Elettronica delle microonde e delle onde millimetriche – A1
Low-Phase-Noise 18-GHz
Voltage-Controlled Oscillator
Angelo Scuderi and Giuseppe Palmisano
Radio Frequency Advanced Design Center (RF-ADC)
Università di Catania
Facoltà di Ingegneria
DIEES
Catania - ITALY
Riunione Annuale GE 2006
STMicroelectronics
Catania site
Ischia, 21-23 giugno 2006
Outline

VCO for 17-GHz receiver

Transformer-based topology

High-Q resonator

Circuit design

Experimental results
Riunione Annuale GE 2006
Ischia, 21-23 giugno 2006
VCO for 17-GHz receiver
HIPERLINK standard exploits the
17-GHz ISM band and will provide
a link between local 5-GHz WLANs
and metropolitan networks.
A multi-band receiver at 5 and
17 GHz allows high-level of
integration but requires a local
oscillator
with
wide
tuning
capabilities
and
low-noise
performance.
Riunione Annuale GE 2006
Ischia, 21-23 giugno 2006
Transformer-based topology
Thanks to a transformer the resonator exploits an inductive
coupling, consequently, both biasing resistors (RVV and RBB) and
coupling capacitors (CVV and CBB) are removed improving phase
noise and tuning range, respectively.
Riunione Annuale GE 2006
Ischia, 21-23 giugno 2006
High-Q resonator
An issue of great concern is the fabrication of high-Q resonator in a
low-cost bipolar technology (17 mask steps) supplied by
STMicroelectronics.
Riunione Annuale GE 2006
Ischia, 21-23 giugno 2006
Circuit design
The VCO is composed of a transformer-based core oscillating at
9 GHz followed by a frequency doubler to obtain a working
frequency of 18 GHz. The frequency doubler is composed by a
full-wave rectifier and a comparator, whose frequency response
was increased by using a zero-peaking technique.
Riunione Annuale GE 2006
Ischia, 21-23 giugno 2006
Experimental results
The VCO exhibits a tuning range
of 4.1 GHz from 16.4 to 20.5
GHz, when the control voltage
VTUNE sweeps from 0 to 3 V.
Frequency [GHz]
21
20
19
18
17
16
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
Control voltage [V]
The measured phase noise is
-109 dBc/Hz at 1-MHz offset
from a carrier of 18.5 GHz.
Riunione Annuale GE 2006
Ischia, 21-23 giugno 2006
See you later …
Poster A1
Riunione Annuale GE 2006
Ischia, 21-23 giugno 2006