 58
 PA Input Matching Adjustment

n As shown below, the PA input matching networks is

DA’s(Driver Amplifier) load-pull as well.
n In other words, good ORFS@PA input leads to good
ORFS@PA output[50,53].

n Hence, to optimize PA input matching network can be

used to improve ORFS as well.

By Criterion 59
 PA Post loss

n According to the following formula :

Target Power = PA Output Power – PA Post loss

with constant target power, larger PA post loss leads to

larger PA output power, thereby aggravating ORFS-SW
@ +- 400 kHz, even though PA’s output impedance is
close to 50Ω[11].
n Thus, minimize the PA post loss to have more
headroom in Tx power. Because LB has larger max
power than HB, headroom equal to 0.7 dB from 32.5
dBm(i.e. 33.2 dBm) is preferred[11].

By Criterion 60
 Stability

n In the case, LB EDGE ORFS test fails in both

modulation/switching spectrum when PCL is set <
10(High Power Mode), and passes when PCL is set ≥
11(Low Power Mode)[11].

By Criterion 61
 Stability

n Firstly, the best ORFS due to modulation result was

found to be only approximately -43 dB, even after
tuning the path delay, but it can reach -60 dB[11].
ORFS-MO Before After
-400KHz -43.1158 dB < -60 dB
+400KHz -43.0755 dB < -60 dB

n Besides, many spurs are found(shown as yellow traces

in the graph), according to the analysis, the PA is
oscillating[11].

By Criterion 62
 Stability

n According to the K-factor definition, the stability

depends on S-parameter[56]. Chances are that the
components marked as red circle affect the
S-parameter and stability of QFE2320, thereby
oscillating[11]
n Because the issue occurs in LB, the components
marked as red circle must be changed to remove
oscillation[11].

By Criterion 63
 Stability

n Therefore, after tuning the path delay and changing the

BOM, LB EDGE ORFS margin is sufficient for all
PCL[11].

By Criterion 64
 Switch Point

n For this case, EDGE LB ORFS fails at PCL8, PCL12, and

PCL16.

n As mentioned above, If failure is at maximum power

and improves as power is reduced, the issue is likely
due to linearity. Thus, it fails at PCL8 but passes at
PCL9 ~ PCL11[10,16].

PCL 8 9 10 11
Result Fail Pass Pass Pass
PCL 12 13 14 15
Result Fail Pass Pass Pass
PCL 16 17 18 19
Result Fail Pass Pass Pass

By Criterion 65
 Switch Point

n In general, there is hysteresis from the switching point

where the PA rises from a lower gain to a higher gain,
and vice versa to avoid the PA oscillating at the
switching point[64].

n In other words, as illustrated below, for EDGE single-

slot, 19 dBm(PCL12) can be achieved by high gain
mode or mid gain mode; 11 dBm(PCL16) can be
achieved by mid gain mode or low gain mode.

By Criterion 66
 Switch Point

n Hence, as illustrated below, if 11 dBm is achieved by

low gain mode, the PA will be in saturation region,
thereby degrading linearity and aggravating ORFS.
So is 19 dBm(PCL 12).

n In order to solve this issue, make these output power @

switch points be in proper gain mode to be in linear
region[16].

By Criterion 67
 RF Connector

By Criterion 68
 Material issue

n If the connector is abnormal, the antenna matching

network may alter PA’s output impedance, thereby
aggravating ORFS.
n Besides, abnormal connector leads to leakage. And as
shown below, with constant target power(e.g. LB 32.5
dBm or HB 29.5 dBm), the larger the leakage is, the
larger the PA output power will be, thereby aggravating
ORFS.

By Criterion 69
 Layout issue

n In the case, it is very difficult to pull load impedance to

50 Ω for the common path[11].

n Hence, ORFS due to switching

performance is not good enough.

By Criterion
 Layout issue

n Because the signal pad size of the RF connector is very

large(0.6 mm × 0.7 mm). According to simulation, if
using L9 as RF GND, it introduces serious mismatching.
n Thus, areas under the pads of the RF connector in L9,
L8, and L7 should be cut out, and set L6 as the
reference GND, to get better impedance[11].

