-Boosted Common-Gate LNA and Differential

The demand for radio frequency (RF) integrated circuits with reduced power consumption is growing owing to the trend toward system-on-a-chip (SoC) implementations in deep-sub-micron CMOS technologies. The concomitant need for high performance imposes additional challenges for circuit designers. In this paper, a -boosted common-gate low-noise amplifier (CGLNA), differential Colpitts voltage-controlled oscillators (VCO), and a quadrature Colpitts voltage-controlled oscillator (QVCO) are presented as alternatives to the conventional common-source LNA and cross-coupled VCO/QVCO topologies. Specifically, a -boosted common-gate LNA loosens the link between noise factor (i.e., noise match) and input matching (i.e., power match); consequently, both noise factor and bias current are simultaneously reduced. A transformer-coupled CGLNA is described. Suggested by the functional and topological similarities between amplifiers and oscillators, differential Colpitts VCO and QVCO circuits are presented that relax the start-up requirements and improve both close-in and far-out phase noise compared to conventional Colpitts configurations. Experimental results from a 0.18- m CMOS process validate the -boosting design principle.

[1]  D.J. Allstot,et al.  Design considerations for CMOS low-noise amplifiers , 2004, 2004 IEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFIC) Systems. Digest of Papers.

[2]  A.A. Abidi,et al.  A 4.5-mW 900-MHz CMOS receiver for wireless paging , 2000, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits.

[3]  Ali Hajimiri,et al.  Concepts and methods in optimization of integrated LC VCOs , 2001, IEEE J. Solid State Circuits.

[4]  A. Ismail,et al.  CMOS differential LC oscillator with suppressed up-converted flicker noise , 2003, 2003 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference, 2003. Digest of Technical Papers. ISSCC..

[5]  A. Hajimiri,et al.  A CMOS differential noise-shifting Colpitts VCO , 2002, 2002 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference. Digest of Technical Papers (Cat. No.02CH37315).

[6]  Li Lin,et al.  Recent developments in high integration multi-standard CMOS transceivers for personal communication systems , 1998, Proceedings. 1998 International Symposium on Low Power Electronics and Design (IEEE Cat. No.98TH8379).

[7]  Pietro Andreani.  A 2GHz, 17% tuning range quadrature CMOS VCO with high figure–of–merit and 0.6° phase error , 2002 .

[8]  J.R. Long,et al.  Monolithic transformers for silicon RF IC design , 2000, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits.

[9]  T.H. Lee,et al.  A 1.5 V, 1.5 GHz CMOS low noise amplifier , 1996, 1996 Symposium on VLSI Circuits. Digest of Technical Papers.

[10]  M. Tiebout,et al.  Low-power low-phase-noise differentially tuned quadrature VCO design in standard CMOS , 2001, IEEE J. Solid State Circuits.

[11]  Xiaoyong Li,et al.  Low noise design techniques for radio frequency integrated circuits , 2004 .

[12]  A. Abidi,et al.  Physical processes of phase noise in differential LC oscillators , 2000, Proceedings of the IEEE 2000 Custom Integrated Circuits Conference (Cat. No.00CH37044).

[13]  E. Sanchez-Sinencio,et al.  Using capacitive cross-coupling technique in RF low noise amplifiers and down-conversion mixer design , 2000, Proceedings of the 26th European Solid-State Circuits Conference.

[14]  Qiuting Huang.  Phase noise to carrier ratio in LC oscillators , 2000 .

[15]  Ali Hajimiri,et al.  A general theory of phase noise in electrical oscillators , 1998 .

[16]  Michiel Steyaert,et al.  A 1.57-GHz fully integrated very low-phase-noise quadrature VCO , 2002, IEEE J. Solid State Circuits.

[17]  A. Rofougaran,et al.  A 900 MHz CMOS LC-oscillator with quadrature outputs , 1996, 1996 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference. Digest of TEchnical Papers, ISSCC.

[18]  A. Hajimiri,et al.  Design issues in CMOS differential LC oscillators , 1999, IEEE J. Solid State Circuits.

[19]  Behzad Razavi,et al.  A study of phase noise in CMOS oscillators , 1996, IEEE J. Solid State Circuits.