A 21 GHz wide frequency tuning range LC VCO with low KVCO

This work presents a novel control method for achieving a low KVCO variation in wide frequency range LC VCOs. The proposed method was validated by designing and simulating a VCO with a frequency range of 12.2 GHz-21.3 GHz. The VCO achieves a maximum KVCO value of 172 MHz/V and a maximum KVCO variation of 1.6. In addition, the design exhibits a phase noise of -112 dBc/Hz @ 1 MHz offset frequency. The VCO was designed, extracted and simulated using 28nm CMOS technology. This design consumes a maximum power of 5.68 mW from a 1V supply voltage.