A 57–74-GHz Tail-Switching Injection-Locked Frequency Tripler in 28-nm CMOS

Abstract

This letter presents a wideband injection-locked frequency tripler for mm-wave local oscillator generation. Conventional class-C injection is combined with class-D tail-switching, achieving significant extension of the locking range. Theoretical insights on the effectiveness of the proposed technique are provided. A 28-nm CMOS prototype achieves 57–74 GHz operation with 11-mW power consumption, without the need of tuning or calibration.