A microwave frequency divider using an inverter ring and transmission gates

A divide-by-four frequency divider is presented that uses a CMOS inverter ring interspersed with transmission gates. The presence of the transmission gates prevents the inverter ring from oscillating. The signal to be divided is applied to the control voltage to the transmission gates. The integrated circuit operates at an input frequency of 2.2 GHz and yields an output signal at 0.55 GHz. The power dissipation is 14.4 mW. The IC was fabricated using 0.18 μm CMOS technology.