Enhanced locking range technique for divide-by-3 differential injection-locked frequency divider

A new circuit technique is proposed to enhance the locking range of divide-by-3 injection-locked frequency dividers (ILFDs) implemented using a standard 0.18 μm CMOS process. The ILFD uses a transformer feedback to increase the second harmonic and enhances the conversion efficiency of injection metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor mixers. The ILFD core consumes 10.8 mW power at the supply voltage of 0.9 V and with a circuit core current of 12 mA. At the incident power of 0 dBm, the measured locking range is 4.2 GHz (37.17%), from the incident frequency 9.2-13.4 GHz.