A Novel Method to Compensate the Sigma-Delta Shaped Noise for Wide Band Fractional-N Frequency Synthesizers

A novel method to partially compensate sigma-delta shaped noise is proposed. By injecting the compensation current into the passive loop filter during the delay time of the phase frequency detector（PFD）,a maximum reduction of the phase noise by about 16dB can be achieved. Compared to other compensation methods,the technique proposed here is relatively simple and easy to implement. Key building blocks for realizing the noise cancellation,including the delay variable PFD and compensation current source, are specially designed. Both the behavior level and circuit level simulation results are presented.

Digital Coarse Tuning Loop for Wide-Band Fast-Settling Dual-Loop Frequency Synthesizers

A new coarse tuning loop for a wide-band dual-loop frequency synthesizer is presented. The coarse tuning structure is composed of two digital modules, including a successive approximation register and a frequency comparator with a novel structure. The frequency comparator counts the prescaler cycles within a certain reference time and compares the number with preset data to estimate the VCO frequency. The frequency comparison error is analyzed in detail. Within a given coarse tuning time,our proposed structure shows a comparison error 20 times smaller than that of other reported structures. This structure also reuses the programmable divider as a part of the coarse tuning loop so that the circuit is greatly simplified.

EXACT ANALYSIS OF SPURIOUS SIGNALS IN DIRECT DIGITAL FREQUENCY SYNTHESIZERS DUE TO AMPLITUDE QUANTIZATION

Amplitude quantization is one of the main sources of spurious noise frequencies in Direct Digital Frequency Synthesizers (DDFSs), which affect their application to many wireless telecommu- nication systems. In this paper, two different kinds of spurious signals due to amplitude quantization in DDFSs are exactly formulated in the time domain and detailedly compared in the frequency do- main, and the effects of the DDFS parameter variations on the spurious performance are thoroughly studied. Then the spectral properties and power levels of the amplitude-quantization spurs in the absence of phase-accumulator truncation are emphatically analyzed by waveform estimation and computer simulation, and several important conclusions are derived which can provide theoretical support for parameter choice and spurious performance evaluation in the application of DDFSs.

Design of Down Scalers in Mixed-Signal GHz Frequency Synthesizer

An optimized method is presented to design the down scalers in a GHz frequency synthesizer. The down scalers are comprised of dual modulus prescaler （DMP） and programmable ＆ pulse swallow divider,different methods of high frequency analog circuit and digital logical synthesis are adopted respectively. Using a DMP high speed, lower jitter and lower power dissipation are obtained,and output frequency of 133.0MHz of the DMP working at divide-by-8 shows an RMS jitter less than 2ps. The flexibility and reusability of the progrs, mmable divider is high;its use could be extended to many complicated frequency synthesizers. By comparison,it is a better design on performance of high-frequency circuit and good design flexibility.

A CMOS Fully Integrated Frequency Synthesizer with Stability Compensation

A complete closed-loop third order s-domain model is analyzed for a frequency synthesizer. Based on the model and root-locus technique, the procedure for parameters design is described, and the relationship between the process,voltage,and temperature variation of parameters and the loop stability is quantitatively analyzed. A variation margin is proposed for stability compensation. Furthermore,a simple adjustable current cell in the charge pump is proposed for additional stability compensation and a novel VCO with linear gain is adopted to limit the total variation. A fully integrated frequency synthesizer from 1 to 1.05GHz with 250kHz channel resolution is implemented to verify the methods.

A Programmable 2.4GHz CMOS Multi-Modulus Frequency Divider

A programmable multi-modulus frequency divider is designed and implemented in a 0. 35μm CMOS process. The multi-modulus frequency divider is a single chip with two dividers in series,which are divided by 4 or 5 prescaler and by 128-255 multi-modulus frequency divider. In the circuit design, power and speed trade-offs are analyzed for the prescaler, and power optimization techniques are used according to the input frequency of each divider cell for the 128-255 multimodulus frequency divider. The chip is designed with ESD protected I/O PAD. The dividers chain can work as high as 2.4GHz with a single ended input signal and beyond 2.6GHz with differential input signals. The dual-modulus prescaler consumes 11mA of current while the 128-255 multi-modulus frequency divider consumes 17mA of current with a 3.3V power supply. The core area of the die without PAD is 0.65mm × 0.3mm. This programmable multi-modulus frequency divider can be used for 2.4GHz ISM band PLL-based frequency synthesizers. To our knowledge, this is the first reported multi-modulus frequency divider with this structure in China.

A 2.4GHz Quadrature Output Frequency Synthesizer

A design and implementation for a 2.4GHz quadrature output frequency synthesizer intended for bluetooth in 0. 35μm CMOS technology are presented. A differentially controlled quadrature voltage-controlled oscillator （QVCO） is employed to generate quadrature （I/Q） signals. A second-order loop filter, with a unit gain transconductance amplifier having the performance of a third-order loop filter,is exploited for low cost. The measured spot phase noise is -106.15dBc/Hz@ 1MHz. Close-in phase noise is less than -70dBc/Hz. The synthesizer consumes 13.5mA under a 3.3V voltage supply. The core size is 1.3mm×0. 8mm.

