A Low Phase Noise Cross-Coupled VCO for X-Band Applications in 0.13µm SiGe BiCMOS Technology

This paper presents a low-power low phase noise voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) in X-band frequencies fabricated in IHP's 130nm SiGe BiCMOS process <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$(\mathrm{f}_{\mathrm{t}}/\mathrm{f}_{\max}$</tex> of 250/340 GHz). The core of the VCO is based on a cross-coupled (CC) pair. The phase noise performance of the VCO improved by utilizing a passive LC filter in the tail. The VCO employs a varactor linearization technique to increase the tuning range (TR) and further widen TR achieved by using a thick gate oxide MOS varactor and switched capacitor banks. The VCO core is isolated using cascode buffers, allowing proper driving capability. The design achieves phase noise of −119.25 dBclHz at 1 MHz offset at the center frequency and TR of 15.88 %. The circuit occupies a die area, including the output balun and pads, of 2.08mm<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> and consumes 28.7mW power.