Fully Differential 5‐GHz LC‐Tank VCOs with Improved Phase Noise and Wide Tuning Range

In this paper, we propose two LC voltage‐controlled oscillators (VCOs) that improve both phase noise and tuning range. With both 1/f induced low‐frequency noise and low‐frequency thermal noise around DC or around harmonics suppressed significantly by the employment of a current‐current negative feedback (CCNF) loop, the phase noise in the CCNF LC VCO has been improved by about 10 dB at 6 MHz offset compared to the conventional LC VCO. The phase noise of the CCNF VCO was measured as ?112 dBc/Hz at 6 MHz offset from 5.5 GHz carrier frequency. Also, we present a bandwidth‐enhanced LC VCO whose tuning range has been increased about 250 % by connecting the varactor to the bases of the cross‐coupled pair. The phase noise of the bandwidth‐enhanced LC‐tank VCO has been improved by about 6 dB at 6 MHz offset compared to the conventional LC VCO. The phase noise reduction has been achieved because the DC‐decoupling capacitor Cc prevents the output common‐mode level from modulating the varactor bias point, and the signal power increases in the LC‐tank resonator. The bandwidth‐enhanced LC VCO represents a 12 % bandwidth and phase noise of ?108 dBc/Hz at 6 MHz offset.     

应用于IMT-A和UWB系统的0.13μm CMOS宽带压控振荡器设计

基于TSMC 0.13μm CMOS工艺设计并实现了应用于IMT-Advanced和UWB系统的双频段宽带频率合成器中的电感电容压控振荡器(LC-VCO)。此压控振荡器的设计采用了开关电流源、开关交叉耦合对和噪声滤波等技术,以优化电路的相位噪声,功耗,振荡幅度,调谐范围等性能。为达到宽的调谐范围,核心电路采用了4比特可重构的开关电容调谐阵列。整个芯片包括焊盘面积为1.11′0.98 mm₂。测试结果表明,在1.2V电源电压下,两个频段压控振荡器所消耗的电流分别为3mA和4.5mA,压控振荡器的调谐范围为3.86~5.28GHz和3.14~3.88GHz。在振荡频率3.5GHz和4.2GHz上,1MHz频偏处,压控振荡器的相位噪声分别为-123dBc/Hz与-119dBc/Hz。     

4.2GHz 1.8V CMOS LC压控振荡器

基于Hajimiri提出的VCO相位噪声模型,分析了差分LC VCO电路参数对于相位噪声的影响。根据前面的分析,详细介绍了LC VCO电路的设计方法:包括高Q值片上电感的设计、变容MOS管的设计以及尾电流的选取。采用SMIC 0.18μm 1P6 M、n阱、混合信号CMOS工艺设计了一款4.2GHz 1.8V LC VCO。测试结果表明:当输出频率为4.239GHz时,频偏1MHz处的相位噪声为-101dBc/Hz,频率调节范围为240MHz。     

A Differentially-Tuned Voltage ControlledOscillator Using Symmetric Transformer

This letter proposes a new voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) topology that cancels common-mode noise by adoption of differential tuning varactor. To suppress common mode noise effectively, a symmetric three-coil transformer is proposed as a differential tuning resonator. The measured phase noise shows -128.7 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset frequency from the 1.2 GHz oscillation frequency. Over the whole frequency range, common-mode noise rejection is larger than 36 dB. Measured tuning range of the proposed VCO is about 204 MHz from the 1.18 GHz to 1.38 GHz while dissipating 1.2 mA at 1.8 V power supply.     

CMOS Colpitts Quadrature VCO Using the Body Injection-Locked Coupling Technique

This paper presents a new low phase noise quadrature voltage-controlled oscillator (QVCO), which consists of two differential complementary Colpitts voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs) with a tail inductor. The output of the tail inductor in one differential VCO is injected to the bodies of the nMOSFETs in the other differential VCO and vice versa. The proposed CMOS QVCO has been implemented with the TSMC 0.18 mum CMOS technology and the die area is 0.725 times 0.839 mm². At the supply voltage of 1.1 V, the total power consumption is 9.9 mW. The free-running frequency of the QVCO is tunable from 5.26 GHz to 5.477 GHz as the tuning voltage is varied from 0.0 V to 1.1 V. The measured phase noise at 1 MHz frequency offset is -124.36 dBc/Hz at the oscillation frequency of 5.44 GHz and the figure of merit (FOM) of the proposed QVCO is -189.1 dBc/Hz.     

