AN11369
NXP Semiconductors
BGU8004 GNSS LNA EVB
2. General description
Modern smart phones have multiple radio systems, so problems like co-habitation are
quite common. A GNSS receiver implemented in a mobile phone requires the following
factors to be taken into account.
All the different transmit signals that are active in smart phones and tablets can cause
problems like intermodulation and compression.
Since the GNSS receiver needs to receive signals with an average power level of -130
dBm, sensitivity is very important. Many of the available GNSS ICs have integrated LNA
front ends. The noise performance of these integrated LNA front ends, and as a result
the system sensitivity, is not always adequate. The GNSS receiver sensitivity is a
measure for how accurate the coordinates are calculated. The GNSS signal reception
can be improved by a so called GNSS front end, which improves the sensitivity by
filtering out the unwanted jamming signals and by amplifying the wanted GNSS signal
with a low noise amplifier.
The pre-filters and post filters are needed to improve the overall linearity of the system as
well as to avoid overdriving the integrated LNA stage of the GNSS receiver.
3. BGU8004 GNSS LNA evaluation board
The BGU8004 LNA evaluation board simplifies the RF evaluation of the BGU8004 GNSS
LNA applied in a GNSS front-end, often used in mobile cell phones. The evaluation
board enables testing of the device RF performance and requires no additional support
circuitry. The board is fully assembled with the BGU8004, including the input series
inductor and decoupling capacitor. The board is supplied with two SMA connectors for
input and output connection to RF test equipment. The BGU8004 can operate from a 1.5
V to 3.1 V single supply and consumes about 3.6 mA.
AN11369
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© NXP B.V. 2013. All rights reserved.
Application note
Rev. 1 — 10 October 2013
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