A 5.56–9.09GHz Octa-Core Dual-Mode DCO Based on Multi-Tap Three-Turn Inductor Achieving 195.7dBc/Hz FoM and Wideband Flicker PN Suppression

This paper presents a 5.56–9.09 GHz octa-core dual-mode digitally controlled oscillator (DCO) based on a multi-tap three-turn inductor. Owing to a frequency-independent passive gain of up to 3 and the resulting narrower conduction angle, it achieves a calibration-free wideband suppression of both thermal and flicker phase noise (PN). Fabricated in 22-nm CMOS, the DCO achieves a PN of -150.2 to -145.3 dBc/Hz and a figure-of-merit (FoM) of 195.7 to 192.5 dBc/Hz at a 10-MHz offset across a 48% tuning range. The flicker PN corner ranges from 100 to 290 kHz.