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A Push-Pull Class-C CMOS VCO

Mazzanti, Andrea and Andreani, Pietro LU (2013) In IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits 48(3). p.724-732
Abstract
A CMOS oscillator employing differential transistor pairs working in Class-C in push-pull configuration is presented. The oscillator exhibits the same advantages enjoyed by complementary topologies on oscillators based on a single differential pair, while yielding a substantial power consumption reduction thanks to the Class-C operation. The phase-noise performance and the fundamental conditions required to keep the transistors working in Class-C are analyzed in detail. It is shown that, for an optimal performance, both nMOS and pMOS transistors should not be pushed into the deep triode region by the instantaneous resonator voltage, and a simple circuit solution is proposed to accommodate a large oscillation swing. A 0.18-mu m CMOS... (More)
A CMOS oscillator employing differential transistor pairs working in Class-C in push-pull configuration is presented. The oscillator exhibits the same advantages enjoyed by complementary topologies on oscillators based on a single differential pair, while yielding a substantial power consumption reduction thanks to the Class-C operation. The phase-noise performance and the fundamental conditions required to keep the transistors working in Class-C are analyzed in detail. It is shown that, for an optimal performance, both nMOS and pMOS transistors should not be pushed into the deep triode region by the instantaneous resonator voltage, and a simple circuit solution is proposed to accommodate a large oscillation swing. A 0.18-mu m CMOS prototype of the (voltage-controlled) oscillator displays an oscillation frequency from 6.09 to 7.50 GHz. The phase noise at 2-MHz offset is below -120 dBc/Hz with a power dissipation of 2.2 mW, for a state-of-the-art figure-of-merit ranging from 189 to 191 dBc/Hz. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Class-C, CMOS, phase noise, push-pull, voltage controlled oscillator, (VCO)
in
IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits
volume
48
issue
3
pages
724 - 732
publisher
IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
external identifiers
  • wos:000315523500008
  • scopus:84874645725
ISSN
0018-9200
DOI
10.1109/JSSC.2012.2230542
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
13f6a422-8433-4d00-b8df-fd844307f8cf (old id 3670054)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 13:44:55
date last changed
2022-04-21 23:21:17
@article{13f6a422-8433-4d00-b8df-fd844307f8cf,
  abstract     = {{A CMOS oscillator employing differential transistor pairs working in Class-C in push-pull configuration is presented. The oscillator exhibits the same advantages enjoyed by complementary topologies on oscillators based on a single differential pair, while yielding a substantial power consumption reduction thanks to the Class-C operation. The phase-noise performance and the fundamental conditions required to keep the transistors working in Class-C are analyzed in detail. It is shown that, for an optimal performance, both nMOS and pMOS transistors should not be pushed into the deep triode region by the instantaneous resonator voltage, and a simple circuit solution is proposed to accommodate a large oscillation swing. A 0.18-mu m CMOS prototype of the (voltage-controlled) oscillator displays an oscillation frequency from 6.09 to 7.50 GHz. The phase noise at 2-MHz offset is below -120 dBc/Hz with a power dissipation of 2.2 mW, for a state-of-the-art figure-of-merit ranging from 189 to 191 dBc/Hz.}},
  author       = {{Mazzanti, Andrea and Andreani, Pietro}},
  issn         = {{0018-9200}},
  keywords     = {{Class-C; CMOS; phase noise; push-pull; voltage controlled oscillator; (VCO)}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{724--732}},
  publisher    = {{IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.}},
  series       = {{IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits}},
  title        = {{A Push-Pull Class-C CMOS VCO}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/JSSC.2012.2230542}},
  doi          = {{10.1109/JSSC.2012.2230542}},
  volume       = {{48}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}