Publication
ISSCC 2015
Conference paper

A 13.1-to-28GHz fractional-N PLL in 32nm SOI CMOS with a ΔΣ noise-cancellation scheme

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Abstract

A key challenge in high-performance I/O, as well as in reconfigurable radio and radar applications, is the generation of a clean clock signal supporting a wide range of frequencies. The introduction of fractional-N synthesis capability for wide-tuning-range applications enables generation of arbitrary output frequencies within that range from a single choice of reference frequency. A critical challenge in fractional-N synthesizer design is the cancellation of the deterministic component of the fractional-N ΔΣ noise, allowing fractional-N solutions to be applied even in noise-sensitive contexts. In this work, we present a flexible, wide tuning range, fractional-N PLL implemented in 32nm SOI CMOS technology, introducing two separate methods - one in the proportional path and one in the integral path - to process and suppress ΔΣ noise. The demonstrated design includes an integrated automatic calibration loop to optimize noise suppression, uses a dual VCO complex to support generation of any output frequency from 13 to 28GHz from a reference clock in the range of 15 to 300 MHz, and also supports extended tuning down to 1GHz through the use of configurable output dividers.

Date

17 Mar 2015

Publication

ISSCC 2015