Hybrid phase-locked loop with fast locking time and low spur in a 0.18-μm CMOS process

We propose a novel hybrid phase-locked loop （PLL） architecture for overcoming the trade-off between fast locking time and low spur. To reduce the settling time and meanwhile suppress the reference spurs, we employ a wide-band single-path PLL and a narrow-band dual-path PLL in a transient state and a steady state, respectively, by changing the loop bandwidth according to the gain of voltage controlled oscillator （VCO） and the resister of the loop filter. The hybrid PLL is implemented in a 0.18-μm complementary metal oxide semiconductor （CMOS） process with a total die area of 1.4×0.46 mm2. The measured results exhibit a reference spur level of lower than -73 dB with a reference frequency of 10 MHz and a settling time of 20 μs with 40 MHz frequency jump at 2 GHz. The total power consumption of the hybrid PLL is less than 27 mW with a supply voltage of 1.8 V.

Fast-Lock Low-Jitter PLL with a Simple Phase-Frequency Detector

A fast-locking, low-jitter, phase-locked loop （PLL） with a simple phase-frequency detector is proposed. The phase-frequency detector is composed of only two XOR gates. It simultaneously achieves low jitter and short locking time. The voltage-controlled oscillator within the PLL consists of four-stage ring oscillators which are coupled to each other and oscillate with the same frequency and a phase shift of 45. The PLL is fabricated in 0. 1Stem CMOS technology. The measured phase noise of the PLL output at 500kHz offset from the 5GHz center frequency is - 102.6dBc/Hz. The circuit exhibits a capture range of 280MHz and a low RMS jitter of 2.06ps. The power dissipation excluding the output buffers is only 21.6roW at a 1.8V supply.

2.7-4.0 GHz PLL with dual-mode auto frequency calibration for navigation system on chip

A 2.7-4.0 GHz dual-mode auto frequency calibration(AFC) fast locking PLL was designed for navigation system on chip(SoC). The SoC was composed of one radio frequency(RF) receiver, one baseband and several system control parts. In the proposed AFC block, both analog and digital modes were designed to complete the AFC process. In analog mode, the analog part sampled and detected the charge pump output tuning voltage, which would give the indicator to digital part to adjust the voltage control oscillator(VCO) capacitor bank. In digital mode, the digital part counted the phase lock loop(PLL) divided clock to judge whether VCO frequency was fast or slow. The analog and digital modes completed the auto frequency calibration function independently by internal switch. By designing a special switching algorithm, the switch of the digital and analog mode could be realized anytime during the lock and unlock detecting process for faster and more stable locking. This chip is fabricated in 0.13 μm RF complementary metal oxide semiconductor(CMOS) process, and the VCO supports the frequency range from 2.7 to 4.0 GHz. Tested 3.96 GHz frequency phase noise is -90 d Bc/Hz@100 k Hz frequency offset and -120 d Bc/Hz@1 MHz frequency offset. By using the analog mode in lock detection and digital mode in unlock detection, tested AFC time is less than 9 μs and the total PLL lock time is less than 19 μs. The SoC acquisition and tracking sensitivity are about-142 d Bm and-155 d Bm, respectively. The area of the proposed PLL is 0.35 mm^2 and the total SoC area is about 9.6 mm^2.