A 17.5 GHz VCO with 1/4 Frequency Divider Chain Based on 65-nm CMOS Technology

• Published in: IDEC Journal of Integrated Circuits and Systems, 9(1) pp. 6 - 11
• Main Authors: 금우용, 유정환, 손희강, 김도윤, 이재성
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 반도체설계교육센터 01.01.2023
• Subjects: 전기공학
• ISSN: 2384-2113
• DOI: 10.23075/jicas.2023.9.1.002

In this work, a 17.5-GHz voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) integrated with a frequency divider chain of 1/4 division ratio has been designed based on a 65-nm CMOS technology. The VCO is implemented as a LC cross-coupled structure, which includes a 2-bit capacitor bank and switches for coarse frequency tuning and varactors for continuous tuning. The frequency divider chain is composed of a current-mode logic (CML) /4 frequency divider, CML-to-CMOS converter, and 50-Ω driver. The VCO exhibits a frequency tuning range from 16.3 GHz to 20.8 GHz, with -11.3-dBm output power at the center frequency of 17.5 GHz. The frequency divider chain converts the VCO oscillation frequency down to 4.4 GHz with an output power around 0 dBm. The total DC power consumption is 23.8 mW, and the circuit size including the pads is 600 × 700 mm2. KCI Citation Count: 0