Key technologies of frequency-hopping frequency synthesizer for Bluetooth RF front-end

A scheme of a frequency-hopping frequency-synthesizer applied to a Bluetooth ratio frequency （RF） front-end is presented,and design of a voltage controlled oscillator （VCO） and dual-modulus prescaler are focused on.It is fabricated in a 0.18 μm mixed-signal CMOS （complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor transistor） process.The power dissipation of VCO is low and a stable performance is gained.The measured phase noise of VCO at 2.4 GHz is less than -114.32 dBc/Hz.The structure of the DMP is optimized and a novel D-latch integrated with ＂OR＂ logic gate is used.The measured results show that the chip can work well under a 1.8 V power supply.The power dissipation of the core part in a dual modulus prescaler is only 5.76 mW.An RMS jitter of 2 ps is measured on the output signal at 118.3 MHz.It is less than 0.02% of the clock period.

Frequency synthesizer for DRM/DAB/AM/FM RF front-end

This paper describes a wideband low phase noise frequency synthesizer.It operates in the multi-band including digital radio mondiale DRM digital audio broadcasting DAB amplitude modulation AM and frequency modulation FM .In order to cover the signals of the overall frequencies a novel frequency planning and a new structure are proposed. A wide-band low-phase-noise low-power voltage-control oscillator VCO and a high speed wide band high frequency division ratio pulse swallow frequency divider with a low power consumption are presented.The monolithic DRM/DAB/AM/FM frequency synthesizer chip is also fabricated in a SMIC＇s 0.18-μm CMOS process.The die area is 1 425 μm ×795 μm including the test buffer and pads. The measured results show that the VCO operating frequency range is from 2.22 to 3.57 GHz the measured phase noise of the VCO is 120.22 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset the pulse swallow frequency divider operation frequency is from 0.9 to 3.4 GHz.The phase noise in the phase-locked loop PLL is-59.52 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz offset and fits for the demand of the DRM/DAB/AM/FM RF front-end. The proposed frequency synthesizer consumes 47 mW including test buffer under a 1.8 V supply.

A wideband low-phase-noise LC VCO for DRM/DAB frequency synthesizer

The wideband CMOS voltage-controlled oscillator（VCO）with low phase noise and low power consumption is presented for a DRM/DAB（digital radio mondiale and digital audio broadcasting）frequency synthesizer.In order to obtain a wide band and a large tuning range,a parallel switched capacitor bank is added in the LC tank.The proposed VCO is implemented in SMIC 0.18-μm RF CMOS technology and the chip area is 750 μm×560 μm,including the test buffer circuit and the pads.Measured results show that the tuning range is 44.6%;i.e.,the frequency turning range is from 2.27 to 3.57 GHz.The measured phase noise is-122.22 dBc/Hz at a 1 MHz offset from the carrier.The maximum power consumption of the core part is 6.16 mW at a 1.8 V power supply.

0.18μm CMOS programmable frequency divider design for DVB-T

The implementation of a programmable frequency divider, which is one of the components of the phase-locked loop （PLL） frequency synthesizer for digital video broadcastingterrestrial （DVB-T） and other modem communication systems, is presented. By cooperating with a dual-modulus prescaler, this divider can realize an integer frequency division from 926 to 1 387. Besides the traditional standard cell design flow, such as logic synthesis, placement and routing, the interactions between front-end and back-end are also considered to optimize the design flow under deep submicron technology. By back-annotating the back-end information to front-end design, a custom wire-load model is created which is more practical compared with the default model. This divider has been fabricated in TSMC 0. 18μm CMOS technology using Artisan standard cell library. The chip area is 675 μm × 475 μm and the power consumption is about 2 mW under a 1.8 V power supply. Measurement results show that it works correctly and can realize a frequency division with high precision.

A Σ-Δ Fractional-N PLL Frequency Synthesizer with AFC for SRD Applications

A fractional-N frequency synthesizer for 433/868MHz SRD applications is implemented in a 0.3μm CMOS process. A wide-band VCO and an AFC are used to cover the desired bands. A 3bit third order sigma-delta modulator is adopted to reduce the out-band phase noise. The measurements show a VCO tuning range from 1.31 to 1.88GHz with AFC working correctly,an out-band phase noise of -139dBc/Hz at 3MHz offset frequency, and a fractional spur of less than - 60dBc. The chip area is 1.5mm × 1.2mm and the total current dissipation including LO buffers is 19mA from a single 3.0V supply voltage.

Design of 1GHz Local Oscillator with DLL -Based Frequency Multiplier Technique

A new method of synthesizing 1GHz based on a 0 5μm CMOS D LL is proposed,which can synthesize frequency with simple logic and amplifiers.T he designed frequency synthesizer consists of a DLL (Delay-Locked Loop) and a b uilding block of synthesizing logic.The reference frequency input into this freq uency synthesizer is 25MHz and the synthesized frequency is 1GHz.

