A 76GHz PLL for mm-wave imaging applications

A 76 GHz phase-locked loop (PLL) was designed in 0.13 μm IBM BiCMOS8HP technology with the intended application of millimeter-wave imaging. The PLL has a type II second order loop filter. The voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) uses a cross-coupled BJT topology with capacitor feedback. The divider chain has nine divide-by-2 static frequency dividers in which the first seven use ECL logic and are followed by two CMOS stages. Measurement results show a de-embedded single-ended output power of -2 dBm, a phase noise of -81 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset from the carrier, and a total power dissipation of 107 mW.