Gigahertz-band high-gain low-noise AGC amplifiers in fine-line NMOS

The design and test results of a single-chip NMOS automatic gain control (AGC) amplifier are described. The amplifier has a maximum flat gain of 50 dB, dynamic range of 70 dB, and a noise figure of 11 dB. The flat response from near DC to a 3-dB bandwidth of 1 GHz does not require tuning of any peaking circuits. The chip is also capable of operating at 3 GHz with unity gain delivering -8 dBm into a 50-/spl Omega/ load. The global feedback scheme designed for this chip stabilizes it against large shifts in threshold voltage and ambient temperature variation of 170/spl deg/C. This feedback scheme can provide stable DC feedback for a forward amplifier gain of at least 60 dB. Application of this application in the design of low-noise high-speed fibre-optic systems is envisaged.

[1]  R. Jindal.  High frequency noise in fine line NMOS field effect transistors , 1985, 1985 International Electron Devices Meeting.

[2]  A. A. Abidi.  Gigahertz transresistance amplifiers in fine line NMOS , 1984 .

[3]  R. Paski,et al.  A regenerator chip set for high speed digital transmission , 1984, 1984 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference. Digest of Technical Papers.

[4]  Yannis Tsividis.  Design considerations in single-channel MOS analog integrated circuits-a tutorial , 1978 .

[5]  Y. Takasaki,et al.  Wideband and high-gain negative-feedback AGC amplifier for high-speed lightwave digital transmission systems , 1985 .

[6]  K. K. Thornber.  Resistive-gate-induced thermal noise in IGFETs , 1981 .

[7]  Kiichi Yamashita,et al.  Wideband monolithic AGC amplifier for 400 Mbit/s optical repeaters using an advanced Si-bipolar IC technology, SICOS , 1986 .

[8]  R.P. Jindal.  Noise associated with distributed resistance of MOSFET gate structures in integrated circuits , 1984, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.

[9]  R. Kushner,et al.  A single chip NMOS preamplifier for optical fiber receivers , 1983, 1983 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference. Digest of Technical Papers.

[10]  Tetsushi Sakai,et al.  Very Wide-Band Silicon Bipolar Monolithic Amplifiers , 1983 .

[11]  L. Manchanda.  γ—Radiation effects on MOSFET's fabricated with NMOS Submicrometer technology , 1984, IEEE Electron Device Letters.

[12]  D. Claxton,et al.  Analog integrated circuits for 0.5 to 2.0 GHz applications , 1977 .

[13]  Noboru Ishihara,et al.  A Design and Packaging Technique for a High-Gain, Gigahertz-Band Single-Chip Amplifier , 1986 .

[14]  M. P. Lepselter,et al.  A systems approach to 1-µm NMOS , 1983, Proceedings of the IEEE.

[15]  R.P. Jindal.  IIIB-4 noise associated with substrate current in fine-line NMOS field-effect transistors , 1984, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.

[16]  R. Jindal.  Hot-electron effects on channel thermal noise in fine-line NMOS field-effect transistors , 1986, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.

[17]  R.P. Jindal.  Distributed substrate resistance noise in fine-line NMOS field-effect transistors , 1985, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.

[18]  Yannis Tsividis,et al.  Use of MOS transistor as a tunable distributed RC filter element , 1984 .

[19]  Noboru Ishihara,et al.  Bipolar monolithic amplifiers for a gigabit optical repeater , 1984 .

[20]  R.P. Jindal.  General noise considerations for gigabit-rate NMOSFET front-end design for optical-fiber communication systems , 1987, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.

[21]  W. Fichtner,et al.  High-speed low-power circuits fabricated using a submicron NMOS technology , 1985, IEEE Electron Device Letters.

[22]  K. Ohwada,et al.  A high-gain GaAs amplifier with an AGC Function , 1984, IEEE Electron Device Letters.