Low cost monolithic gallium arsenide upconverter chip

A low noise upconverter chip for modulating an rf input signal to a higher frequency IF output signal, said upconverter chip including a mixer circuit in combination with and packaged in a low cost plastic dual inline package having a plurality of pins, wherein the mixer is a Gilbert type image-rejecting mixer comprising:

• a source degenerated first differential pair comprising matched first and second MESFETs, each having source, gate and drain terminals, and matched first and second inductors, wherein the source degenerating element for the first MESFET comprises the first matched inductor and the source degenerating element for the second MESFET comprises the second matched inductor, and the gates of the first and second MESFETs receive the RF input signal;
• and
• a second differential pair comprising matched third and fourth MESFETs, each having source, gate and drain terminals, and a third differential pair comprising matched fifth and sixth MESFETs, each having source, gate and drain terminals, wherein the sources of the third and fourth MESFETs connect to the drain of the first MESFET and the sources of the fifth and sixth MESFETs connect to the drain of the second MESFET, the gate of the third MESFET connects to the gate of the fifth MESFET and the gate of the fourth MESFET connects to the gate of the sixth MESFET, the drain of the third MESFET connects to the drain of the sixth MESFET and the drain of the fourth MESFET connects to the drain of the fifth MESFET, the gates of the third and fourth MESFETs receive a differential LO signal and the drains of the third and fourth MESFETs supply the IF output signal.

A low noise upconverter chip for modulating an RF input signal to a higher frequency IF output signal, said upconverter chip including a mixer circuit in combination with and packaged in a low cost plastic dual inline package having a plurality of pins, wherein the mixer is a Gilbert type image-rejecting mixer comprising:

• a source degenerated first differential pair comprising matched first and second MESFETs, each having source, gate and drain terminals, and matched first and second inductors, wherein the source degenerating element for the first MESFET comprises the first matched inductor and the source degenerating element for the second MESFET comprises the second matched inductor, and the gates of the first and second MESFETs receive the RF input signal;
• a second differential pair comprising matched third and fourth MESFETs, each having source, gate and drain terminals, and a third differential pair comprising matched fifth and sixth MESFETs, each having source, gate and drain terminals, wherein the sources of the third and fourth MESFETs connect to the drain of the first MESFET and the sources of the fifth and sixth MESFETs connect to the drain of the second MESFET, the gate of the third MESFET connects to the gate of the fifth MESFET and the gate of the fourth MESFET connects to the gate of the sixth MESFET, the drain of the third MESFET connects to the drain of the sixth MESFET and the drain of the fourth MESFET connects to the drain of the fifth MESFET, the gates of the third and fourth MESFETs receive a differential LO signal and the drains of the third and fourth MESFETs supply the IF output signal;
• and
• first and second matched source-degenerating resistors, where the first resistor is connected in series with the first matched inductor, the serially connected first resistor and first matched inductor being connected between the source of the first MESFET and a virtual ground node, and the second resistor is connected in series with the second matched inductors, the serially connected second resistor and second matched inductor being connected between the source of the second MESFET and the virtual ground node.

A low noise upconverter chip for modulating an RF input signal to a higher frequency IF output signal, said upconverter chip including a mixer circuit in combination with and packaged in a low cost plastic dual inline package having a plurality of pins, wherein the mixer is a Gilbert type image-rejecting mixer comprising:

• a source degenerated first differential pair comprising matched first and second MESFETs, each having source, gate and drain terminals, and matched first and second inductors, wherein the source degenerating element for the first MESFET comprises the first matched inductor and the source degenerating element for the second MESFET comprises the second matched inductor, and the gates of the first and second MESFETs receive the RF input signal;
• a second differential pair comprising matched third and fourth MESFETs, each having source, gate and drain terminals, and a third differential pair comprising matched fifth and sixth MESFETs, each having source, gate and drain terminals, wherein the sources of the third and fourth MESFETs connect to the drain of the first MESFET and the sources of the fifth and sixth MESFETs connect to the drain of the second MESFET, the gate of the third MESFET connects to the gate of the fifth MESFET and the gate of the fourth MESFET connects to the gate of the sixth MESFET, the drain of the third MESFET connects to the drain of the sixth MESFET and the drain of the fourth MESFET connects to the drain of the fifth MESFET, the gates of the third and fourth MESFETs receive a differential LO signal and the drains of the third and fourth MESFETs supply the IF output signal;
• and
• gain control means coupled between the matched first and second inductors for varying the gain between the RF signal and the IF signal.

