Independently Tunable Concurrent Dual-Band VCO Using Square Open-Loop Resonator

A concurrent dual-band voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) with independently tunable dual oscillation frequencies is proposed. A shared square open-loop dual-mode resonator and two varactor diodes are the basic units offering flexible tuning for the dual-band operation. A back-to-back varactor diode between the split of the resonator controls the odd-mode resonant frequency, and a single varactor diode is placed at the center of the resonator to adjust the even-mode resonant frequency. By combining the other four resonators with the shared dual-mode resonator, two distinct three-pole tunable bandpass filters (BPF) are designed as two frequency selective elements. Based on the two elements, a parallel-feedback concurrent dual-band VCO is fabricated with independently-tuned dual oscillation frequencies. Moreover, the mathematical deductions are analyzed to optimize the tuning ranges of the dual-oscillation frequencies and the circuit sizes. The measured results show that the two oscillation frequencies cover a tuning range of 5.114-5.28 GHz and 7.61-7.97 GHz, respectively.