A Compact Ku-Band Extreme Low Phase Noise Narrowband VCO in Heterogenous Integration of GaAs Technology and Ceramic Process

In this letter, the Ku-band low phase noise (PN) voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) in heterogenous integration of GaAs technology and ceramic process is presented. The VCO takes the advantages of low-noise GaAs HBT technology and low-loss ceramic process, which mainly consists of four parts, a high quality-factor (Q) resonator, a GaAs MMIC chip, a varactor diodes chip, and a GaAs MOS capacitor. Utilizing the GaAs processes, the novel base tuning circuit applied MMIC chips and loaded a varactor diode is investigated, eventually achieving a Ku-band oscillation. Moreover, a high quality-factor (Q) dielectric resonator is realized with ceramic process to confirm good PN performance. The high-Q resonator is based on a ceramic resonator with a circular slot etched at the top, obtaining an operating frequency of 16.1 GHz and a Q value of 1093. Finally, the VCO is manufactured, heterogenous integrated, and measured. The VCO covers an operating frequency range from 15.87 to 15.92 GHz with pn of −114 dBc/Hz at 100-kHz offset.