Signal Pad

GND Pad

L9 L8 L7 L6
Impedance 14 Ω 32 Ω 44 Ω 53 Ω

By Criterion
 VCO

By Criterion 72
 VCO Pulling

n In the case, GSM ORFS (modulation and switching) is

observed to be failing by about 5−6 dB on quad-band
GSM some channels at high power level
(LB: PCL5; HB: PCL0)[30].

n The max power at connector can be 34 dBm for LB, and

31 dBm for HB. Besides, the PA’s load-pull is close to
50Ω for both LB and HB. In other words, the issue is
NOT related to PA linearity.

By Criterion 73
 VCO Pulling

n As shown below, the issue can be solved with SPDT.

By Criterion 74
 VCO Pulling

n Without SPDT, the issue is root caused too high Tx

power during GSM operation leaking into FBRx path
through front-end coupler and later coupling into TX
quadrature up-converter of transceiver[16,17,30,72].

By Criterion 75
 VCO Pulling

n An SPDT (with bypass option) is recommended at front

end, as shown here to isolate GSM Tx power from
leaking into FBRx path[17,30].

n Since FBRx is not operational in GSM mode. FBRX only

works in 3G/4G mode. So this switch (SPDT) does not
impact GSM operation[16,30].
n Two possible implementations during GSM operation
are shown here[30]:

By Criterion 76
 VCO Pulling

n In the case, as shown below, ORFS-MO passes if we

press the shielding can, and it fails without press.

By Criterion 77
 VCO Pulling

n As shown below, PA will couple TX signal onto the

shielding can. In other words, there will be residual TX
signal on the shielding can.

n With good grounding, the residual TX signal will flow to

GND completely. Without good grounding, the shielding
can will reflect the residual TX signal.

By Criterion 78
 VCO Pulling

n Thus, with press, the residual TX signal flows to GND

completely due to good grounding.
n If possible, don’t put PA and transceiver in the same
shielding area to avoid VCO pulling.

By Criterion 79
 VCO Pulling

n As mentioned earlier, the PA input matching networks is

DA’s(Driver Amplifier) load-pull as well.

n Besides, for Direct-Conversion transmitter architecture,

the RF frequency is the same as LO. So if PA input
matching is not close to 50Ω, the reflection due to poor
S11 may interfere VCO, thereby aggravating ORFS-MO.

By Criterion 80
 VCO Pulling

n In the case, the relationship between ORFS-MO and

ASM is as below :

Antenna Switch Module

Vendor A Vendor B Vendor B
(With Original RX Matching) (With Original RX Matching) (With New RX Matching)
Pass Fail Pass

By Criterion 81
 VCO Pulling

n If we set TX port as Port 1, and RX port as Port 2, S21 is

just the isolation between TX port and RX port, as
shown below :

n Hence, the isolation depends on TX matching, RX

matching, and ASM.

By Criterion 82
 VCO Pulling

n As shown below, the isolation affects VCO pulling

through RX path.

n Therefore, vendor B ASM degrades isolation, and

ORFS-MO fails.

n With vendor B ASM, we introduce new RX matching,

and isolation improves, thereby improving ORFS-MO.

By Criterion 83
 Keep Out Area

n Besides, keep-out areas on PCB layer 1 are required to

avoid sensitive on-chip components such as VCO[73].

By Criterion 84
 Keep Out Area

n Otherwise, the parasitic effect aggravates phase noise,

thereby degrading ORFS-MO[10].

n In general, check the LO phase noise at 400 kHz offset,

it should be better than -118 dBc/Hz[10].

By Criterion 85
 Supply Voltage

By Criterion 86
 IR Drop

n IR drop refers to a voltage drop that appears at the

resistive component of any impedance. This voltage
drop across any resistance is the product of current (I)
passing through resistance and resistance value (R).

n If there is IR drop issue in the supply voltage of any TX

chain blocks, such as transceiver, PA, and ASM, the TX
performance including ORFS will aggravate[24].

By Criterion 87
 IR Drop

n In the case, LB GSM ORFS-MO fails for high power

mode In low temperature.

n We found the ORFS-MO issue appears not only in

connector, but also in transceiver output. As mentioned
above, poor ORFS performance in PA input leads to
worse ORFS performance in PA output.

By Criterion 88
 IR Drop

n Thus, there are three possible factors related

transceiver: Layout, supply voltage, and material issue.

n After changing the BOM for transceiver supply voltage,

the issue is solved.

