A Low Phase Noise, Wideband and Compact CMOS PLL for Use in a Heterodyne 802.15.3c Transceiver

A low phase noise, wideband, mm-wave, integer-N PLL that is capable of supporting an 802.15.3c heterodyne transceiver is reported. The PLL can generate 6 equally spaced tones from 43.2 GHz to 51.84 GHz, which is suitable for a heterodyne architecture with FLO=(4/5)×FTRX. Phase noise is measured directly at the FLOfrequency and is better than -97.5 dBc/Hz@1 MHz across the entire band. The reported frequency synthesizer is smaller, exhibits less phase noise, and consumes less power than prior art. In addition, the FLOtone corresponds to the fundamental of the VCO as opposed to a higher harmonic.