A high-performance low-power CMOS AGC for GPS application

In this paper, a wide tuning range, low power CMOS automatic gain control (AGC) with a simple architecture is proposed. The proposed AGC is composed of variable gain amplifier (VGA), comparator and charge pump, and the dB-linear gain is controlled by charge pump. The AGC was implemented in a 0.18um CMOS technology. The dynamic range of the VGA is more than 55dB, the bandwidth is 30MHz and the gain error lower than ±1.5dB over the full temperature and gain ranges. It is designed for GPS application and is fed from a single 1.8V power supply. The AGC power consumption is less than 5mW and area of the AGC is 700*450um2.