By Criterion 89
 IR Drop

n As mentioned above, low temperature makes gain

increase. Higher gain leads to higher Icc, thereby
increasing IR drop.
n In addition, with max PCL, low band has larger output
power than high band. So the issue occurred in LB
instead of HB[57].

LB 14 dBm
HB 11 dBm

By Criterion 90
 IR Drop

n As shown below, power is getting lower as supply

voltage drops[11]. In other words, the lower the supply
voltage is, the lower power will be.

By Criterion 91
 IR Drop

n In other words, with constant target power(e.g. LB 32.5

dBm or HB 29.5 dBm), the larger the IR drop is, the
larger PA output power and current consumption(i.e. Icc)
will be, thereby aggravating ORFS-SW performance.

PA Output Power
& Icc

IR drop

By Criterion 92
 IR Drop

n Besides, as shown below, the larger the temperature is,

the larger the resistance including chip resistor or trace
will be, thereby increasing IR drop.

By Criterion 93
 IR Drop

n As mentioned above, with TC(Temperature

Compensation), the Pout under high temperature
becomes larger. With worse linearity and larger Pout,
that’s why ORFS due to switching under high
temperature may aggravate more with TC.

n Thus, with TC and IR drop, ORFS-SW aggravates more

in high temperature.

By Criterion 94
 Decoupling Capacitor

n Due to burst mode characteristic, GSM PA is being ON

and OFF all the time. As shown below, while PA is ON,
there will be unwanted 20KHz signal riding on DC,
which is just ripple. Any supply disturbances caused by
on/off activities could directly convert to ORFS
issue[10].

By Criterion 95
 Decoupling Capacitor

n As shown below, larger decoupling capacitor can help

improve spectral regrowth, thereby improving ORFS[31].

By Criterion 96
 Decoupling Capacitor

n Besides, the decoupling capacitor should be as close

to PA as possible. Otherwise, PA supply transient
current may leak into other ICs, and transient current
from other ICs may leak into GSM PA, thereby
aggravating ORFS performance[10].

By Criterion 97
 Decoupling Capacitor

n Besides, the supply voltage of LO is important as well.

n As shown below, change C3115 from 220nF to 4.7uF,

ORFS-MO at 1.6 MHz offset improves.

By Criterion 98
 Decoupling Capacitor

n The lower ESL is, the wider capacitive range will be.
n The lower ESR is, the lower ripple will be

By Criterion 99
 Decoupling Capacitor

n The path the noise flows inside 3-terminal capacitor is

shorter than which inside 2-terminal capacitor. That’s to
say, the 3-terminal capacitor has lower ESL and ESR.

By Criterion 100
 Decoupling Capacitor

n Compared to multiple capacitors, the 3-terminal

capacitor has better noise suppression, and it doesn’t
have anti-resonance issue. Besides, the 3-terminal
capacitor can save PCB area due to less
components[75].

By Criterion 101
 Star Routing

n Use star routing from battery to PMIC and PA. Besides,

the branch point should be as close to battery as
possible[10].

n As shown below, the length of coupling path 2 is

shorter than coupling path 1, so the noise from GSM PA
may leak to PMIC. That’s why branch point should be
close to battery.

By Criterion 102
 Star Routing

n In the case, at high power level of GSM low bands,

ORFS modulation performance is marginal, especially
at the 400 kHz offset.

n The issue is dependent on PCL. It disappears at low

power level such as PCL19. Chances are that the issue
is related to PA linearity, so we checked transceiver
output performance to eliminate the influence of PA.

By Criterion 103
 Star Routing

n The issue already appears at transceiver output, so

there are three possibilities : material, layout, and
voltage supply.

n With an external voltage supply, the issue improved.

By Criterion 104
 Star Routing

n Due to burst mode characteristic, GSM PA has strong

transient current. That’s why the issue disappears at
low power level because low power level leads to low
transient current. And that’s why the issue appears at
high power level of GSM low bands because PCL5 of
LB (33 dBm) is larger than PCL0 of HB(30 dBm).

n As shown below, the coupling path :

GSM PA => PMIC => transceiver

By Criterion 105
 Star Routing

n In the case, as shown below, ORFS modulation

performance fails when monitor is ON, but performance
is good when monitor is OFF.

n Besides, the issue appears at GSM quad-band,

especially at the 400 kHz offset. And the issue is
independent on power level.

