Design of a Wideband Variable-Gain Amplifier With Self-Compensated Transistor for Accurate dB-Linear Characteristic in 65 nm CMOS Technology

Kong, Lingshan; Liu, Huan; Zhu, Xi; Boon, Chirn Chye; Li, Chenyang; Liu, Zhe; Yeo, Kiat Seng

doi:10.1109/tcsi.2020.2995725

Cited by 21 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The measurement results for maximum gain settings (I 01 = 600 µA and I 02 = 50 µA) are plotted in Figure 13, obtaining a value of -20.18 dBm for the input P 1dB . A summary of the performance of the proposed RF-VGA versus I 02 is presented in Table 1 for I 01 = 550 µA and V DC = ±1.5 V. A brief overview of similar works available in the literature is given in Table 2 [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. With the exception of [26], which uses 40 nm technology, our work has better bandwidth.…”

Section: Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Compact Size Wideband RF-VGA Based on Second Generation Controlled Current Conveyors

et al. 2020

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This paper presents a methodology to design a wideband radio frequency variable gain amplifier (RF-VGA) in a low-cost SiGe BiCMOS 0.35 μm process. The circuit uses two Class A amplifiers based on second-generation controlled current conveyors (CCCII). The main feature of this circuit is the wideband input match along with a reduced NF (5.5–9.6 dB) and, to the authors’ knowledge, the lowest die footprint reported (62 × 44 μm2 area). The implementation of the RF-VGA based on CCCII allows a wideband input match without the need of passive elements. Due to the nature of the circuit, when the gain is increased, the power consumption is reduced. The architecture is suitable for designing wideband, low-power, and low-noise amplifiers. The proposed design achieves a tunable gain of 6.7–18 dB and a power consumption of 1.7 mA with a ±1.5 V DC supply. At maximum gain, the proposed RF-VGA covers from DC up to 1 GHz and can find application in software design radios (SDRs), the low frequency medical implant communication system (MICS) or industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) bands.

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Section: Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Compact Size Wideband RF-VGA Based on Second Generation Controlled Current Conveyors

et al. 2020

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“…At TX, VGA is deployed in conjunction with PS, called • Large chip size due to additional amplification stage for phase error compensation phase-invariant VGA. Over the last five years, the research studies on phase-invariant VGA have been urged to enhance its dB-linear range [160], [161]. They must reduce gain errors at different phase-shifting states for low sidelobes levels (SLL).…”

Section: • Critical Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Predistortion-Based Linearization for 5G and Beyond Millimeter-Wave Transceiver Systems: A Comprehensive Survey

Haider

You

et al. 2022

IEEE Commun. Surv. Tutorials

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The next-generation (5G/6G) wireless communication aims to leapfrog the currently occupied sub-6 GHz spectrum to the wideband millimeter-wave (MMW) spectrum. However, MMW spectrums with high-order modulation schemes drive the power amplifier (PA) at significant back-off, causing severe nonlinear distortions, thus deteriorating the transceiver's (TRXs) modulation process. Typically, the TRX efficacy is quantified with standardized linearization matrices, which take advantage of different predistortion (PD) schemes to handle deep compression of the PA. In this regard, TRX baseband signals are mostly linearized in the digital domain, where digitally controlled linearization needs higher sampling rates due to increasing MMW bandwidths to compensate for intermodulation (IMD) products, resulting in increased system cost and power consumption. Alternately, the digitally controlled analog-based linearization, i.e., the hybridization of digital predistortion (DPD) and analog predistortion (APD), is highly productive and cost-effective for fulfilling the linearized energy-efficient design vision of MMW networks. Therefore, this paper puts an extensive spotlight on the progress in PD-based linearization for 5G and beyond communications. It first provides background information on the advancements of PD schemes through recent surveys, then classifies the general roadmap of PD waveform processing across the TRX system models as preliminary. After this, we present three prominent PD architectures and their design approaches with intrinsic performance metrics. Finally, we explore four case studies encompassing PD operation under certain nonlinear constraints of different communication schemes. We examine the suitability of PD-based linearization solutions, both existing and proposed till the first quarter of 2022, and identify the potential prospects in this domain.

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“…The gain characteristic curve of the gain compression zone is not linear in dB, which severely limits the available gain and accuracy of the VGA. 7 The gain of the VGA with current steering can be written as…”

Section: Vga Design Considerationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The VGA based on the CMOS process usually uses pseudo-exponential and Taylor series approximation to achieve dB-linear gain control, which may lead to complex control circuits, and the accuracy and control range of the dB-linear characteristics are limited. 6,7 The zero-pole reposition technique can shift the desired operating frequency range to higher frequencies for the improvement of dB-linear gain range. 5 Although bipolar transistors can inherently obtain exponential gain, correction circuits are still needed to achieve the wide dB-linear control range of the VGA.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A 6–18 GHz high dB‐linear attenuator based on variable gain amplifier for ultra‐wideband phased array systems

Wang

Wang³

et al. 2021

Micro & Optical Tech Letters

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The letter presents a high dB-linear attenuator based on variable gain amplifier (VGA) for ultra-wideband phased array systems. An effective dB-linear compensation structure is proposed to improve the gain range and accuracy. The bandwidth and gain flatness of the proposed VGA are increased by the emitter resistor-capacitor negative feedback and transistor segmentation technique. The proposed VGA is implemented with the 0.18 μm SiGe bipolar complementary metal oxide semiconductor (BiCMOS) process. The measured results show that the VGA can operate from 6 to 18 GHz with a controlled variable gain range of 20 dB, the root-mean-square gain error is less than 0.55 dB. The input 1 dB compression point (IP1dB) of the fabricated VGA is more than À5 dBm. The proposed VGA consumes 71 mW and occupies a chip area of 0.98 mm Â 0.98 mm.

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Design of a Wideband Variable-Gain Amplifier With Self-Compensated Transistor for Accurate dB-Linear Characteristic in 65 nm CMOS Technology

Abstract: Design of a wideband variable-gain amplifier with self-compensated transistor for accurate dB-linear characteristic in 65 nm CMOS technology. IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems I:

Cited by 21 publications

References 25 publications

A Compact Size Wideband RF-VGA Based on Second Generation Controlled Current Conveyors

A Compact Size Wideband RF-VGA Based on Second Generation Controlled Current Conveyors

Predistortion-Based Linearization for 5G and Beyond Millimeter-Wave Transceiver Systems: A Comprehensive Survey

A 6–18 GHz high dB‐linear attenuator based on variable gain amplifier for ultra‐wideband phased array systems

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