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Trimless VCO
Develop A Trimless
Voltage-Controlled
Modeling and designing a trimless
Oscillator VCO requires a full understanding
Trimless VCOs, Part 2 of the non-ideal nature of oscillator
components and architectures.
VCC
Cc RB
Vbias
C1
To output
C0 buffer
L
CVAR C2 IQ
Varactor
RSV Cp2
Inductor
lent input capacitance and negative
C2
resistance of the Colpitts oscillator
configuration.
Lp RSL
With capacitances C1 and C2 con-
nected to the emitter and base leads,
a revised analysis can be performed
to determine the equivalent input
impedance of the active circuit. For v
< LpCpi, the inductor on the base side
in series with Cpi has only a small 11. The basic Colpitts VCO configuration has been refined to include the
effect on the impedance since the realistic effects of parasitic elements.
majority of signal current flows from
{
the gm stage through the inductor in impedance. These approximations
the emitter side. Therefore, the cir- CEQ = 1 / (1 / C12 ) A / (1 + A 2 ) [ ] are used later to develop a revised
cuit can be simplified to facilitate set of design equations for the
analysis by including only the induc- ( gm / C1 C2 )} (16) oscillator.
tor in the emitter lead on the ideal and The varactor is essentially a posi-
[ ]
model and provide a more intuitive tive-negative (PN) junction diode
approximate result. Although the REQ = R 1 / (1 + A 2 ) (17) with specially tailored capacitance-
majority of the signal current flows versus-voltage characteristics. As
through the emitter lead, the capaci- During oscillation, the current with all diodes, the device has a finite
tance Cpi should be included in the flowing in the oscillator transistor is static series resistance. It deter-
calculation of the capacitance. A rea- varying versus time (typically like a mines the effective capacitor and
sonable approximation is C1X = C1 + half-wave rectified sine wave) and tank Q. The varactor is typically
Cpi. Circuit analysis shows that the therefore the instantaneous implemented as a discrete device in a
inductance modifies the equivalent transconductance, g m , is varying plastic package (such as a SC-79
input impedance from the ideal with time. At equilibrium, the effec- package). As with the transistor,
model case: tive large-signal transconductance, there is a parasitic lead and bondwire
Gm, is lower than the DC bias value of inductance in series with the varac-
Zin = j[(C1 + C2 ) / wC1C 2] gm and is only that necessary to sus- tor device. These two non-ideal
+( gm / w 2C1C2 ) (14) tain the loop gain to 1 + d. As a result, effectsthe series inductance and
has a reduced affect on modifying the the series resistancemust be
to a revised model case: input impedance than at its DC bias included to properly predict the oscil-
point. lation frequency and the tank Q
{
Zin j [(C1 + C 2 ) / C1 C 2] One approximation which could be
used for GM is discussed in ref. 5:
(which impacts the phase noise,
startup, and oscillation amplitude) In
[ A / (1 + A2 )] particular, the series inductance is a
( gm / C1 C 2 )} + [1 / (1 + A )]
2 GM n / REQ where n = critical parasitic to model, because it
[(CC + C12 ) / CC ] [(C1 + C2 ) / C2 ]
strongly changes the effective capac-
( gm / C1 C 2 )
2
(15) itance of the varactor. (It forms a
where A = gmLp C12 = C1 C2 / (C1 + C2 ) in the... (18 ) series resonant circuit that can occur
very near the desired oscillation fre-
The inductor actually makes the The large-signal Gm should then be quency.) Figure 9 shows a revised
input capacitance appear larger and substituted for gm in the previous model for the varactor which
the negative resistance appears equations. includes the parasitic resistance and
smaller. The equivalent capacitance Detailed simulation of the full cir- inductance in series with the with the
along with negative resistance may cuit reveals that the expressions anode and cathode leads. The series
be expressed by the following equa- above offer a reasonable estimate of inductance is typically 1.5 nH while
tion as: the actual equivalent input the series resistance is typically 0.5
