Patent ID: 7362178

Claim:
An apparatus providing gain control over a desired dynamic range, the apparatus comprising: an attenuator having a signal input, a signal output, and a control input and configured to attenuate a signal coupled to the control input by any one of a plurality of fixed attenuation values based on a control provided to the control input; a variable gain amplifier stage having a signal input, a signal output, and a stage gain control input, wherein the signal input is coupled to the signal output of the attenuator, and wherein the gain of the variable gain amplifier stage is continuously variable over a predetermined gain control range based on a gain control signal provided to the stage gain control input; and a gain control module having a gain control input, an attenuator control output coupled to the control input of the attenuator, and a stage gain control output coupled to the stage gain control input of the variable gain amplifier stage, wherein the gain control module is configured to receive a gain control signal at the gain control input, identify a gain control range from a plurality of partially overlapping gain control ranges based on the gain control signal, and control the attenuation provided by the attenuator and the gain of the variable gain amplifier stage based on the gain control signal and the gain control range that is identified.