A 23-to-29 GHz Transconductor-Tuned VCO MMIC in 0.13 μm CMOS

A transconductor-tuned 23-to-29 GHz wideband VCO is implemented in 0.13-mum CMOS technology. Tuning is accomplished by exploiting the 90deg phase shift across a transcon- ductor. The frequency is continuously tunable with differential and common-mode ranges of 23.6% and 3.3%, respectively, using a 1.5-V (maximum) single-ended tuning voltage. Measured phase noise at 26 GHz is -92.6 dBc/Hz for 1-MHz frequency offset. The 0.3 x 0.4 mm² VCO consumes a total of 43 mW from a 1.2-V supply. The open-drain output buffer delivers -11 dBm single-ended to a 50-Omega load, while consuming 6.5 mW at 1.2 V.