Integrated wideband and low phase-noise signal source using two voltage-controlled oscillators and a mixer
Journal article, 2013

This study presents a method to design a wideband signal source based on two voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs) with different centre frequencies and a mixer. The principle is to combine three frequency bands to form one wide frequency range. The three bands consist of second harmonic bands from two VCOs and a mixer band that is generated by mixing the two fundamental signals of VCOs to bridge the frequency gap. Apart from the wide tuning range, an additional benefit of a mixer-based signal source is that the phase-noise increases ∼3 dB/octave, which is less than the theoretical limit (6 dB/octave) for a fundamental frequency VCO followed by a frequency multiplier or extraction of second harmonic signal from a VCO. A prototype of the proposed signal source implemented in indium gallium phosphide hetero junction bipolar transistor monolithic microwave integrated circuit technology demonstrates both wide frequency tuning range and a very low phase noise. It exhibits a tuning bandwidth extending from 11.8 to 16.7 GHz and the signal's phase noise varies between −91 and −103 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz offset frequency.

III-V semiconductors

voltage-controlled oscillators

MMIC oscillators

heterojunction bipolar transistors

gallium compounds

indium compounds

frequency multipliers

MMIC mixers

Author

Szhau Lai

GigaHertz Centre

Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Microwave Electronics

Mingquang Bao

GigaHertz Centre

Dan Kuylenstierna

Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Microwave Electronics

GigaHertz Centre

Herbert Zirath

GigaHertz Centre

Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Microwave Electronics

IET Microwaves, Antennas and Propagation

1751-8725 (ISSN) 17518733 (eISSN)

Vol. 7 2 123-130

Areas of Advance

Information and Communication Technology

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Subject Categories

Other Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Information Engineering

DOI

10.1049/iet-map.2012.0634

More information

Created

10/7/2017