A V-Band Low-Phase-Noise VCO with Transformer-Based Gm-Boosting Technique

In this paper, we proposed a V-band low-phase-noise and low-power voltage-control oscillator (VCO). To address the issue of G
m
degeneration with increasing oscillation frequency, we introduce a transformer-based G
m
-boosting technique designed to augment the negative G
m
within a specific frequency range. Furthermore, for a wide frequency tunning range (FTR), a 3-bit switch capacitor array is designed to ensure the frequency of the negativeG
m
peak aligns with oscillation frequency. Moreover, the push-push technique is employed to extract and the second harmonic, enabling the VCO to operate at its fundamental frequency. It avoids the use of small inductors which lead to deterioration of the Q value. Designed in 65-nm CMOS, the post-layout simulation results exhibit a low phase noise (PN) of -103.7 dBc/Hz at 1-MHz offset and a figure-of-merit (FoM) of 193.7 dBc/Hz from a 58.6-GHz carrier, while the FTR is 15.9% from 50.5 to 59.2 GHz. The proposed VCO consumes 3.6mW at 0.8-V supply volage.