Design of Sub-1 mW CMOS LC VCO based on current reused topology with Q-enhancement and body-biased technique

A CMOS LC voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) based on current reused topology with low phase noise and low power consumption is presented for IEEE 802.11a (Seller et al. A 10 GHz distributed voltage controlled oscillator for WLAN application in a VLSI 65 nm CMOS process, in: IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFIC) Symposium, 3–5 June, 2007, pp. 115–118.) application. The chip1 is designed with the tail current-shaping technique to obtain the phase noise −116.1 dBc/Hz and power consumption 3.71 mW at the operating frequency 5.2 GHz under supply voltage 1.4 V. The second chip of proposed VCO can achieve power consumption Sub 1 mW and is still able to maintain good phase noise. The current reused and body-biased architecture can reduce power consumption, and better phase noise performance is obtained through raising the Q value. The measurement result of the VCO oscillation frequency range is from 5.082 GHz to 5.958 GHz with tuning range of 15.8%. The measured phase noise is −115.88 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset at the operation frequency of 5.815 GHz. and the dc core current consumption is 0.71 mA at a supply voltage of 1.4 V. Its figure of merit (FOM) is −191 dBc/Hz. Two circuits were taped out by TSMC 0.18 μm 1P6M process.     

射频卫星电视天线电路中LC压控振荡器设计

本文设计了一款应用于卫星电视天线电路中低功耗、低相噪的宽带单片集成压控振荡器。该振荡器利用PMOS尾电流源和MIM电容阵列结构。在保证调谐范围的前提下,有效的降低了相位噪声。使得该压控振荡器实现了3.384GHz~4.022GHz频段的覆盖,在中心频率为3.7GHz时,100Hz和1MHz频偏处的相位噪声分别为-90.4dBc/Hz和-119.1dBc/Hz,工作电压下为1.8V,功耗仅为2.5mW。     

一种带有升压电路的0.5V 3GHz低功耗LC VCO设计

采用标准的0.13μm CMOS工艺实现了0.5V电源电压,3GHz LC压控振荡器。为了适应低电压工作,并实现低相位噪声,该压控振荡器采用了NMOS差分对的电压偏置振荡器结构,去除尾电流,以尾电感代替,采用感性压控端,增加升压电路结构使变容管的一端升压,这样控制电压变化范围得到扩展。测试结果显示,当电源电压为0.5V,振荡频率为3.126GHz时,在相位噪声为-113.83dBc/Hz@1MHz,调谐范围为12%,核心电路功耗仅1.765mW,该振荡器的归一化品质因数可达-186.2dB,芯片面积为0.96mm×0.9mm。     

A 0.5 V LC-VCO with improved varactor tuning technique for WSN

A 0.5 V LC-VCO implemented in 0.18 μm CMOS technology for wireless sensor network is described in this paper. An improved varactor tuning technique is proposed to decrease low frequency noise up-conversion and AM–FM phase noise of VCO, also it can increase Q of LC tank and reduce power consumption of VCO. For coarse tuning of VCO, it can increase the varactor control voltage variation range. For fine tuning of VCO, it can reduce the varactor nonlinearity. The measured tuning range is 4.58–5.26 GHz and power consumption is 2.2 mW. The measured phase noise is ?114 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz frequency offset from a 4.8 GHz carrier.     

Dual-band ultra-wide tuning range CMOS voltage-controlled oscillator

A dual-band wide-tuning range LC CMOS voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) topology is proposed. Dual-band operation is realised by employing a double-tuned double-driven transformer as a resonator. The proposed approach eliminates MOS switches, which are typically used in multi-standard oscillators, and thus improves phase noise and tuning range characteristics. The concept is demonstrated through the design of an LC VCO in a standard 0.18 mum CMOS process. Two frequency bands are realised (2.4 and 6 GHz) with 740 MHz tuning range in the first band and 1.56 GHz tuning range in the second band. Operating from a 1.8 V supply, the VCO has a simulated phase noise of -119 dBc/Hz in the 2.4 GHz band and -110 dBc/Hz in the 6 GHz band at 600 KHz offset from the carrier     

