A low voltage, low power VCO for the 88-108MHz FM broadcasting band

A low power, low voltage, VCO for the 88-108MHz FM broadcasting band is presented. Capable of functioning down to a supply voltage as low as 0.9V (end of life voltage of an alkaline battery) under all process corners and over an industrial temperature range (-25/spl deg/C to 75/spl deg/C), the VCO, running at twice the FM frequency band achieves a tuning range of 30%, a phase noise of -103dBc/Hz @ 120kHz offset and features an amplitude regulation mechanism to limit is power dissipation to 180/spl mu/A. Quadrature LO signals necessary in direct conversion receiver architectures are obtained with a SCL double cross-coupled latch divider-by-2 for another 50/spl mu/A.