A 190-GHz VCO With 20.7% Tuning Range Employing an Active Mode Switching Block in a 130 nm SiGe BiCMOS | IEEE Journals & Magazine | IEEE Xplore

A 190-GHz VCO With 20.7% Tuning Range Employing an Active Mode Switching Block in a 130 nm SiGe BiCMOS


Abstract:

A voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) incorporating a system of coupled oscillators with two active mode switching (AMS) blocks is presented. The AMS blocks excite the ma...Show More

Abstract:

A voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) incorporating a system of coupled oscillators with two active mode switching (AMS) blocks is presented. The AMS blocks excite the main VCOs to operate in two distinct frequency bands. An overlap between the two frequency bands has extended the tuning range of the VCO. By turning the AMS blocks off, low-loss and low-capacitance behaviors of these blocks result in wide tuning range and high harmonic output power at high millimeter-wave frequencies. On the other hand, by turning the AMS blocks on, their loss-canceling and capacitance-tuning behaviors yield to higher power and wider tuning range with a lower center frequency. By having sufficient frequency overlap between the two modes, the implemented VCO achieves record tuning range of 20.7% at 190.5 GHz with a maximum output power of -2.1 dBm. This tuning range is significantly higher than reported silicon-based VCOs with center frequencies higher than 120 GHz.
Published in: IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits ( Volume: 52, Issue: 8, August 2017)
Page(s): 2094 - 2104
Date of Publication: 17 April 2017

ISSN Information:


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