A Low-Integrated-Phase-Noise 27-30-GHz Injection-Locked Frequency Multiplier With an Ultra-Low-Power Frequency-Tracking Loop for mm-Wave-Band 5G Transceivers

Abstract

An ultra-low-phase-noise injection-locked frequency multiplier (ILFM) for millimeter wave (mm-wave) fifth-generation transceivers is presented. Using an ultra-low-power frequency-tracking loop (FTL), the proposed ILFM is able to correct the frequency drifts of the quadrature voltage-controlled oscillator of the ILFM in a real-time fashion. Since the FTL is monitoring the averages of phase deviations rather than detecting or sampling the instantaneous values, it requires only 600 mu W to continue to calibrate the ILFM that generates an mm-wave signal with an output frequency from 27 to 30 GHz. The proposed ILFM was fabricated in a 65-nm CMOS process. The 10-MHz phase noise of the 29.25-GHz output signal was -129.7 dBc/Hz, and its variations across temperatures and supply voltages were less than 2 dB. The integrated phase noise from 1 kHz to 100 MHz and the rms jitter were -39.1 dBc and 86 fs, respectively.