Low phase noise heterojunction bipolar transistor oscillator

A low phase noise, heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) oscillator has been designed and fabricated for operation at X-band. The common emitter oscillator employs a high-Q dielectric resonator as the parallel feedback element between the base and collector terminals. Series capacitive feedback is used in the emitter to enhance the oscillator's negative output impedance. Single-sideband FM noise levels of -76 dBc/Hz and -102 dBc/Hz have been achieved at 1 kHz and 10 kHz frequency offsets, respectively, for an 11.06 GHz carrier frequency. This is one of the lowest phase noise levels ever reported for an X-band solid-state transistor oscillator.<>