CMOS Analog Filter Design for Very High Frequency Applications

A design strategy for the synthesis of high-selectivity/low-order analog filters in Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) technology for very high frequency (VHF) applications is presented. The methodology for the reconstitution of a given transfer function by means of Signal Flow Graphs (SFG) manipulation in canonical form is proposed leading to a fully differential gm-C biquad filter. As a practical example, the design of a notch filter intended to suppress interferers in the lower sideband (400 MHz) of the Medical Implant Communication Service (MICS), in single-poly, 6-metal layers; Mixed-Signal/RF 0.18 mu m CMOS technology is realized. To compare the performance of the proposal with some other solution, the design of a 7th order elliptic notch filter based on Frequency Dependent Negative Resistors (FDNRs) was also accomplished. The attained simulation results prove that the proposal is competitive compared to the FDNR solution and some other state-of-the-art filters reported in the literature. The most salient features of the proposed notch biquad include: the selectivity, whose value is comparable to that of a 7th order elliptic approach and some other 3rd order filters; a high-frequency operation without resonators; linearity, with a +15 dBm IIP3; a reduced form factor with a total occupied area of 0.004282 mm(2) and mostly a low design complexity.