A ${\hbox{70}}{\hbox{–}} {\hbox{78-}}{\hbox{GHz}}$ Integrated CMOS Frequency Synthesizer for $W$-Band Satellite Communications

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-mm
²
chip area, including the angular rotator and buffers, and consumes 65 mW under 1-V supply.