A PVT-robust -39dBc 1kHz-to-100MHz integrated-phase-noise 29GHz injection-locked frequency multiplier with a 600µW frequency-tracking loop using the averages of phase deviations for mm-band 5G transceivers

Abstract

To meet requirements of high data-rates, RF transceivers for a 5G standard must have an ultra-wide bandwidth in a mm-wave band. A big challenge of a 5G transceiver is to generate ultra-low-PN (phase noise) local-oscillator (LO) signals to suppress integrated PN (IPN) over such an extremely wide bandwidth. A PLL that directly generates mm-band LO signals is not a good choice due to power-hungry frequency dividers and relatively poor PN. An mm-band LO generator, cascading a GHz-range PLL and a frequency multiplier as shown in Fig. 19.2.1, is an attractive solution. First, a GHz-range PLL can have a higher FOM than a mm-band PLL [1]. Second, the cascaded architecture is naturally able to support the bands for 2G to 4G standards. An injection-locked frequency multiplier (ILFM) is popular in a mm-band, achieving ultra-low PN even in a tight power budget. However, the vulnerability of PN to PVT variations is a critical problem. For an ILFM, the PN performance can be improved only when the free-running VCO frequency, f