A 5-mA 1-GHz GaAs dual-modulus prescalar IC

A 1-GHz GaAs dual-modulus divide-by-128/129 prescalar IC with current drain of only 5 mA has been developed. Its current drain is one-sixth that of commercially available Si bipolar ICs used in 800-MHz band mobile radio systems. Five-level series gate low-power source-coupled FET logic (LSCFL) and the 0.50-μm gate buried P-layer SAINT (BP-SAINT) process technology have been used to achieve this small current drain together with high-speed operation. A high-speed divide-by-4/5 modulus divider (3.1 GHz, 13 mA) and divide-by-32 divider (6.1 GHz, 19 mA) has also been designed and fabricated. These prescalars are suitable for use as synthesizers in mobile communication systems.