Programmable mutlistage amplifier and radio applications thereof

A radio comprises:

• receiver operably coupled to convert an inbound RF signal into an I component of an inbound low intermediate frequency (IF) signal and a Q component of the low IF signal based on an I component of a receiver local oscillation and a Q component of the receiver local oscillation;
• and
• transmitter that includes:
• up-conversion module operably coupled to produce a radio frequency (RF) signal from an I component of a low intermediate frequency (IF) signal, Q component of the low IF signal, an I component of a local oscillation, and a Q component of a local oscillation;
• programmable multistage amplifier operably coupled to amplify, based on a distributed gain control signal, the RF signal to produce an outbound RF signal;
• and
• control module operably coupled to generate the distribute gain control signal based on an optimization of at least one of:
• power level, noise factor, and linearity of the programmable multistage amplifier.

A programmable multistage amplifier comprises:

• first programmable amplifier operably coupled to produce an amplified signal by amplifying an input signal in accordance with a first gain control signal;
• second programmable amplifier operably coupled to produce an outbound signal by amplifying the amplified signal in accordance with a second gain control signal;
• and
• control module operably coupled to generate the first and second gain control signals based on an optimization of at least one of:
• power level, noise factor, and linearity of the programmable multistage amplifier.