A 16mW 8Mbps Fractional-N FSK Modulator at 15.8-18.9GHz

Abstract

Indirect modulation of fractional-N synthesizers is an energy-efficient architecture capable of moderate data rates, and is well-suited for use in sensor networks or WLAN. Although the architecture is used primarily at low RF frequencies, the capability for fractional-N synthesizers at Ku-band and above currently exist in available silicon technology. Recent demonstrations at 10-25GHz show promising results, although power consumption at this higher frequency remains high for small batterypowered devices. This work implements a fully-integrated fractional-N synthesizer optimized for power efficient modulation at 15.8 to 18.9GHz with an 80MHz reference. Binary and 4-ary FSK modulation of up to 8Mbps is achieved while consuming 16mW in IBM 0.18µm SiGe BiCMOS.

A 16–18.8-GHz Sub-Integer-N Frequency Synthesizer for 60-GHz Transceivers

“…For 60-GHz transceiver systems, there have been multiple examples of 50-60 GHz silicon VCOs; a few fixed-modulus silicon PLLs at 55, 50, and 18 GHz [1]- [3]; and a 60-GHz dual-modulus synthesizer [4]. Only now are multi-channel programmable frequency synthesizers being published which can be used for 60-GHz systems [5], [6], [7]. This paper presents a fully integrated, low-noise, 16 to 18.8 GHz, programmable frequency synthesizer implemented in 0.13-m SiGe BiCMOS, which has sufficient tuning range to cover the worldwide 60-GHz ISM band.…”