By Criterion 106
 Star Routing

n This is because backlight driver IC has strong transient

current as well. That’s why the issue disappears when
monitor is OFF.

n As shown below,
Coupling path 1 : Backlight driver IC => PA
Coupling path 2 :
Backlight driver IC => PMIC => Transceiver

By Criterion 107
 Star Routing

n Thus, increase the decoupling capacitor and power

inductor value for Backlight driver IC, and the
performance improved.

By Criterion 108
 Star Routing

n Similarly, use star routing from PMIC to VBATT pin and

Vcc_GSM pin of GSM PA separately, and the branch
point should be as close to PMIC as possible.

n At least, the branch point should NOT be close to GSM

PA, as shown below :

By Criterion 109
 Star Routing

n If the branch point is close to GSM PA, make the

VPH_PWR common part(marked as pink) and separate
part(marked as green) on different layer. As shown
below, the coupling path(marked as yellow) has high
impedance to avoid noise coupling between the 2 pins.

By Criterion 110
 High Frequency Noise

n In the case, as shown below, ORFS-MO passes if we

press the PA shielding can, and it fails without press.
Besides, after removing shielding can, it passes as well.

n PA and transceiver are in separate shielding area, so

the issue is NOT related to VCO pulling.

By Criterion 111
 High Frequency Noise

n As mentioned earlier, without good grounding, the

shielding can will reflect the residual TX signal. With
press, the residual TX signal flows to GND completely
due to good grounding.
n In addition, no shielding can, no residual TX signal.
That’s why the issue disappears after removing
shielding can.

By Criterion 112
 High Frequency Noise

n Thus, the issue is due to that residual RF TX signal

reflects to PA Vcc by shielding can. In terms of DC
voltage, RF signal is regarded as noise.

n There’re usually large capacitor for decoupling and

small capacitor for filtering high frequency noise. For
the issue, we can modify small capacitor value to filter
residual RF TX signal.

By Criterion 113
 I/Q Signal

By Criterion 114
 XO Harmonics

n In the case, on certain channels of GSM high bands,

ORFS switching and modulation performance is
marginal, especially at the 400 kHz offset.

n The most affected channels are DCS channel 599, 600,

602, 791, 792, 794, and 795; and PCS channel 668.

By Criterion 115
 XO Harmonics

n As shown in the table below, these channels are all 90

times 19.2 MHz approximately in terms of frequency. In
other words, these channel are related to XO harmonics.

n Baseband chip has an internal issue related to XO

harmonics coupling into TX I/Q lines that cause
degradation of ORFS performance only in GSM high
bands[13,14].
Band Channel Frequency 19.2 MHz * N
599 1727.6 89.97916667
600 1727.8 89.98958333
602 1728.2 90.01041667
791 1766 91.97916667
792 1766.2 91.98958333
794 1766.6 92.01041667
DCS 795 1766.8 92.02083333
PCS 668 1741.4 90.69791667

By Criterion 116
 XO Harmonics

n As shown above, the solution is to add series L and

shunt C onto each of the TX_I/Q lines[63].

n As the spur level is reduced, and therefore the ORFS

modulation is improved[63].

n This LC filter can also help reduce the number of

exceptions for the GSM Rx band noise[63].
w/o solution w/ solution

By Criterion 117
 XO Harmonics

n The trace between transceiver and PMIC is rich in XO

harmonics because it is XO reference clock.
n Thus, we need to put a R-C filter to reject XO harmonics
and a DC block to reject DC offset.
n Besides, we need to keep the trace away from I/Q signal
to avoid ORFS issue.

By Criterion 118
 XO Harmonics

n The digital XO signal and the analog XO signal can

corrupt each other; the layout should provide isolation
between them. Isolation is highly recommended [77].

n As shown below, they are too close.

By Criterion 119
 I/Q Imbalance

n I/Q imbalance can be characterized by: a phase

mismatch that can happen between the I and the Q
components of the local oscillator signals, which
becomes not exactly 90 degrees, and an amplitude
mismatch due to the gain difference of the mixers of the
I and Q branches[70].

