A 60-dB linear VGA with novel exponential gain approximation

A CMOS variable gain amplifier (VGA) that adopts a novel exponential gain approximation is presented. No additional exponential gain control circuit is required in the proposed VGA used in a direct conversion receiver. A wide gain control voltage from 0.4 to 1.8 V and a high linearity performance are achieved. The three-stage VGA with automatic gain control (AGC) and DC offset cancellation (DCOC) is fabricated in a 0.18-μm CMOS technology and shows a linear gain range of more than 58-dB with a linearity error less than ±1 dB. The 3-dB bandwidth is over 8 MHz at all gain settings. The measured input-referred third intercept point (IIP3) of the proposed VGA varies from -18.1 to 13.5 dBm, and the measured noise figure varies from 27 to 65 dB at a frequency of 1 MHz. The dynamic range of the closed-loop AGC exceeds 56 dB, where the output signal-to-noise-and-distortion ratio (SNDR) reaches 20 dB. The whole circuit, occupying 0.3 mm2 of chip area, dissipates less than 3.7 mA from a 1.8-V supply.