A 12 mA triple-conversion receiver for GPS

The circuits reported here form a complete GPS receiver for the civilian L1 band. Triple-conversion architecture minimizes the number of components working at the highest frequency and thus power consumption, while the integration of the 2nd IF filter reduces the complexity of the receiver to a level comparable to that of a single superhet. The immediate application of such an integrated receiver is to provide GPS time reference for small, portable (wearable) consumer products. Low power consumption is a primary requirement. The power supply is 2.4 V to 3.5 V from a lithium battery.