Current Reuse Triple-Band Signal Source for Multi-Band Wireless Network-on-Chip

摘要

A current reuse triple-band signal generator is proposed which simultaneously generates a first, second, and third harmonic output signal from a 26.5-30.2 GHz fundamental voltage controlled oscillator (VCO). Transformer-based Gm boosting and passive 2nd harmonic extraction is proposed to achieve a good performance with exceptionally low power. A low-voltage modified Gilbert cell mixer generates the third harmonic while requiring minimal voltage overhead, facilitating an efficient current reuse topology. The fabricated signal generation circuit consumes 8 mW of power and achieves a 13% tuning range and a measured phase noise of -121 dBc/Hz at 10 MHz offset. The proposed signal source demonstrates best-in-class performance among multi-band signal sources.