transmitterreceiver

A transmitter-receiver, often called a transceiver, is an electronic device capable of both transmitting and receiving radio-frequency signals. By combining a transmitter and a receiver in a single housing or module, transceivers enable two-way communication over a shared medium such as an antenna.

Most transceivers share a common front-end, including an RF oscillator, mixer, and intermediate frequency stages, and use a transmitter/receiver switch or duplexer to prevent the powerful transmit signal from saturating the receiver. In modern designs, the transmitter and receiver are often integrated with software-defined radio techniques, allowing flexible modulation and protocols.

The transmitter converts baseband or intermediate signals into RF energy, amplifies them, and transmits via an antenna. The receiver captures RF signals from the antenna, amplifies them, downconverts to baseband, and processes the signal for demodulation. Filters, low-noise amplifiers, and automatic gain control are commonly employed on both paths.

Applications include handheld radios, mobile two-way communications, Wi-Fi and cellular devices, radar systems, and test equipment. Transceivers may operate in half-duplex mode, using the same channel for transmit and receive at different times, or in full-duplex mode, allowing simultaneous transmission and reception.

The term “transmitter-receiver” is largely synonymous with “transceiver” in engineering literature, though some contexts emphasize the device’s architecture or API rather than its function.