Enhancing Phase Noise Performance of LC VCOs in X-band Using Transformer Coupling: A Comparative Study With Conventional Architectures
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This paper presents a 10 GHz voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) with buffer-core coupled transformer for phase noise (PN) enhancement in a 22 nm Fully Depleted Silicon-On- Insulator (FDSOI) CMOS Process. In the proposed design, a buffer-core coupled transformer is integrated into the conventional LC-VCO topology. The topology not only improves the negative conductance, but also achieves significant phase noise reduction. The proposed VCO exhibits phase noise of −75.88 dBc/Hz at a 100 kHz and −117.22 dBc/Hz at a 1 MHz offset frequency from a 10.81 GHz carrier, respectively. The measured output frequency ranges from 10.06 GHz to 10.85 GHz, utilizing a binary-weighted 3-bit capacitor bank. The total power consumption is 3.0 mW at the supply voltage of 0.6 V, and the chip occupies an area of 730 μm × 800 μm. The figure of merit (FoM) and figure of merit with frequency tuning (FoMT) achieved −193.1 dBc/Hz and −190.7 dBc/Hz, respectively.
Authors: Chae Jun Lee, Hee Sung Lee
Language: English
Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,645
OpenAlex ID: W7204154524