Patent ID: 7529533

Claim:
A radio frequency (RF) receiver having an RF input for receiving an RF signal and first and second signal outputs for outputting demodulated in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) signals, comprising: a frequency synthesizer having an output for outputting a continuous wave signal at a specified frequency; a first frequency divider coupled to the output of the frequency synthesizer; first and second mixers coupled between the RF input and respective ones of the first and second signal outputs; a first RF switch coupled between the frequency synthesizer and the first and second mixers, and configurable to switch between utilizing and bypassing the frequency divider; and a second RF switch coupled to one of the first and second mixers and configurable to allow the first and second mixers to operate either in parallel or in series, wherein the RF receiver functions as a homodyne receiver when the first RF switch is configured to bypass the frequency divider and the second RF switch is configured to have the first and second mixers operate in parallel, and wherein the RF receiver functions as a heterodyne receiver when the first RF switch is configured to utilize the frequency divider and the second RF switch is configured to have the first and second mixers operate in series.