to 1.0 V. ideal factor in the PCB level oscilla- The resonant frequency or fre-
The primary inductor in the tank tor design has to do with the parasitic quency of oscillation can be found
circuit has a self-resonant frequency capacitances and inductances that from:
that may affect the frequency of
oscillation. A relatively simple model
are associated with the component
solder pads and interconnect traces. [
fo ~ 1 / 2 TEQ 0.5 ] ( 23)
can be used to describe the inductor These parasitic elements must be
below the self-resonant frequency. extracted from the actual PCB lay- CTEQ = CVEQ + CIN ( 24)
Figure 10 shows the revised model out but are typically not available at
for the inductor. The series resis- the time of design, because the layout The quality factor (Q) of the reso-
tance (R s ) models the loss in the has not been started/completed. nant tank circuit, QT, can be found
inductor that sets the Q. Capacitance However, it is important to include from:
(Cp) models the finite self-resonant them in the oscillator circuit model to QT = TTEQ / 2L (25)
frequency. Some manufacturers are accurately predict the oscillation fre-
supporting this model for their com- quency and tuning range, so a first RTEQ = RQL || RQC ( 26 )
mercial devices. 6 However, many cut layout and analysis of the para-
cost-effective surface-mount induc- sitic element values are needed. A
tors that are available today have choice must be made between model- QC = 1 / 2CV RS ( 27 )
sufficiently high self-resonant fre- ing the parasitic elements with trans-
quencies that it is reasonable to con- mission lines or lumped-element The amplitude of the oscillation
sider the inductor to have negligible equivalents. Strictly speaking, the (the RMS voltage) can be found from:
parasitic capacitance. This permits traces/pads are transmission lines,
with
the inductor to be modeled as purely but the lumped element approach can
an inductance and a series resistance. provide a more intuitive method of RQC = QC 2 RSC QL = 2LRSL
The series resistance of the induc- modeling the parasitic elements and
tance does need to be modeled to is valid for compact layouts where RQL = QL 2 RSL VO = 2 IQ REQ
accurately describe the tank Q. the interconnects are short (< 40 mil) [ J1 ( ) / J 0 ( )] Vpeak (28)
and wide (>20 mil). In general, if
COUPLING CAPACITORS traces are short then the connection The loop gain can be found from:
The feedback and coupling capaci- could be approximated as just a
where
tors are high-quality RF compo- shunt capacitance to ground. This
nents. Typically, the capacitors are permits the simple addition of para- [ J1 ( ) / J0 ( )] 0.7 the ratio of the
very small (0603, 0402, even 0201) sitic shunt capacitors at the connec-
Bessel functions
multilayer ceramic surface-mount tion nodes. The parasitic capacitance
capacitors. That technologys small at the connection points can be Loop gain = gm REQ (1 / n) (29)
size inherently provides very-high approximated by a parallel plate
frequency performance and nearly capacitance, Cpad, with the plate area where
ideal frequency characteristics. equal to the total pad/trace area.
Therefore, the capacitors are consid- n [(CC + C12 ) / Cc ]
CPAD = r o ( A / t ) = 1.3 10 15
ered ideal for the purposes of this
( A / t ) pF / mil ( for FR4) (19)
[(C1X + C2 X ) / C2 X ] (30)
second-order design.
A potentially troublesome non- where: The start-up criteria are given by:
EXAMPLE CIRCUIT 10 V 10 nH
Implementation of the 0.1 mF
Colpitts configuration MAX2620 1.5 pF
Co Cc 1 8
shown in Fig. 7 is com-
monly accomplished with VTUNE 2 kV 6 pF 5 pF Out
2 7 VCC to
discrete transistors. C1
Many options exist for 0.1 mF mixer
LF 2.7 pF 3 6
cost-effective, high f T D1 4.7 nH C
transistors packaged in Alpha 2 4 330 pF
1.5 pF Bias 5
small plastic packages SMV1204-34
as single and dual Out
51 V to PLL
devices. However, in 1000 pF
order to achieve a design
that works down to a SHDN
+2.7-VDC supply voltage VCC
with sufficient headroom
for the oscillator device
and output buffer, a 14. Based on a model MAX2620 oscillator IC, this design represents a practical
three-transistor circuit is implementation of the Colpitts oscillator configuration.
