Abstract A complementary dual-core VCO with auto f2nd tracking is proposed to achieve consistently low PN and a high FoM over a wide tuning range (TR). Prototyped in 65nm CMOS, the proposed VCO achieves a peak FoM@1/10MHz of 190.7/193.5dBc/Hz with only 0.9/1.6dB variation across the TR from 8.5 to 12.7GHz (39.6%). The VCO occupies a compact area of 0.068mm2 including a small decoupling capacitor of 18pF. To satisfy the requirements of emerging multi-standard communications, a wideband voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) with low phase noise (PN) and a high figure of merit (FoM) is required. Utilizing a tail resonator to provide a common-mode (CM) resonance (i.e., 2nd-harmonic resonance) is an effective method for improving the PN and power efficiency [1]. Although a high-order head resonator is employed to provide a wideband CM resonance [2] (Fig. 27.4.1), the tuning range (TR) for maintaining low PN and high FoM
Xincheng Du1,2, Xiangxun Zhan1, Tincheng Ou1, Zaize Chen1, Jinge Li1, Haoran Li1, Zhizhan Yang3, Zhuo Xu1, Pui-In Mak1, Rui P. Martins1, Jun Yin1
University of Macau, Macau, China, 2UM Hetao IC Research Institute, Shenzhen, China, 3Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China