SiGe BiCMOS VCO with 27% tuning range for 5G communications

A SiGe BiCMOS VCO with a transformer-coupled varactor operating from 12 to 15.9GHz is presented. The oscillator core features a phase noise as low as -117 dBc/Hz at 1MHz offset from the 14.2GHz carrier while drawing 8mA from the 3.3V supply. The VCO shows a state-of-the-art FoMT of -190 dBc/Hz. The trade-off for the technology selection is described in the introduction. The oscillator is tailored to the communication systems for the upcoming 5G applications. New radios that will operate from 6GHz to as high as 100 GHz may be needed