Patent · US Expired

Programmable gain amplifier (PGA) with AGC in receiver section

US6862438B2 · kind B2 · utility

19Cited by
6References
19Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateMay 3, 2002
Grant dateMar 1, 2005
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 13, 2023

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04B1/406
  • WIPO fieldTelecommunications
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method and apparatus for dynamically controlling a programmable gain amplifier (PGA) to provide a plurality of gain steps thereby providing automatic gain control (AGC) in a receiver intermediate frequency (IF) stage comprising a succession of operational amplifiers wherein at least one is for providing fine gain control and wherein the gain of each fine gain amplifier is controlled by the resistance ratios of a plurality of selectively biased MOSFETs. In one embodiment of the invention, three coarse amplifiers are provided, each having a gain of either 0 dB or 12 dB based on the value of a two-state signal provided to each amplifier gain control input. A single fine gain amplifier has a gain of 0 dB, 3 dB, 6 dB or 9 dB based on the binary value of the two-bit signal provided to the amplifier. The combination of three coarse gain amplifiers and one fine gain amplifier provides for a total gain of 45 dB in 3 dB steps in the described embodiment of the invention. The output of the gain control circuitry also is fed into an inverter. The inverter output may be used as a received signal strength indicator for a desired signal.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.