Low Noise, Low Power Consumption, Configurable, and Adaptable Ultrawideband VCOs

The different standards operating in the frequency range of up to 6 GHz, with even higher frequencies, arises the need and gives a key role to multi-standard RF transreceiver which combine several cellular and cordless phone standards as well as wireless LAN functionalities in one unit. Therefore, the "global roaming" features between wide varieties of networks operating at different frequencies call for the development of ultrawideband VCO (voltage controlled oscillator) that can cover wide frequency range. The VCO design approach demonstrated in this work can satisfy the need for the present demand for low cost, low noise, low power consumption, configurable, adaptable, and also easily amenable for integration in present integrated circuit (IC) technology in chip form. The measured phase noise is better than -130 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz offset from the carrier over the tuning range (800-5600 MHz), and to our knowledge, this is the lowest phase noise for this band by using SiGe HBT (Infineon BFP740) reported to date, and the topology is not limited to these frequencies, can be easily extended to other higher frequency band (L, S, C, X, and Ku band)