A Ku-Band Frequency Synthesizer in 0.18-$\mu$m CMOS Technology

This letter presents a fully integrated frequency synthesizer implemented in a 0.18-mum foundry CMOS process. By employing a modified differential Colpitts voltage controlled oscillator to improve the tuning range and the phase noise, the integer-N frequency synthesizer demonstrates an output frequency from 14.8 to 16.9GHz, allowing wideband operations at Ku-band. Operated at an output frequency of 15GHz, the proposed synthesizer exhibits a reference sideband power of -50dBc and a phase noise of -104.5dBc/Hz at 1-MHz offset. The fabricated circuit consumes a dc power of 70mW from a 2-V supply voltage