A novel phase detector with no dead zone and a chargepump with very wide output voltage range

This paper discusses the effects of the so-called dead zone in the phase detector on the phase-noise behavior of phase-locked loop frequency synthesizers. A novel phase detector that completely overcomes the dead zone problem is introduced. Also, a chargepump with a very wide output voltage range is presented. This chargepump allows the use of a VCO with a wider tuning range and, thus, also a lower noise sensitivity. Measurement results that verify the proper operation of these blocks are also presented.