Voltage tunable active inductorless oscillator

摘要

An inductorless voltage controlled oscillator that may be fabricated using CMOS circuit elements. In one aspect, the present invention includes a synthetic inductance formed on a substrate and having first and second power supply terminals and a signal port. Additionally, an active admittance transformation network is formed on the substrate and coupled to the synthetic inductance and to the port. The synthetic inductance manifests an admittance at the port which has an inductive component and a positive real component. The active admittance transformation network transforms the positive real component of the synthetic inductance admittance to a negative real component and preserves the inductive character of the synthetic inductance admittance. The synthetic inductance can provide an effective Q of greater than twenty. The active admittance transformation network and the synthetic inductance cooperate to produce a voltage-variable oscillation frequency in excess of fifty megahertz. Voltage dependent values for parasitic impedances and admittances of the first and second amplifiers cause an oscillation frequency &ohgr;.sub.OSC to be swept over a range of tens or hundreds of megahertz by altering a supply voltage. Significantly, the voltage controlled oscillator may be formed as a monolithic CMOS or a BiCMOS integrated circuit. As a result, the voltage controlled oscillator may be cost-effectively combined with other kinds of circuits, such as signal processors and digital circuits.