Sub-10ns frequency hopping synthesizer based on injection-locking

Abstract

In this paper we present the design for a fast hopping frequency synthesizer with sub-10 ns switching time capability. The synthesizer utilizes injection-locking to obtain the fast lock time. The measurement results from a prototype design fabricated in 0.13-mum CMOS, shows good agreement with theoretical results. Minimum frequency hopping time at 3.3 GHz is 4 ns while the worst case is 10.02 ns. The injection-locked oscillator (ILO) system consumed 10 mA of current from a 1.2 V supply.