Work

Differential Injection Locked Frequency Divider With Dual Darlington Pairs for Wideband ÷4 Frequency Division in CMOS

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This paper presents a 4.08 mW injection-locked frequency divider (ILFD) achieving division-by-4 with a 21.3% locking range (16.4-20.3 GHz) in 65 nm CMOS. The design employs dual CMOS Darlington pairs in a fully differential injection topology, simultaneously enhancing trans-conductance, switching speed, and power efficiency. Key innovations include a high-transit frequency ($f_{T}$) topology for robust high-frequency division and optimized harmonic rejection. Measured results show consistent 12 dB phase noise reduction ($20\cdot \mathbf {log_{10}(4)}$) across offsets up to 1 MHz, with harmonic rejection of 23.4 dB (3rd) and 49.3 dB (2nd) at 16.4 GHz. Competitive figures of merit of 0.95 GHz/mW and 19.4 GHz2/mW demonstrate state-of-the-art efficiency.

Source: IEEE Access

DOI: 10.1109/access.2025.3590205

Authors: Akram Muhamad Rafli, Muhammad Fakhri Mauludin, Sanghun Lee, Kunhee Cho, Jusung Kim

Institutions: Hanbat National University, Sungkyunkwan University, Ewha Womans University

Language: English

Topic: Advancements in PLL and VCO Technologies

Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,075

Funder: Ewha Womans University