A dual-band RF front-end for WCDMA and GSM applications

An RF front-end for dual-band dual-mode operation is presented. The front-end consumes 22.5 mW from a 1.8-V supply and is designed to be used in a direct-conversion WCDMA and GSM receiver. The front-end has been fabricated in a 0.35-μm BiCMOS process and, in both modes, can use the same devices in the signal path except the LNA input transistors. The front-end has a 27-dB gain control range, which is divided between the LNA and quadrature mixers. The measured double-sideband noise figure and voltage gain are 2.3 dB, 39.5 dB, for the GSM and 4.3 dB, 33 dB for the WCDMA, respectively. The linearity parameters IIP3 and IIP2 are -19 dBm, +35 dBm for the GSM and -14.5 dBm and +34 dBm for the WCDMA, respectively