A Gilbert type image-rejecting mixer for mixing a differential RF signal with a differential LO signal to generate a differential IF signal, said mixer comprising:

• a source degenerated first differential pair comprising matched first and second transistors, each having source, gate and drain terminals, and matched first and second inductors, wherein the source degenerating element for the first transistor comprises the first matched inductor and the source degenerating element for the second transistor comprises the second matched inductor, and the gates of the first and second transistors receive the differential RF input signal;
• and
• a second differential pair comprising matched third and fourth transistors, each having source, gate and drain terminals, and a third differential pair comprising matched fifth and sixth transistors, each having source, gate and drain terminals, wherein the sources of the third and fourth transistors connect to the drain of the first transistor and the sources of the fifth and sixth transistors connect to the drain of the second transistor, the gate of the third transistor connects to the gate of the fifth transistor and the gate of the fourth transistor connects to the gate of the sixth transistor, the drain of the third transistor connects to the drain of the sixth transistor and the drain of the fourth transistor connects to the drain of the fifth transistor, the gates of the third and fourth transistors receive the differential LO signal and the drains of the third and fourth transistors supply the differential IF signal.

A Gilbert type image-rejecting mixer for mixing a different RF signal with a differential LO signal to generate a differential IF signal, said mixer comprising:

• a source degenerated first differential pair comprising matched first and second transistors, each having source, gate and drain terminals, and matched first and second inductors, wherein the source degenerating element for the first transistor comprises the first matched inductor and the source degenerating element for the second transistor comprises the second matched inductor, and the gates of the first and second transistors receive the differential RF input signal;
• a second differential pair comprising matched third and fourth transistors, each having source, gate and drain terminals, and a third differential pair comprising matched fifth and sixth transistors, each having source, gate and drain terminals, wherein the sources of the third and fourth transistors connect to the drain of the first transistor and the sources of the fifth and sixth transistors connect to the drain of the second transistor, the gate of the third transistor connects to the gate of the fifth transistor and the gate of the fourth transistor connects to the gate of the sixth transistor, the drain of the third transistor connects to the drain of the sixth transistor and the drain of the fourth transistors receive the differential LO signal and the drains of the third and fourth transistors supply the differential IF signal;
• and
• gain control means coupled between the matched first and second inductors for varying the gain between the RF signal and the IF signal.

A Gilbert type image-rejecting mixer for mixing a different RF signal with a differential LO signal to generate a differential IF signal, said mixer comprising:

• a source degenerated first differential pair comprising matched first and second transistors, each having source, gate and drain terminals, and matched first and second inductors, wherein the source degenerating element for the first transistor comprises the first matched inductor and the source degenerating element for the second transistor comprises the second matched inductor, and the gates of the first and second transistors receive the differential RF input signal;
• a second differential pair comprising matched third and fourth transistors, each having source, gate and drain terminals, and a third differential pair comprising matched fifth and sixth transistors, each having source, gate and drain terminals, wherein the sources of the third and fourth transistors connect to the drain of the first transistor and the sources of the fifth and sixth transistors connect to the drain of the second transistor, the gate of the third transistor connects to the gate of the fifth transistor and the gate of the fourth transistor connects to the gate of the sixth transistor, the drain of the third transistor connects to the drain of the sixth transistor and the drain of the fourth transistors receive the differential LO signal and the drains of the third and fourth transistors supply the differential IF signal, wherein the transistors are GaAs MESFETs;
• and
• first and second matched source-degenerating resistors, wherein the first resistor is connected in series with the first matched inductor, the serially connected first resistor and first matched inductor being connected between the source of the first MESFET and a virtual ground node, and the second resistor is connected in series with the second matched inductor, the serially connected second resistor and second matched inductor being connected between the source of the second MESFET and the virtual ground node.

A monolithic upconverter chip including a gilbert type image rejecting mixer, for mixing a differential RF signal with a differential LO signal to generate a differential IF signal, said mixer comprising:

• a source degenerated first differential pair comprising matched first and second transistors, each having source, gate and drain terminals, and matched first and second inductors, wherein the source degenerating element for the first transistor comprises the first matched inductor and the source degenerating element for the second transistor comprises the second matched inductor, and the gates of the first and second transistors receive the differential RF input signal;
• and
• a second differential pair comprising matched third and fourth transistors, each having source, gate and drain terminals, and a third differential pair comprising matched fifth and sixth transistors, each having source, gate and drain terminals, wherein the sources of the third and fourth transistors connect to the drain of the first transistor and the sources of the fifth and sixth transistors connect to the drain of the second transistor, the gate of the third transistor connects to the gate of the fifth transistor and the gate of the fourth transistor connects to the gate of the sixth transistor, the drain of the third transistor connects to the drain of the sixth transistor and the drain of the fourth transistor connects to the drain of the fifth transistor, the gates of the third and fourth transistors receive a differential LO signal and the drains of the third and fourth transistors supply the IF output signal.