A Low Phase Noise, Wideband and Compact CMOS PLL for Use in a Heterodyne 802.15.3c Transceiver David Murphy, Student Member , IEEE, Qun Jane Gu

Abstract

A low phase noise, wideband, mm-wave, integer-N PLL that is capable of supporti ng an 802.15.3c heterodyne trans- ceiver is reported. The PLL can generate 6 equally spaced tones from 43.2 GHz to 51.84 GHz, which is suitable for a hetero- dyne architecture with . Phase noise is measured directly at the frequency and is better than 97.5 dBc/Hz@1 MHz across the entire band. The reported frequency synthesizer is smaller, exhibits less phase noise, and consumes less power than prior art. In addition, the tone corresponds to the fundamental of the VCO as opposed to a higher harmonic. Central to the PLL performance is the design of a low-noise, wideband, mm-wave VCO with a 22.9% tuning range. Fine dis- crete tuning and minimization of parasitics is achieved using a pro- grammable transmission line as a frequency tuning element.