带自适应体偏置的宽带LC VCO自动幅度控制策略

为了优化宽带LC型压控振荡器（LC VCOs）相位噪声性能,提出一种自动幅度控制策略。该策略结合了自适应体偏置和数字校准。当VCO开始工作时,自适应体偏置技术使VCO在不同的工艺角、电压和温度（PVT）情况下快速起振。当谐振频率变化时,在自适应体偏置和数字校准的作用下,VCO的谐振幅度被控制在最优值附近,达到优化相位噪声的目的。在TSMC 0.18μm CMOS工艺中,覆盖频率范围为1.6～3.2GHz的宽带LC VCO用来验证该幅度控制策略的可行性。基于SpectreRF的仿真结果表明LC VCO的幅度变化率降低90%,且在3.2GHz谐振频率,10kHz频率偏移处的相位噪声改善8.2dB。     

低电压CMOS压控振荡器设计

设计和分析了一种低电压CMOS压控振荡器,对设计的电路进行理论分析和模型建立,并使用仿真工具对电路进行验证和优化。设计中主要考虑相位噪声和调谐宽度等指标,通过采用电感电容滤波技术以及合理调整电路结构和元器件参数,使相位噪声和调谐宽度均达到了较高的性能指标。结果表明,在1.2 V工作电压下,设计的VCO的尾电流为3 mA,输出振荡频率为2.24~2.57 GHz,中心频率约为2.4 GHz,调谐范围达到13.7%。     

A wide-range VCO with an automatic frequency,amplitude and gain calibration loop

This paper presents a wide tuning range VCO with an automatic frequency, amplitude and gain calibration loop. To cover the wide tuning range, the automatic frequency calibration (AFC) loop is used. In addition, to provide the optimum Negative-Gm to the LC tank in a wide frequency range, the number of active Negative-Gm circuits is designed to be switched digitally based on the target frequency. Also, the VCO gain should be calibrated digitally to compensate for the gain variation. The VCO tuning range is 2.6 GHz, from 1.7 to 4.3 GHz, and the power consumption is 2–4 mA from a 1.8 V supply. The measured VCO phase noise is −120 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset.     

一种UHF频段小数分频频率综合器设计与实现

基于130 nm CMOS工艺设计了一款特高频(UHF)频段的锁相环型小数分频频率综合器.电感电容式压控振荡器(LC VCO)片外调谐电感总值为2 nH时,其输出频率范围为1.06～1.24 GHz,调节调谐电感拓宽了频率输出范围,并利用开关电容阵列减小了压控振荡器的增益.使用电荷泵补偿电流优化了频率综合器的线性度与带内相位噪声.此外对电荷泵进行适当改进,确保了环路的稳定.测试结果表明,通过调节电荷泵补偿电流,频率综合器的带内相位噪声可优化3 dB以上,中心频率为1.12 GHz时,在1 kHz频偏处的带内相位噪声和1 MHz频偏处的带外相位噪声分别为-92.3和-120.9 dBc/Hz.最小频率分辨率为3 Hz,功耗为19.2 mW.     

A low-power 2/5.8-GHz dual-wide-band CMOS LC-VCO with switched-inductor technique

A fully integrated dual-band LC voltage control oscillator, designed in a 0.18-µm CMOS technology for 5.8-GHz/2.0-GHz wireless communication applications, is described. The frequency band switching is accomplished with switched-inductor technique. The dual-band oscillator can be operated in 5.38–6.23?GHz and 1.78–2.07?GHz with 15% frequency tuning range. Two different inductors are used for the frequency band switching. Frequency tuning is implemented by varying the capacitance of a MOS varactor. The measured phase noise is ?109?dBc/Hz @ 1?MHz and ?112?dBc/Hz @ 1?MHz for frequency at 5.8?GHz and 2?GHz, respectively. This oscillator is fabricated in UMC's 0.18-µm one-poly-six-metal 1.8?V process. The power dissipation of this dual-band VCO is 11.7 and 9.3?mW for oscillation frequency of 2?GHz and 5.8?GHz, respectively.     

