Gain controlled amplifier

• US 6,057,736 A
• Filed: 08/18/1998
• Issued: 05/02/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Uniloc 2017 LLC (FIG LLC (d/b/a Fortress Investment Group LLC))
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: Lee, Jae Jin, Lee, Chang Seok, Kim, Min Gun, Pyun, Kwang Eui
• Primary Examiner(s): Pascal, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Khanh V.
• Application Number:
  US09/135,576
• Time in Patent Office: 623 Days
• Field of Search: 330/282, 330/86, 330/278, 330/110, 330/285, 330/294
• US Class Current: 330/282
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/342 in field-effect transistor amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/151 A source follower being used in a feedback circuit of an amplifier stage
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 1/007 using FET type devices

Abstract

The present invention relates to a gain controlled amplifier, and more particularly, to a gain controlled amplifier using active feedback and variable resistance. It is an object of the present invention to provide a gain controlled amplifier minimizing the gain and the degradation of power characteristics generated when adjusting gain in a variable gain amplifier which receives signals having different power levels, amplifies them in accordance with each power level and outputs output signals in a constant power level. In order to achieve the above object, a gain controlled amplifier in accordance with the present invention comprises an amplifier and an active feedback means for negative feedbacking the output of the amplifier to the input of the amplifier, and further has a feedback amount controller inputting the controlled feedback signal to the amplifier by controlling the feedback amount of said active feedback means.

Claims

1. A gain controlled amplifier, comprising:

an amplifier which amplifies an input signal; and

feedback means for receiving an output signal of said amplifier and providing said received output signal of said amplifier to an input of said amplifier as a negative feedback signal;

wherein said amplifier includes a first field effect transistor (FET) having a common source connection and a drain and gate thereof are the output and input, respectively, of said amplifier; and

wherein said feedback means includes;

a second FET having a common drain connection, the gate thereof receiving the output signal of said amplifier, and

a third FET, the gate, the drain and source thereof being connected to, respectively, a gain control terminal, the source of said second FET and the input of said first FET.