802.11a Compliant Spatial Diversity Receiver IC in ${\hbox {0.25-}}\mu{\hbox {m}}$ BiCMOS

This paper presents an integrated 802.11a compliant receiver integrated circuit (IC), which is capable of processing four antenna signals using RF multiple-input multiple-output (RF-MIMO) schemes. Following four low-noise amplifiers, the weighting is performed using Cartesian vector modulators, whose output signals are combined and down-converted. The baseband filters, variable gain amplifiers (VGAs), a quadrature voltage-controlled oscillator, and digital interfaces are integrated. Experimental results demonstrate the performance of the individual components, as well as the RF-MIMO capabilities of the whole chip. The IC achieves a receiver noise figure of 3.6 dB, a phase noise of -113 dBc/Hz at 1-MHz offset, and an equivalent Cartesian weighting precision of 6 × 6 bit. An RF input signal of up to -35.3 dBm (1-dB compression) can be processed, while the maximum RF path gain amounts to 28.6 dB. The baseband VGA provides further 9-61-dB gain in 64 steps.