A low-power receiver down-converter with high dynamic range performance

A low-power down-converter that uses a passive current-commutating mixer for frequency translation, while sharing the bias current between the RF and baseband stages is presented. An active noise shaping network is implemented to reduce low-frequency noise at the output. Linearity is enhanced through the use of non-linear feedback. The design, implemented in a 0.18 μm CMOS technology, achieves conversion gain of 35 dB, NF of 9.8 dB, in-channel OIP3 of 15.8 dBV while consuming 2.1 mA from a 1.8 V supply.