CMOS Active-LC bandpass filters with coupled-inductor Q-enhancement and center frequency tuning

A novel CMOS circuit for obtaining a bandpass response from a triple-coupled-inductor arrangement is presented, featuring Q-enhancement and center frequency tuning by means of vector-modulating a current flowing through one of the coupled inductors. A 0.35-mum CMOS LC filter prototype employing the technique has been fabricated and exhibits a center frequency tuning range of 11% around 1 GHz and Q values up to 180. The input 1-dB compression point is - 13 dBm with Q set to 20 and a power consumption of 12.2 mW. Additionally, an input impedance matching scheme around a spiral transformer is presented, which tracks the center frequency of the filter. The active-LC approach can be applied to higher order filter responses and find applications in tunable building blocks for agile RF front ends and multi-standard radios.