An 88.68% Tuning Range Enhancement and High Process Compatibility MM-Wave QVCO with SCHI Achieving −196.6 FOMT

A novel switched coupled hollow inductor (SCHI) technology is proposed to extend frequency tuning range and improve process compatibility for millimeter-wave (mm-wave) quadrature voltage-controlled oscillator (QVCO). Fabricated in Fujitsu 55nm CMOS process, the presented SCHI-QVCO achieves a tuning range from 23.98 to 36.10 GHz (40.34%), about 88.68% more than that of the reference NI-QVCO using the conventional inductor topology. The measured phase noise is - 120.16 to -130.15 dBc/Hz at 10MHz offset from carrier frequency and the corresponding FOM
_T
is from -189.77 to -196.63 dBc/Hz over the entire tuning range.