Active-inductor-based low-power broadband harmonic VCO in SiGe technology for wideband and multi-standard applications

Author

Mukhopadhyay, R. ; Park, Y. ; Yoon, S.-W. ; Lee, C.-H. ; Nuttinck, S. ; Cressler, J.D. ; Laskar, J.

Author_Institution

Georgia Electron. Design Center, Georgia Inst. of Technol., Atlanta, GA, USA

fYear

2005

fDate

12-17 June 2005

Abstract

This paper presents the first reported description, analysis, and measured performance of a wideband harmonic generation technique that utilizes the non-linearity of a tunable active inductor (TAI) in SiGe technology. The technique demonstrates the highest reported measured fundamental tuning range of 3.5 GHz, for a TAI-VCO, from 1.7-5.2 GHz (100% tuning) while consuming only 3.7 mW from a 1.8 V supply. Higher frequencies, as high as the 4th harmonics, between 3.4-8.4 GHz, are generated with output power close to or higher than that of the fundamental frequency. Detailed analysis has been performed to optimize the noise performance of the TAI, as well as to study the principle of harmonic generation.

Keywords

BiCMOS integrated circuits; Ge-Si alloys; harmonic generation; harmonic oscillators (circuits); inductors; low-power electronics; microwave oscillators; voltage-controlled oscillators; 1.7 to 5.2 GHz; 1.8 V; 3.4 to 8.4 GHz; 3.7 mW; BiCMOS integrated circuit; SiGe; active-inductor-based voltage controlled oscillator; broadband harmonic voltage controlled oscillator; multistandard application; tunable active inductor; wideband application; wideband harmonic generation; Active inductors; Frequency conversion; Germanium silicon alloys; Harmonic analysis; Performance analysis; Power generation; Silicon germanium; Tuning; Voltage-controlled oscillators; Wideband;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Microwave Symposium Digest, 2005 IEEE MTT-S International

ISSN

01490-645X

Print_ISBN

0-7803-8845-3

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/MWSYM.2005.1516931

Filename

1516931