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A Low Phase Noise LC Quadrature VCO Using Impulse Shaping Based on Gaussian Pulse Generator

Naser Khatti

Department of Electrical Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, 1477893855 Tehran, Iran

E-mail Address: n.khati@srbiau.ac.ir

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and

Massoud Dousti

Department of Electrical Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, 1477893855 Tehran, Iran

E-mail Address: m_dousti@srbiau.ac.ir

Corresponding author.

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https://doi.org/10.1142/S0218126617500670Cited by:0 (Source: Crossref)

Abstract

This paper presents a new tail current-shaping technique to improve the phase noise of an LC quadrature VCO (LC-QVCO) based on Gaussian pulse generator (GPG). The GPG makes a narrow pulse from oscillator sinusoidal output and injects it back to gates of tail transistors to reduce the root-mean-square (RMS) value of impulse sensitivity function (ISF) and to improve phase noise. It will be shown that by utilizing a GPG, total phase noise improvement will be as high as 6dB. The proposed circuit was designed and simulated by ADS simulator using 0.18 $μ$ $μ$ m TSMC RF CMOS design kit. The phase noise's at 3MHz frequency offset and carrier frequencies of 2.43GHz and 2.6GHz are –141dBc/Hz and –135dBc/Hz, respectively, while the total power consumption is 14mW under 1.8V supply voltage. Tuning range is from 2.43GHz to 2.6GHz. The figure of merit (FOM) values for the proposed LC-QVCO at 3MHz frequency offset are –187.6dBc/Hz and –182.3dBc/Hz for 2.43GHz and 2.6GHz carrier frequencies, respectively.

This paper was recommended by Regional Editor Piero Malcovati.

Keywords:

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