Patent ID: 8331893

Claim:
A receiver having an input stage comprising in a signal direction from an input to an output: an input transistor; and an attenuator, which provides an attenuation that depends on a control signal, the input stage comprising a transistor-biasing circuit arranged to bias the input transistor in dependence on the control signal, the attenuator comprising: a series-coupled diode, which is coupled between the input transistor and the output; and a shunt-coupled diode, which is coupled between the output and signal ground, wherein a cathode of the series-coupled diode is connected to an anode of the shunt-coupled diode and the output, wherein an anode of the series-coupled diode is connected to a first voltage divider, wherein a cathode of the shunt-coupled diode is connected to a second voltage divider, and wherein the second voltage divider provides a lower diode-biasing voltage than the first voltage divider, wherein the input stage further comprises a signal-splitting circuit configured to split a signal at the collector of the input transistor into a first portion and a second portion, wherein the first portion flows to a loop-through output, and wherein the second portion flows to the output of the receiver via the attenuator.