typically needed. Figure
13 shows the possible implementa- put matching to the load. If any fine-tuning frequency
tion of the oscillator active circuitry. Referring to the revised circuit adjustment is necessary, adjust the
Discrete implementations are model of Fig. 11, the parasitic-ele- frequency of oscillation with Co, Cc
extremely flexible, but possess sev- ment values in the component models (for an increase in frequency,
eral negatives. The primary nega- are as follows. For the varactor, Lp = decrease Cc and for a decrease in fre-
tives of this circuit are significant 1.5 nH, Rsv = 0.5 V, Cvar(hi) = 8 pF, quency, increase Cc; increase the tun-
variation in biasing versus tempera- and Cvar(lo) = 4 pF. For the inductor, ing range and decrease the frequency
ture and supply voltage, the large Lp = 4.7 nH and Rsl = 0.5 V. For the by increasing Co; and decrease the
number of components required to transistor, Lp ~ 3.0 nH and Cpi = 1.1 tuning until the tuning range and fre-
implement the oscillator active cir- pF. For the layout parasitics, Cp1 = quency limits match a particular set
cuitry, and the relatively large PCB 0.2 pF, Cp2 = 0.2 pF, Cp3 = 0.5 pF, Cp4 of requirements).
area that is required. = 0.3 pF, and Ltrace = 0.3 nH. A circuit (Fig. 14) was constructed
An improved alternative to the The component values are selected in prototype fashion to demonstrate
discrete transistor approach is to use through a simple design process that the performance of an oscillator
an integrated oscillator IC, such as is summarized below as part of the designed from the equations and sim-
the MAX2620 from Maxim Integrat- revised design process: ulation technique outlined in this
ed Products (Sunnyvale, CA), with Select initial values for C1, C2, Lf, article. The circuit is useful for some
an external tank circuit. The Cc, Co, Cvar(hi), and Cvar(lo) based on commercial 900-MHz industrial-sci-
MAX2620 IC integrates the oscilla- the revised design equations devel- entific-medical (ISM) applications.
tor transistor, stable biasing, and an oped for C var , C v , C in , and C 12e Acknowledgments
The author would like to acknowledge that there are
output amplifier in a small uMAX8 described in this article to achieve many previous contributors to the field of oscillators that
are the respected experts (Rohde, Leeson, Boyles, Hay-
package to provide a convenient the require frequency tuning range ward, Meyer, etc.). Their work has led to the advancement
of oscillators in general and provided the foundation for this
method of implementing the oscilla- required for the trimless VCO. two-part article. My effort was simply to introduce a simple
10
tor active circuitry. This approach Construct a more detailed small- concept for a trimless VCO and to re-describe the oscillator
design task in a simple, improved manner in order to permit
permits the designer to focus only on signal circuit model using the revised ues for a PCB-based
an engineer to quickly calculate the initial component val-
Colpitts VCO design.
selecting the external passive com- models for the varactor, active cir-
ponent values, thereby confining the cuit, and layout parasitic elements. References
5. Kenneth K. Clarke, Communications Circuits: Analy-
design task to achieve the required Simulate the small-signal circuit sis and Design, Addison-Wesley, Boston, 1978, Chap. 6, p.
225.
frequency tuning characteristics. model and adjust the component 6. Modeling Coilcraft RF Inductors, Technical Note,
Coilcraft, Inc., Lisle, IL, 1999.
Figure 14 shows the Colpitts oscilla- value to achieve the target values for 7. John W. Boyles, The Oscillator As A Reflection
tor configuration using the C in, Cvar(hi), Cvar(lo), and startup con- Amplifier: An Intuitive Approach To Oscillator Design,
Microwave Journal, June 1986.
MAX2620. The frequency-setting ditions (maintain loop gain and suffi- Approach to the 8. Daniel J. Esdale et al., A Reflection Coefficient
Design of One-Port Negative Impedance
components are all on the left side of cient negative resistance). Oscillators, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory
and Techniques, Vol. MTT-29, No. 8, August 1981, pp. 770-
the circuit. The components that are Construct the oscillator with the 776.
9. Varactor SPICE Models for RF VCO Applications,
connected to the output ports are one simulated component values. Application Note, Alpha Industries, Woburn, MA, 1998.
10. Datasheet for the MAX2620, Maxim Integrated Prod-
possible option to implement the out- Measure 1/S11 and G (optional). ucts, Sunnyvale, CA, 1997.