A monolithic 12-GHz heterodyne receiver for DVB-S applications in silicon bipolar technology

A monolithic heterodyne receiver for digital video broadcasting via-satellite (DVB-S) applications is presented. The integrated circuit consists of a down-converter block and a phase-locked-loop-based local-oscillator synthesizer to translate the DVB-S RF-band (10.7-12.75 GHz) to an IF ranging in the L-band (0.95-2.15 GHz). The receiver exhibits a conversion gain of 38 dB, a single-sideband noise figure of 7 dB, and an output 1-dB compression point of +5 dBm. A 2.2-GHz-wide voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) tuning range, extending from 8.6 to 10.8 GHz, is achieved adopting a transformer-based topology. The VCO phase noise is as low as -95 dBc/Hz at 100-kHz offset from a 10.6-GHz carrier. The integrated receiver draws 160 mA from a 3.3-V supply voltage. This paper demonstrates the feasibility of a Ku-band DVB-S heterodyne receiver integrated in low-cost 46-GHz-f_T silicon bipolar technology.