An Impedance-Boosted Ka-Band Colpitts VCO with a PN1MHz of −107 dBc/Hz in 90 nm SiGe BiCMOS Technology

Isbilen T, Breun S, Arneth N, Schrotz AM, Koch M, Berwald A, Weigel R, Franchi N (2026)

Publication Type: Conference contribution, Conference Contribution

Publication year: 2026

Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.

Conference Proceedings Title: 2026 IEEE Wireless and Microwave Technology Conference, WAMICON 2026

Event location: Clearwater, FL, USA US

ISBN: 9798331583453

DOI: 10.1109/WAMICON68738.2026.11602012

Abstract

This paper presents a high-performance millimeter-wave voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO). The circuit utilizes an impedance-boosted Colpitts topology to achieve a superior tradeoff between power consumption, phase noise, and tuning range. The VCO demonstrates a continuous tuning range of 12.7%, spanning from 33.8 GHz to 38.4 GHz. At a fundamental frequency of 35.2 GHz, a minimum phase noise of -107.1 dBc/Hz is achieved at a 1MHz offset. With a core power consumption of 36.8mW and an active area of 0.095mm2, the design attains a peak Figure of Merit (FoM) of 182.4 dBc/Hz, a FoMT of 184.4 dBc/Hz and a FoMA of 192.6 dBc/Hz. The circuit was fabricated in a 90nm SiGe BiCMOS process with ft/fmax of 300 GHz/500 GHz, respectively.

Authors with CRIS profile

Timur Isbilen Lehrstuhl für Intelligente Technische Elektronik und Systeme Nils Arneth Lehrstuhl für Intelligente Technische Elektronik und Systeme Albert-Marcel Schrotz Lehrstuhl für Intelligente Technische Elektronik und Systeme Manuel Koch Lehrstuhl für Intelligente Technische Elektronik und Systeme Alexander Berwald Lehrstuhl für Intelligente Technische Elektronik und Systeme Robert Weigel Technische Fakultät Norman Franchi Lehrstuhl für Intelligente Technische Elektronik und Systeme

How to cite

APA:

Isbilen, T., Breun, S., Arneth, N., Schrotz, A.-M., Koch, M., Berwald, A.,... Franchi, N. (2026). An Impedance-Boosted Ka-Band Colpitts VCO with a PN1MHz of −107 dBc/Hz in 90 nm SiGe BiCMOS Technology. In 2026 IEEE Wireless and Microwave Technology Conference, WAMICON 2026. Clearwater, FL, USA, US: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc..

MLA:

Isbilen, Timur, et al. "An Impedance-Boosted Ka-Band Colpitts VCO with a PN1MHz of −107 dBc/Hz in 90 nm SiGe BiCMOS Technology." Proceedings of the 2026 IEEE Wireless and Microwave Technology Conference (WAMICON), Clearwater, FL, USA Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2026.

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