A 0.5-V 16 GHz-20 GHz differential injection-locked divider in 0.18-μm CMOS process

An ultra-low-voltage (ULV) differential injection-locked (IL) divider topology is presented. By making use of a double-balanced active mixer with transformer feedback and a transformer-feedback VCO, the proposed ULV-IL divider features double-balanced differential-input differential-output, an ultra-low supply voltage comparable to the device threshold voltage, and low power consumption. Fabricated in a standard 0.18-μm CMOS process and operated at 0.5-V supply, the ULV-IL divider measures an input frequency range from 16.1 GHz to 20 GHz while consuming a total power from 2.75 mW to 4.35 mW. Moreover, two identical proposed ULV-IL dividers with differential inputs are implemented to achieve quadrature outputs with measured IQ sideband rejection of better than -35 dBc.