By Criterion 120
 I/Q Imbalance

n As shown below, I/Q imbalance aggravates image,

thereby aggravating sideband suppression and ORFS-
MO.

n Thus, we need to adjust phase and amplitude offsets

between I and Q channel by means of calibration to
lower image to improve ORFS-MO[69].

By Criterion 121
 I/Q Imbalance

n Besides, in terms of modulator, high temperature

aggravates sideband suppression as well, thereby
aggravating ORFS-MO. So good thermal design of
transceiver is important[69].
n This is especially important for direct up-conversion
transmitter because I/Q imbalance are the inherent
shortcomings of it[69].

By Criterion 122
 I/Q Imbalance

n Ideally, the four traces on the IQ signal path from the

DAC output to the modulator input should be
symmetrical between the I channel and Q channel and
between the positive side and negative side within a
channel[69].
n In reality, due to PCB layout, trace lengths are not
perfectly matched. The mismatches cause the signal in
one channel to be skewed from the other, and, therefore,
result in IQ imbalance(both gain and phase)[69].

By Criterion 123
 LO Leakage(Carrier Leakage)

n Excessive DC offsets in I/Q channels cause high levels

of LO leakage, thereby aggravating ORFS-MO[69].

n According to the formula shown below, the more the

DC offsets in I/Q channels, the larger the LO leakage
will be[69].

+
=
+

By Criterion 124
 LO Leakage(Carrier Leakage)

n Thus, we need to remove DC Offsets by means of

calibration to lower LO leakage to improve ORFS-
MO[69].
n In terms of modulator, high temperature aggravates
carrier suppression as well, thereby aggravating ORFS-
MO. So good thermal design of transceiver is
important[69].

By Criterion 125
 Power Management
IC

By Criterion 126
 Charging

n In the case, when charging is enabled, GSM850, ch190,

ORFS-MO failure (0.5 dB) is observed at 600 kHz offset
measurement[18].

By Criterion 127
 Charging

n For a 5 V DCP(Dedicated Charging Port) plug-in, the

charging frequency is set to 600 kHz.
n Spur coupling path: PMIC buck switching (600 kHz)
spurs leaking into the Vbatt and appears at the Tx-RF
output through QET4101 and PA[18].

n Hence, there will be +- 600 KHz offset ORFS-MO issue

due to 2nd order intermodulation mechanism.

By Criterion 128
 Charging

n Adding a Pi (π) filter on the VPH_PWR rail attenuates

the charger spur by 20 dB and passes the GSM ORFS
specification[18].

n As a workaround, the placeholder for the π filter should

be provided at the QET4101 input to attenuate spur
coupling from the PMIC charger and also a 0 Ω (0201
package) placeholder at power supply line of PA
(VCC1_PA) for noise filtering[18].

By Criterion 129
 Charging

n As shown below[18]:

By Criterion 130
 SMPS

n In the case, GSM ORFS modulation spectrum

periodicity jump in all bands and all power levels,
especially the mid-power level[28].

n IC NCP6335 is external SMPS(Switching Mode Power

Supply) to the MSM8X25Q core. The NCP6335 is the
main interference source to ORFS[28,75-76].

By Criterion 131
 SMPS

n NCP6335 has PFM and PWM

operation for optimum
increased efficiency,
The transition between
PWM/PFM modes can occur
Automatically, that’s why
ORFS-MO spectrum
periodicity jump[28].

n Set NCP6335 to forced PWM,

and ORFS-MO passed.

By Criterion 132
 Common GND

By Criterion 133
 Common GND

n In the case, with all decoupling capacitor and bypass

capacitors, ORFS fails; without all decoupling capacitor
and bypass capacitor, ORFS passes.

By Criterion 134
 Common GND

n This is because transient current and high frequency

noise may leak into PA Vcc through these capacitors by
means of common GND on top layer.

By Criterion 135
 Common GND

n Thus, make these shunt capacitors GND pad separate

from common GND on top layer(i.e. GND Island), and
add GND via as many as possible.
n If GND island is bound by PCB area, at least, the GND
via should be as many as possible.

By Criterion 136
 Common GND

n As mentioned above, we’re able to use Pi (π) filter to

attenuate the noise. Nevertheless, the GND of
capacitors should be separate. Otherwise, the noise
may bypass the capacitors through common ground,
thereby aggravating filtering effect.

Noise

By Criterion 137