A low-power, 10 GHz back-gated tuned voltage controlled oscillator with automatic amplitude and temperature compensation

Abstract

This paper presents the design results of a 10 GHz CMOS voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) with automatic amplitude control (AAC). The circuit is an LC oscillator using an integrated octagonal inductor. The VCO is fully integrated and simulation results are shown for a deep n-well 0.18 /spl mu/m CMOS process which allows access to the body of NMOS transistors. The frequency is tuned using the back-gated voltages of the NMOS cross-coupled differential pair in the oscillator. Over temperature variations, the frequency of operation is 10.02 GHz, with a tuning range of 500 MHz, phase noise of -102 dBc/Hz@1MHz and power dissipation of 3.7 mW from a 1.8 V supply.