GSM transceiver front-end circuits in 0.25-μm CMOS

So far, CMOS has been shown to be capable of operating at radio-frequency (RF) frequencies, although the inadequacies of the device-level performance often have to be circumvented by innovations at the architectural level that tend to shift the burden to the circuit building blocks at lower frequencies, The RF front-end circuits presented in this paper show that excellent RF performance is feasible with 0.25-μm CMOS, even in terms of the requirements of the tried-and-true superheterodyne architecture. Design for low-noise and low-current consumption targeted for GSM handsets has been given particular attention in this paper. Low-noise amplifiers with sub-2-dB noise figures (NFs) and a double balanced mixer with 12.6 dB single-sideband NF, as well as sub-25-mA current consumption for the RF front end (complete receiver), are among the main achievements