Title :
Phase noise improvement using digitally controlled artificial dielectric
Author :
Jianjun Yu ; Dai, Fa Foster
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Auburn Univ., Auburn, AL, USA
Abstract :
This paper presents a differential Colpitts voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) employing the digitally controlled artificial dielectric to reduce the substrate loss so as to improve the phase noise. This 12GHz VCO has a resonant tank built with transmission lines, and four-layer metal strips placed underneath the transmission lines to form an artificial dielectric. Three-bit control signal applied to an array of MOS switches will program the dielectrics constant. The proposed VCO was fabricated in a 0.13μm BiCMOS SiGe technology, and it achieved a phase noise of -106.7 dBc/Hz at 1MHz offset. The VCO core consumes 6.8mW from a 1.8V power supply.
Keywords :
BiCMOS analogue integrated circuits; Ge-Si alloys; LC circuits; MMIC oscillators; dielectric devices; dielectric losses; field effect MMIC; field effect transistor switches; integrated circuit design; integrated circuit manufacture; integrated circuit noise; integrated circuit technology; microwave field effect transistors; microwave switches; phase noise; transmission lines; voltage-controlled oscillators; BiCMOS technology; MOS switch array; SiGe; VCO; dielectrics constant; differential Colpitts voltage controlled oscillator; digitally controlled artificial dielectric; frequency 12 GHz; phase noise improvement; power 6.8 mW; size 0.13 mum; substrate loss reduction; transmission line; voltage 1.8 V; word length 3 bit; Dielectrics; Metals; Phase noise; Power transmission lines; Strips; Substrates; Voltage-controlled oscillators; Colpitts oscillator; Voltage controlled oscillator (VCO); artificial dielectric; phase noise;
Conference_Titel :
Microwave Conference (EuMC), 2013 European
Conference_Location :
Nuremberg
