Modified cascode mixer circuit
First Claim
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1. A mixer circuit, comprising:
- a first FET having a first signal provided as input to its gate;
a second FET having as an input to its gate a second signal, the source of the second FET being grounded, the second FET capable of having a higher saturation current than the first FET to ensure that the first FET has high gain to provide for maximum voltage and current swings at its drain;
wherein the first FET has its source connected to the drain of the second FET; and
wherein the first signal is mixed with the second signal to provide an output high conversion gain signal at the drain of the first FET.
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Abstract
In a conventional mixer circuit, in order to have high conversion gain, high input power is needed. For the mixer circuit of the present invention, by incorporating a modified cascode circuit whereby the input stage FET has a higher saturation current than the output stage FET, the same high conversion gain can be achieved. In addition, the present invention mixer circuit requires an input DC power that is considerably less than that needed for the conventional mixer circuit.
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Citations
10 Claims
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1. A mixer circuit, comprising:
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a first FET having a first signal provided as input to its gate; a second FET having as an input to its gate a second signal, the source of the second FET being grounded, the second FET capable of having a higher saturation current than the first FET to ensure that the first FET has high gain to provide for maximum voltage and current swings at its drain; wherein the first FET has its source connected to the drain of the second FET; and wherein the first signal is mixed with the second signal to provide an output high conversion gain signal at the drain of the first FET. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A mixer circuit comprising:
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a cascode circuit having an output stage FET series connected at its source to the drain of an input stage FET, the input stage FET having a saturation current level greater than that of the output stage FET; wherein a first signal is provided to the output stage FET and a second signal is provided to the input stage FET; and wherein the first and second signals are combined in the cascode circuit such that a high conversion gain signal is output from the mixer circuit. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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Specification