Fully integrated low phase-noise VCOs with on-chip MEMS inductors

Abstract

We present fully integrated high-performance voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs) with on-chip microelectromechanical system (MEMS) inductors for the first time. MEMS inductors have been realized from the unique CMOS-compatible MEMS process that we have developed to provide suspended thick metal structures for high-quality (Q) factors. Fully integrated CMOS VCOs have been fabricated by monolithically integrating these MEMS inductors on the top of the CMOS active circuits realized by the TSMC 0.18-mum mixed-mode CMOS process. Low phase noise has been achieved as -124 and -117 dBc/Hz at 300-kHz offset from carrier frequencies of 1 and 2.6 GHz, respectively, in the fabricated single-chip VCOs.