A 148-166 GHz Meissner Push-Push VCO With -168 dBc/Hz FOM_T Using a Single Transformer in SiGe BiCMOS Technology

This paper presents a fully integrated push-push voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) using a modified Meissner (Armstrong) topology based on a single asymmetric transformer and varactor, which achieves a frequency tuning range (FTR) of $11.6 \%$ between 148.4 GHz and 166.7 GHz at a maximum output power of -1.7dBm. The target application is the generation of flexible local oscillator (LO) signals for Joint Communication and Sensing (JCAS) applications in the D-band. A minimum phase noise of -80.6 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset is achieved at a power consumption of 54 mW from a 1.8 V supply, which corresponds to a $\mathrm{FOM}_{\mathrm{T}}$ of $-168.5 \mathrm{dBc} / \mathrm{Hz}$. The VCO test structure is fabricated using a $130 \mathrm{~nm} \operatorname{SiGe} \mathrm{BiCMOS}$ technology with $f_{\mathrm{t}} / f_{\text {max }}$ of $250 \mathrm{GHz} / 370 \mathrm{GHz}$ and is co-integrated with a static divide-by-32 frequency divider chain that provides an output at around 2.5 GHz for interfacing with an external phase-locked loop (PLL).