Abstract
Aggressive silicon technology scaling, combined with immense unexplored MEMS potential, leads to new advancements in the field of low-power, high-performance RF-MEMS codesigned architectures. This chapter introduces the approach, theory, and design of an important block in RF transceivers: a quadrature voltage-controlled oscillator (QVCO) stabilized with bulk acoustic wave (BAW) resonators. A new time-varying source degeneration coupling mechanism has been used to quadrature-couple the two oscillator cores for I/Q signal generation, reducing the required headroom of the series coupling transistors. The phase accuracy of the quadrature outputs determines the image rejection capability of integrated RF front ends. To improve phase error in the presence of process mismatch, we introduce a self-calibration loop for phase control of quadrature oscillators. Design concerns like temperature stability of BAW-tuned oscillators are addressed. Side-by-side comparisons of the BAW- and LC-based oscillators are made, and assembly challenges are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Q. Gu, RF System Design of Transceivers for Wireless Communications (Springer, New York, 2005)
T. Lee, The Design of CMOS Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuits (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2004)
S. Rai, B. Otis, IEEE J. Solid State Circ. 43(1), 300 (2008)
A. Rofougaran, J. Rael, M. Rofougaran, A. Abidi, IEEE ISSCC Digest of Technical Papers, 1996, pp. 392–393
B. Razavi, Design of Integrated Circuits for Optical Communications (McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math, New York, 2003)
P. Andreani, A. Bonfanti, L. Romano, C. Samori, IEEE J. Solid State Circ. 37(12), 1737 (2002)
J. Chang, Y. Youn, M. Park, C. Kim, IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFIC) Symposium, 2003, pp. 295–298
H. Kim, C. Cha, S. Oh, M. Yang, S. Lee, IEEE J. Solid State Circ. 39(6), 952 (2004)
S. Gierkink, S. Levantino, R. Frye, C. Samori, V. Boccuzzi, IEEE J. Solid State Circ. 38(7), 1148 (2003)
A. Ng, H. Luong, IEEE ISSCC Digest of Technical Papers, 2006, pp. 711–720
R. Ruby, P. Bradley, J. Larson III, Y. Oshmyansky, D. Figueredo, IEEE ISSCC Digest of Technical Papers, 2001, pp. 120–1
J. Larson III, P. Bradley, S. Wartenberg, R. Ruby, IEEE Ultrason. Symp. 1 (2000)
B. Otis, J. Rabaey, IEEE J. Solid State Circ. 38(7), 1271 (2003)
P. Vincent, J. David, I. Burciu, J. Prouvee, C. Billard, C. Fuchs, G. Parat, E. Defoucaud, A. Reinhardt, IEEE ISSCC Digest of Technical Papers, 2008, pp. 478–629
S. Rai, Y. Su, A. Dobos, R. Kim, R. Ruby, W. Pang, B. Otis, IEEE Frequency Control Symposium, 2009, pp. 385–387
D. Ruffieux, Proceedings of ESSCIRC, 2002, pp. 85–88
N. Pletcher, J. Rabaey, Proceedings of ESSCIRC, 2005, pp. 387–390
A. Mazzanti, F. Svelto, P. Andreani, IEEE J. Solid State Circ. 41(6), 1305 (2006)
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge Avago Technologies for the BAW resonator fabrication and Richard Kim for his careful layout efforts.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rai, S.S., Otis, B.P. (2013). Low-Power Quadrature Oscillator Design Using BAW Resonators. In: Enz, C., Kaiser, A. (eds) MEMS-based Circuits and Systems for Wireless Communication. Integrated Circuits and Systems. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8798-3_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8798-3_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-8797-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-8798-3
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)