A 17.5-GHz VCO with /4 Frequency Divider Chain Based on 65-nm CMOS Technology

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23075/jicas.2023.9.1.002
Keywords: 65-nm CMOS, Capacitor bank, Current-mode logic, Frequency divider, VCO

Abstract

In this work, a 17.5-GHz voltage-controlled oscillator(VCO) integrated with a frequency divider chain of 1/4 division ratio has been designed based on a 65-nm CMOS technology. The VCO is implemented as a LC cross-coupled structure, which includes a 2-bit capacitor bank and switches for coarse frequency tuning and varactors for continuous tuning. The frequency divider chain is composed of a current-mode logic (CML) /4 frequency divider, CML-to-CMOS converter, and 50-Ω driver. The VCO exhibits a frequency tuning range from 16.3 GHz to 20.8 GHz, with -11.3-dBm output power at the center frequency of 17.5 GHz. The frequency divider chain converts the VCO oscillation frequency down to 4.4 GHz with an output power around 0 dBm. The total DC power consumption is 23.8 mW, and the circuit size including the pads is 600 × 700 mm2.

Author Biographies

Woo Yong Keum, Korea University

Woo Yong Keum received the B.S. degree in electronic engineering from Korea University, Seoul, South Korea, in 2021, where he is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree at the School of Electrical Engineering. His current research interests include frequency synthesizers and wireless transceivers for terahertz radar.

Jung Hwan Yoo, Korea University

Jung Hwan Yoo received the B.S. and in electrical engineering from Korea University, Seoul, Korea, in 2015, where he is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree at the school of Electrical Engineering. His current research interests include high-speed wireless transceivers based on phase-locked loops. Mr. Yoo was a recipient of the Best Student Paper Award of the 2015 IEEE Radio Frequency Integration Technology (RFIT) Symposium.

Hee Kang Son, Korea University

Hee Kang Son received the B.S. and in electrical engineering from Korea University, Seoul, Korea, in 2015, where he is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree at the school of Electrical Engineering. His key research interests are millimeter (mm)-wave and terahertz integrated circuits for transceiver system.

Do Yoon Kim, Korea University

Do Yoon Kim received the B.S. and in electrical engineering from Korea University, Seoul, South Korea, in 2016, where he is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree at the school of Electrical Engineering. His current research interests include high-speed wireless transceivers for communication applications and ultra-wideband transceivers for user-defined radio system application.

Jae Sung Rieh, Korea University

Jae Sung Rieh received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in electronics engineering from Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea, in 1991 and 1995, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA, in 1999. In 1999, he joined IBM Semiconductor R & D Center, where he was responsible for the development of high frequency SiGe HBT technologies. Since 2004, he has been with the School of Electrical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, Korea, where he is currently a Professor. In 2012 and 2018, he was a visiting scholar at Submillimeter Wave Advanced Technology team (SWAT) in JPL, Pasadena, USA, and at High Speed Electronics Lab (HSEL) in UCLA, Los Angeles, USA, respectively. His major research interest lies in the mm-wave and terahertz devices and circuits.

Prof. Rieh was a recipient of IBM Faculty Award (2004) and a co-recipient of IEEE EDS George E. Smith Awards (2002 and 2006) and IEEE Microwave and Wireless Component Letters Tatsuo Itoh Best Paper Award (2013). He has served as an Associate Editor of the IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters (2006-2009) and the IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques (2010-2013). He is the author of the book, “Introduction to Terahertz Electronics (Springer, 2021)”.

Homepage : https://pure.korea.ac.kr/en/persons/jae-sung-rieh

Published
2023-01-01
How to Cite
Keum, W. Y., Yoo, J. H., Son, H. K., Kim, D. Y., & Rieh, J. S. (2023). A 17.5-GHz VCO with /4 Frequency Divider Chain Based on 65-nm CMOS Technology. Journal of Integrated Circuits and Systems, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.23075/jicas.2023.9.1.002
Issue
Vol 9 No 1 (2023)
Section
Articles

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