An integrated 6.2-11GHz SiGe inductorless injection locked frequency divider

Frequency synthesis in modern wireless transceivers requires high frequency, and for many circuit architectures, increased tuning range. In this work, a novel large-tuning range injection locked RF division integrated circuit is presented. The fabricated design operates from 6.2 GHz to 11 GHz. A benchmark Colpitts divider was fabricated on the same silicon. At a 10 kHz offset from the carrier, the inductorless divider has a measured phase noise of -112 dBc/Hz and consumes 17.5 mW from a 3.3 V supply, whereas the Colpitts divider has a measured phase noise of -107 dBc/Hz and consumes 11.7 mW from a 3 V supply. The new architecture also reduces the dependence on quality factor of integrated components for LC-resonant structures by utilizing transistor and layout parasitics at the frequencies of interest. The new inductorless injection locked divider has a very flat output power characteristic over the division range.