单片CMOS UHF RFID阅读器中低噪声LC VCO的设计

设计了一种应用于单片CMOS超高频射频识别阅读器中的低功耗、低相位噪声LC VCO。根据超高频射频识别阅读器的系统架构和协议要求,对本振相位噪声要求做出详细讨论;采用LC滤波器和低压差调压器分别对尾电流源噪声和电源噪声进行抑制,提高了VCO相位噪声性能。电路采用IBM 0.18μm RF CMOS工艺实现,电源电压3.3 V时,偏置电流为4.5 mA,中心频率为1.8 GHz,在频偏1 MHz处,相位噪声为-136.25 dBc/Hz,调谐范围为30%。     

A wide-range 22-GHz LC-based CMOS voltage-controlled oscillator

This work presents a novel voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) design and simulations that combine a varactor bank with a transformer in the LC tank to achieve a high-frequency range. While the varactor bank is responsible for changing the capacitance in the LC tank, the transformer acts as a means to change the value of the inductance, hence allowing tune-ability in the two main components of the VCO. A control mechanism utilises a mixed-mode circuit consisting of comparators and a state machine. It allows efficient tuning of the VCO by controlling the capacitance and transformer in the LC tank. The VCO has a 10.75–22.43 GHz frequency range and the VCO gain, K_VCO, is kept at a low value ranging from 98.6 to 175.7 MHz/V. The simulated phase noise is ?111 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset from the 10.75 GHz oscillation frequency. The circuit is designed and simulated in 28 nm CMOS technology and uses a 1 V supply drawing a typical power of 14.74 mW.     

Novel 53/106 GHz Dual-Band MMW LC Oscillator Implemented in SiGe BiCMOS Technology

In this Paper, we present a fully integrated millimeter wave LC voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), which employs a novel topology, operating at dual-band frequency of 53.22 GHz-band and 106.44 GHz-band. The low-phase noise performance of ?107.3 dBc/Hz and ?106.1 dBc/Hz at the offset frequency of 600 kHz, ?111.8 dBc/Hz and ?110.6 dBc/Hz at the offset frequency of 1 MHz around 53.22 GHz and 106.44 GHz are achieved using IBM BiCMOS-6HP technology, respectively. Two tuning ranges, of 52.7 - 53.8 GHz and 105.4 - 107.6 GHz for the proposed LC VCO are obtained. The output voltage swing of this VCO is around 1.8 V_p-p at the operation frequency of 53.22 GHz and 0.45 V_p-p at 106.44 GHz; the total power consumption is about 16.5 mW. To our knowledge, this is the first oscillator which operates at dual-band frequency above 50 GHz with the best preformance.     

A low-power voltage-controlled oscillator with current-switched technique

A low-power voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) with current-switched technique is presented. The circuit is implemented in 0.18-μm CMOS technology. In the design, a large inductor is used for low-power and low-phase-noise application, whereas a switched capacitor bank and two pairs of MOS varactors are adopted for coarse tuning and fine tuning respectively. The proposed VCO is biased at the boundary of the current and voltage limited region for a good trade-off between power consumption and phase noise. The phase noise of the proposed VCO is reduced in each sub-band by a current-switched technique, and a phase noise improvement of as much as 2.75 dB has been achieved. The proposed VCO has a measured tuning range of 15.2 % from 4.34 to 5.05 GHz and dissipates an average power of 3.78 mW at 1.2 V supply voltage, whereas its measured phase noise and figure of merit FOM_T are ?113.0 dBc/Hz and ?183.7 at 1 MHz offset from the frequency of 4.36 GHz respectively.     

1.9～5.7 GHz宽带低噪声BiCMOS LC VCO

设计了一种宽带、低相位噪声差分LC压控振荡器(VCO)。所设计的电路采用开关电容阵列和开关电感,实现了多波段振荡输出。对负阻环节跨导进行了优化设计,将热噪声控制在最小范围内,同时采用高品质因数片上螺旋电感,以减小电路的噪声干扰。采用台积电(TSMC)0.35μmSiGe BiCMOS工艺制作了流片,并进行了仿真和硬件电路实验。实测结果表明,当调谐电压为0～3.3 V时,可设定VCO工作在6个波段(1.9～2.1 GHz,2.1～2.4 GHz,2.4～3.0 GHz,3.0～3.4 GHz,3.4～4.2 GHz,4.2～5.7 GHz),此6波段连续可调,构成了1.9～5.7 GHz宽带VCO;VCO的中心频率为2.4 GHz、偏离中心频率为1 MHz时实测相位噪声为-111.64 dBc/Hz;在3.3 V电源电压下实测核静态电流约为1.8 mA,从而验证了宽带、低噪声BiCMOS LC VCO设计方案之正确性。