A 5-GHz monolithic silicon bipolar down-converter with on-chip image filtering

A monolithic 5-GHz down-converter, which consists of a two-stage low noise amplifier (LNA) and a double-balanced mixer, was designed using a 46-GHz-f/sub T/ silicon bipolar process. The proposed down-converter exhibits a power gain as high as 21 dB, a 4.7-dB SSB noise figure and an input compression point of -21 dBm. Moreover, an on-chip image rejection ratio (IRR) higher than 70 dB is achieved by making use of passive LC notch filters. The circuit was assembled in a 5/spl times/5 mm/sup 2/ low-cost QFN 24-lead plastic package and draws only 23 mA from a 3-V power supply.