A high performance 2-GHz direct-conversion front end with single-ended RF input in 0.13 um CMOS

Abstract

This paper describes a 2.1-GHz CMOS front-end with a single-ended low noise amplifier (LNA) and a double balanced, current-driven passive mixer. The LNA features an on-chip transformer load to perform single-ended to differential conversion. Implemented in a 0.13 um CMOS process, it achieves 30 dB conversion gain, a low noise figure of 3.1 dB, a 40 kHz 1/f noise corner, an in-band IIP3 of -12 dBm and IIP2 better than 39 dBm, while consuming only 12 mW from a 1.5 V power supply.