High frequency GaAs transconductors and other building blocks for communication

The authors apply experience gained in the design of GaAs switched-capacitor filters to develop a number of GaAs building blocks for high-frequency continuous-time systems, including a linear negative current mirror, an unbalanced-to-balanced converter, and a transconductor. Some general principles for the realization of linear transconductors are presented, and a circuit is developed in which the dominant nonlinearity is significantly reduced. The application and impact of these circuits in microwave and optical systems and also for high-frequency filtering are considered.<>