Design of 0.18 μm CMOS programmable frequency divider based on standard cells

The design of a programmable frequency divider, which is one of the components of the phase-locked loop （PLL） frequency synthesizer for transmitter and receiver in IEEE 802. 11 a standard, is investigated. The main steps in very large-scale integration （VLSI） design flow such as logic synthesis, floorplan and placement ＆ routing （P ＆ R） are introduced. By back-annotating the back-end information to the front-end design, the custom wire-load model is created and used for optimizing the design flow under deep submicron technology. The programmable frequency divider is implemented based on Artisan TSMC （Taiwan Semicoductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. ）0. 18μm CMOS （complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor） standard cells and fabricated. The Chip area is 1 360. 5μm^2 and can work in the range of 100 to 200 MHz. The measurement results indicate that the design conforms to the frequency division precision.

A 1-GHz Charge Pump PLL Frequency Synthesizer for IEEE 1394b PHY

The design procedure of an 1-GHz phase-locked loop （PLL）-based frequency synthesizer used in IEEE 1394b physical （PHY） system is presented in this paper. The PLL＇s loop dynamics are analyzed in depth and theoretical relationships between all loop parameters are clearly described. All the parameters are derived and verified by Verilog-A model, which ensures the accuracy and efficiency of the circuit design and simulation. A 4-stage ring oscillator is employed to generate 1-GHz oscillation frequency and is divided into low frequency clocks by a feedback divider. The architecture is a third-order, type-2 charge pump PLL. The simulated settling time is less than 4μs. The RMS value of period jitter of the PLL＇s output is 2.1 ps. The PLL core occupies an area of 0.12 mm2, one fourth of which is occupied by the MiM loop capacitors. The total current consumption of the chip is 16.5 mA. The chip has been sent for fabrication in 0.13 μm complementary metal oxide semiconductor （CMOS） technology.

Frequency Synthesizer of Short-Wave SFH/MFSK System

The technology of DDS-driven PLL is introduced and a new scheme of frequency synthesizer which is suitable for SW SFH/MFSK System is presented in this paper. Based on the special requirement of SW communication, a model of the scheme is given and the results show that the frequency synthesizer has small frequency insteval (≤0.1 Hz), short switch pierod (<200 ms) and high frequency stability as crystal oseillator.

A 1.2-to-1.4 GHz low-jitter frequency synthesizer for GPS application

A fully integrated frequency synthesizer with low jitter and low power consumption in 0.18 μm CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) technology is proposed in this paper.The frequency synthesizer uses a novel single-end gain-boosting charge pump, a differential coupled voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) and a dynamic logic phase/frequency detecor (PFD) to acquire low output jitter.The output frequency range of the frequency synthesizer is up to 1 200 MHz to 1 400 MHz for GPS (global position system) application.The post simulation results show that the phase noise of VCO is only 127.1 dBc/Hz at a 1 MHz offset and the Vp-p jitter of the frequency synthesizer output clock is 13.65 ps.The power consumption of the frequency synthesizer not including the divider is 4.8 mW for 1.8 V supply and it occupies a 0.8 mm×0.7 mm chip area.

COMPARISON OF SIGMA-DELTA MODULATOR FOR FRACTIONAL-N PLL FREQUENCY SYNTHESIZER

This paper investigates the design of digital Sigma-Delta Modulator (SDM) for fractional-N frequency synthesizer. Characteristics of SDMs are compared through theory analysis and simulation. The curve of maximum-loop-bandwidth vs. maximum-phase-noise is suggested to be a new criterion to the performance of SDM,which greatly helps designers to select an appropriate SDM structure to meet their real application requirements and to reduce the cost as low as possible. A low-spur 3-order Mul-tistage Noise Shaping (MASH)-1-1-1 SDM using three 2-bit first-order cascaded modulators is proposed,which balances the requirements of tone-free and maximum operation frequency.

A New High Performance FM Transmitter

A new FM transmitter is reported. It adopts a fractional-N PLL synthesizer to realize the FM modulator. An extra offset current has also been applied to eliminate the effects of the mismatch in CP. The chip is fabricated with CSMC 0.5μm DPTM CMOS technology. Experiments show that it achieves THD≤0.08% and SNR≤ 82dB,and the maximum outband emission energy ≤ 90dBc/Hz. Furthermore,it also uses an auto frequency adjusting method to avoid tuning up the external inductances. All these merits are very suitable for FM transmission.

Low Jitter,Dual-Modulus Prescalers for RF Receivers

Dual-modulus prescalers （DMP） for RF receivers are studied. An improved D-latch is proposed to increase the speed and the driving capability of the DMP. A novel D-latch architecture integrated with ‘OR＇ logic is proposed to decrease the complexity of the circuit. A divided-by-16/17 DMP for application in a digital video broadcasting-terrestrial receiver is realized with a TSMC 0.18μm mixed-signal CMOS process. The programmable ＆ pulse swallow divider in this receiver is designed with a 0.18μm CMOS standard cell library and realized in the same process. The measured results show that the DMP has an output jitter of less than 0.03% and works well with the programmable ＆ pulse swallow divider.