Harmonic filtering for an up-converting, voltage mode, passive mixer

1. A passive, voltage mode transmitter assembly comprising:

a baseband filter configured to filter a source baseband signal;

a harmonics filter connected to said baseband filter and configured to remove harmonics from said filtered base-band signal;

a passive, voltage mode mixer, connected to said harmonics filter and configured to up-convert said harmonics-filtered source baseband signal to a radio signal; and

a power amplifier connected to said passive voltage mode mixer and configured to amplify said radio signal.

2. The passive, voltage mode transmitter assembly according to claim 1 , wherein said harmonics filter removes said harmonics with an inductor and a capacitor arranged as a shunt resonator.

3. The passive, voltage mode transmitter assembly according to claim 2 , wherein said shunt resonator has a resonance frequency of between about three-and-one-half times and about four-and-one-half times a frequency of a carrier signal of said radio signal.

4. The passive, voltage mode transmitter assembly according to claim 1 , wherein said harmonics filter removes said harmonics with an inductor and a capacitor arranged as a parallel resonator.

5. The passive, voltage mode transmitter assembly according to claim 4 , wherein said parallel resonator has a resonance frequency of between about three-and-one-half times and about four-and-one-half times a frequency of a carrier signal of said radio signal.

6. A personal cellular communications device, comprising:

the passive, voltage mode transmitter assembly according to claim 1 .

7. The passive, voltage mode transmitter assembly according to claim 1 , wherein said mixer includes an I channel mixer and a Q channel mixer, such that said passive, voltage mode transmitter assembly can operate as a complex passive, voltage mode transmitter assembly.

8. The passive, voltage mode transmitter assembly according to claim 7 , further comprising:

dual LC tank circuits.

9. The passive, voltage mode transmitter assembly according to claim 8 , wherein

said harmonics filter removes said harmonics with an inductor and a capacitor arranged as a parallel resonator,

an I channel mixer for an I channel, and a Q channel mixer for a Q channel, each having respective first and second complementary outputs, and

said dual LC tank circuits include,

an I channel LC tank circuit including a first inductor with a first end connected to ground, and a second end connected to the first complementary output of said I channel mixer and the first complementary output of said Q channel mixer, said first complementary output of said I channel mixer and said first complementary output of said Q channel mixer being connected to a first complementary input of the power amplifier; and

a Q channel LC tank circuit including a second inductor with a first end connected to ground, and a second end connected to the second complementary output of said I channel mixer and the second complementary output of said Q channel mixer, and wherein said second complementary output of said I channel mixer and said second complementary output of said Q channel mixer are connected to a second complementary input of the power amplifier.

10. A method for transmitting a radio signal in a passive voltage mode transmitter assembly, the method comprising:

performing an initial filtering of a source baseband signal using a baseband filter;

filtering said filtered source baseband signal using a harmonics filter;

up-converting said harmonics-filtered source baseband signal using a passive, voltage mode mixer to generate a radio signal; and

amplifying said radio signal.

11. The method for transmitting a radio signal in a passive, voltage mode transmitter assembly according to claim 10 , wherein said filtering removes said harmonics with an inductor and a capacitor arranged as a shunt resonator.

12. The method for transmitting a radio signal in a passive, voltage mode transmitter assembly according to claim 11 , wherein said shunt resonator has a resonance frequency of between about three-and-one-half times and about four-and-one-half times frequency of a carrier signal of said radio signal.

13. The method for transmitting a radio signal in a passive, voltage mode transmitter assembly according to claim 10 , wherein said filtering removes said harmonics with an inductor and a capacitor arranged as a parallel resonator.

14. The method for transmitting a radio signal in a passive, voltage mode transmitter assembly according to claim 13 , wherein said parallel resonator has a resonance frequency of between about three-and-one-half times and about four-and-one-half times a frequency of a carrier signal of said radio signal.

15. The method for transmitting a radio signal in a passive, voltage mode transmitter assembly according to claim 10 , wherein said up-converting is performed with a simple, passive, voltage mode sampling mixer or with a complex, passive, voltage mode sampling mixer that includes an I channel mixer and a Q channel mixer.