A 1.57-GHZ RF FRONT-END FOR TRIPLE CONVERSION GPS RECEIVER

A low-power, 1.57-GHz RF front-end for a global positioning system (GP S) receiver has been designed in a 1.0-mu m BiCMOS technology, It cons ists of a low noise amplifier with 15 dB of gain, a single balanced mi xer with 6.3 mS of conversion g(m) a Colpitts LC local oscillator, and an emitter coupled logic (ECL) divide-by-eight prescaler, This front- end has a singal sideband (SSB) noise figure of 8.1 dB and is part of a triple conversion superheterodyne receiver whose IF frequencies are 179, 4.7, and 1.05 MHz, Low power consumption has been achieved, with 10.5 mA at 3-V supply voltage for the front-end, while the complete re ceiver is expected to draw about 12 mA.