TABLE OF CONTENTS There have been numerous publications over the past 40 years relating to the theoretical and practical aspects of mixer design. One of the most useful books, in the authors' opinion, is that by Tucker [1]. This book treats mixers, modulators and parametric converters and amplifiers purely in circuit terms, and lays down the basic principles in a clear and concise way. Although the examples given are for two terminal devices (diodes), the analytical techniques can also be applied to three (single-gate FET) or four (dual-gate FET) terminal devices.
In 1971, Saleh [2] wrote a research monograph on mixers using non-linear resistors (ideal diodes). This work was a milestone in classifying circuits into different types, such as the Z-, Y-, G- and H-mixers, and increased the general understanding of mixer operation. His classification was based on the parameters and matrix representation required to perform conversion loss analysis. The book by Maas [3], published in 1986, presents an up-to-date treatment of mixers covering both diode and FET-based circuits. Another book [4] by the same author, published in 1988, covers the main techniques in use today for solving for the large-signal performance of mixers and power amplifiers. The book covers solid-state device modelling, harmonic balance and large-signal/small-signal analysis, Volterra-series and power-series analysis, together with applications to diode and FET circuits such as mixers, multipliers and power amplifiers.
