A 624μW Variable Gain Amplifier with 45dB peak Gain using Current Controlled Degeneration

Abstract

This paper presents a current controlled variable gain amplifier (VGA) with a two-stage current-reuse gain cell and a tail current source for controlling the current. VGA is aiming to offer high voltage gain, low Noise Figure (NF) while operating with low-power consumption for high-performance wireless applications. The low-voltage low-power VGA is designed and implemented in UMC 180nm CMOS technology using Cadence virtuoso design tool. The proposed VGA can provide a maximum gain of 45.1dB while achieving a maximum IIP3 of 4.643dBm and minimum NF of 4.976dB. Power consumption of the VGA at maximum gain is 624.4µW from 1V supply.