Integrated voltage-controlled oscillator circuits
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) coupled to a mixer, the VCO comprising:
- a first transistor configured to be DC biased by a first bias current;
a second transistor configured to be DC biased by a second bias current;
at least one gate inductance coupling the gate of the first transistor to the gate of the second transistor;
a first drain inductance magnetically coupled to the at least one gate inductance, the first drain inductance coupled to the drain of the first transistor;
a second drain inductance magnetically coupled to the at least one gate inductance, the second drain inductance coupled to the drain of the second transistor; and
at least one variable capacitance coupling the gate of the first transistor to the gate of the second transistor,the mixer comprising first and second input nodes coupled to the first and second drain inductances, respectively, the mixer configured to be biased by the first and second bias currents, the at least one gate inductance being formed by a primary coil, the first and second drain inductances being formed by two secondary coils, and the two secondary coils being laid out inside or stacked underneath the primary coil.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Techniques for providing voltage-controlled oscillator circuits having improved phase noise performance and lower power consumption. In an exemplary embodiment, a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) is coupled to a mixer or a frequency divider such as a divide-by-two circuit. The VCO includes a transistor pair with magnetically cross-coupled inductors, and variable capacitance coupled to the gates of the transistor pair. In an exemplary embodiment, a frequency divider is configured to divide the frequency of the differential current flowing through the transistor pair to generate the LO output. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, a mixer is configured to mix the differential current flowing through the transistor pair with another signal. The VCO and mixer or frequency divider share common bias currents, thereby reducing power consumption. Various exemplary apparatuses and methods utilizing these techniques are disclosed.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) coupled to a mixer, the VCO comprising:
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a first transistor configured to be DC biased by a first bias current; a second transistor configured to be DC biased by a second bias current; at least one gate inductance coupling the gate of the first transistor to the gate of the second transistor; a first drain inductance magnetically coupled to the at least one gate inductance, the first drain inductance coupled to the drain of the first transistor; a second drain inductance magnetically coupled to the at least one gate inductance, the second drain inductance coupled to the drain of the second transistor; and at least one variable capacitance coupling the gate of the first transistor to the gate of the second transistor, the mixer comprising first and second input nodes coupled to the first and second drain inductances, respectively, the mixer configured to be biased by the first and second bias currents, the at least one gate inductance being formed by a primary coil, the first and second drain inductances being formed by two secondary coils, and the two secondary coils being laid out inside or stacked underneath the primary coil. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for generating a mixed signal, the method comprising:
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DC biasing a first transistor using a first bias current; DC biasing a second transistor using a second bias current; coupling the gate of the first transistor to the gate of the second transistor using at least one gate inductance; magnetically coupling a first drain inductance to the at least one gate inductance, the first drain inductance coupled to the drain of the first transistor; magnetically coupling a second drain inductance to the at least one gate inductance, the second drain inductance coupled to the drain of the second transistor; selecting the capacitance of a variable capacitance element coupling the gate of the first transistor to the gate of the second transistor; mixing the differential current flowing in the first and second drain inductances with another signal using a mixer to generate at least one mixed signal; and biasing the mixer using the first and second bias currents, wherein the at least one gate inductance is formed by a primary coil, wherein the first and second drain inductances are formed by two secondary coils, and wherein the two secondary coils are laid out inside or stacked underneath the primary coil. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An apparatus comprising:
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means for generating a differential voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) output current having a voltage-controlled frequency, the means for generating comprising a VCO, the VCO configured to be biased by at least one bias current; and means for mixing the VCO output current with another signal, wherein the means for mixing is configured to share the at least one bias current with the VCO, the VCO comprising; a first transistor; a second transistor; at least one gate inductance coupling the gate of the first transistor to the gate of the second transistor; a first drain inductance coupled to the drain of the first transistor; and a second drain inductance coupled to the drain of the second transistor, wherein the at least one gate inductance is formed by a primary coil, wherein the first and second drain inductances are formed by two secondary coils, and wherein the two secondary coils are laid out inside or stacked underneath the primary coil.
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18. A device for wireless communications, the device comprising a TX LO signal generator, at least one baseband TX amplifier, an upconverter coupled to the TX LO signal generator and the at least one baseband TX amplifier, a TX filter coupled to the output of the upconverter, a power amplifier (PA) coupled to the TX filter, an RX LO signal generator, an RX filter, a downconverter coupled to the RX LO signal generator and the RX filter, a low-noise amplifier (LNA) coupled to the RX filter, and a duplexer coupled to the PA and the LNA, the TX LO signal generator and upconverter comprising a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) coupled to a mixer, the VCO comprising:
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a first transistor configured to be DC biased by a first bias current; a second transistor configured to be DC biased by a second bias current; at least one gate inductance coupling the gate of the first transistor to the gate of the second transistor; a first drain inductance magnetically coupled to the at least one gate inductance, the first drain inductance coupled to the drain of the first transistor; a second drain inductance magnetically coupled to the at least one gate inductance, the second drain inductance coupled to the drain of the second transistor; and at least one variable capacitance coupling the gate of the first transistor to the gate of the second transistor, the mixer comprising first and second input nodes coupled to the first and second drain inductances, respectively, the mixer configured to be biased by the first and second bias currents, the at least one gate inductance being formed by a primary coil, the first and second drain inductances being formed by two secondary coils, and the two secondary coils being laid out inside or being stacked underneath the primary coil.
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19. A device for wireless communications, the device comprising a TX LO signal generator, at least one baseband TX amplifier, an upconverter coupled to the TX LO signal generator and the at least one baseband TX amplifier, a TX filter coupled to the output of the upconverter, a power amplifier (PA) coupled to the TX filter, an RX LO signal generator, an RX filter, a downconverter coupled to the RX LO signal generator and the RX filter, a low-noise amplifier (LNA) coupled to the RX filter, and a duplexer coupled to the PA and the LNA, the RX LO signal generator and downconverter comprising a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) coupled to a mixer, the VCO comprising:
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a first transistor configured to be DC biased by a first bias current; a second transistor configured to be DC biased by a second bias current; at least one gate inductance coupling the gate of the first transistor to the gate of the second transistor; a first drain inductance magnetically coupled to the at least one gate inductance, the first drain inductance coupled to the drain of the first transistor; a second drain inductance magnetically coupled to the at least one gate inductance, the second drain inductance coupled to the drain of the second transistor; and at least one variable capacitance coupling the gate of the first transistor to the gate of the second transistor, the mixer comprising first and second input nodes coupled to the first and second drain inductances, respectively, the mixer configured to be biased by the first and second bias currents, the at least one gate inductance being formed by a primary coil, the first and second drain inductances being formed by two secondary coils, and the two secondary coils being laid out inside or being stacked underneath the primary coil.
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Specification