A ${\hbox {70}}{\hbox {\textendash }} {\hbox {78-}}{\hbox {GHz}}$ Integrated CMOS Frequency Synthesizer for

A 70-78-GHz integrated frequency synthesizer is implemented in 65-nm CMOS. It has been integrated in a two-step zero-IF millimeter-wave transceiver for emerging applications, such as 81-86-GHz satellite communication, short-distance high-speed wireless link, as well as imaging and radar. The transceiver utilizes synthesizer voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) output as the first LO_RF and 1/8 of LO_RF as the second LO_RF to cover the desired frequency band. The proposed synthesizer adopts integer-N architecture with 50-MHz reference. It also features coarse phase rotation to provide beam-forming capability for the intended transceiver. The synthesizer phase noise (PN) has been measured at 1/8 of the VCO frequency, about -102.2 dBc/Hz @ 1-MHz offset, and the measured reference spur for LO_RF is less than -49 dBc. Thus, the extrapolated PN performance is better than -84 dBc/Hz @ 1 MHz at 70-78 GHz LO_RF. The embedded frequency synthesizer occupies 0.16-mm² chip area, including the angular rotator and buffers, and consumes 65 mW under 1-V supply.