Low Noise RF Quadrature VCO Using Tail-Switch Network-Based Coupling in 40 nm CMOS

2018 IEEE. The proposed VCO presents an alternative approach to obtaining accurate quadrature phases by strategically modulating tail current sources while avoiding bimodal oscillations and noise due to coupling paths; the architecture is very compact, low power, robust and does not require tuning knobs. Demonstrated in a 40 nm CMOS process, the measured phase noise is -123.2 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset for an oscillation frequency of 4.9 GHz. The measured phase error at 4.9 GHz is 1.4. A figure of merit (FoM) of 188.3 dBc/Hz was obtained while dissipating a power of 7.5 mW from a 1.1 V power supply.

Low Noise RF Quadrature VCO Using Tail-Switch Network-Based Coupling in 40 nm CMOS Conference Paper