An ultra-low-power 2.4 GHz receiver RF front-end employing a RF quadrature Gm-stage for Bluetooth low energy applications

Abstract

In this paper, an ultra-low-power 2.4 GHz receiver RF front-end adopting a RF quadrature Gm-stage for Bluetooth low energy applications is proposed. The proposed quadrature Gm-stage in a mixer performs a single-to-differential conversion and minimizes power consumption of the LO path because the block generating quadrature signals such as a divider-by-2, a poly-phase filter and a quadrature voltage controlled oscillator are not required. The proposed quadrature Gm-stage adopting the gain and phase mismatch compensator generates adequate quadrature signals at 2.4 GHz. The prototype, realized in 65 nm CMOS process, achieves a conversion gain of 36 dB, a NF of 2.1 dB, and an IIP3 of −26 dBm while consuming 0.9 mA at supply voltage of 1 V.