Role of intermodulation in fractional-N frequency synthesiser spectral purity

Two techniques for modelling intermodulation-borne spurious components in fractional-N frequency synthesisers are described. The first techniques establishes the potential frequencies of these components, while the second considers a more comprehensive model to predict their distribution in a realistic system as a result of one particular intermodulation mechanism. Good agreement is found and it is apparent that intermodulation is likely to be a major cause of such spurious components.