A 3–5-GHz LNA and mixer for an UWB RF front-end

A receiver front-end for an Ultra-Wide-Band system in 33.6-5-GHz band is reported. An on-chip balun is implemented in between the low noise amplifier and the mixer, which makes the input matching less stringent as compared to the structure of putting the on-chip balun prior to the LNA. Consequently, the low noise amplifier can be single-ended, resulting in low power and low area; while the differential mixer provides rejection LO feedthrough and other common mode effects. The chip is fabricated in a 90-nm CMOS process. The measurements show a noise figure of 3.6-4.4 dB over the 3-5 GHz band, a conversion gain of 24.5-29 dB, and a third order input referred intercept point of -12dBm. The current consumption is 13.7 mA for the LNA, and 4 mA for the mixer with a 1.2-V voltage supply.