Design and simulation of minimal dead-zone phase detector in X-band using CNFET technology

Abstract This paper presents the design and implementation of a phase detector (PD) based on carbon nanotube field-effect transistors (CNFETs) for X-band software-defined radio (SDR) systems. In SDR, all components of a communication system are implemented in software, reducing component count, system size, and enhancing flexibility to accommodate various services on a single receiver. The proposed PD is designed using an open-loop approach with conventional gates employing CNFETs. Simulation results show that the circuit operates up to 22 GHz using 32 nm CNFETs and 4.1 GHz using 90 nm MOSFETs, consuming only 22 μW. The PD exhibits a dead zone of less than 5 ps and is robust to temperature variations and power supply noise up to 30 mVp-p, demonstrating its suitability for X-band SDR applications.