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Pereira, P., H. Fino, and M. Ventim-Neves, "LC-VCO design methodology based on evolutionary algorithms", Synthesis, Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Methods and Applications to Circuit Design (SMACD), 2012 International Conference on, Seville - Spain, pp. 189 - 192, 2012/sept.. Abstract

In his paper the design of LC-VCOs is addressed. Due to the high-density integration needs as well as to low cost fabrication, RF applications are usually implemented in CMOS technology. However, this technology development brought up several issues such as the degradation of on-chip LC tank quality factor, yielding VCO's phase noise limitation. To overcome phase-noise limitations, optimization design methodologies are usually used. Since electromagnetic simulations are timely expensive, model based approaches are needed. In this work the characterization of the oscillator behaviour is guaranteed by a set of analytical models describing each circuit element performance. A set of working examples for UMC130 technology, aiming the VCO phase noise and power consumption optimization, is addressed. The results presented, spotlight the potential of the proposed design methodology, combined with a GA optimization procedure, for an accurate and timely efficient oscillator design. The accuracy of the results is checked against HSPICE/RF simulator.

Pereira, P., H. Fino, M. Fakhfakh, F. Coito, and M. Ventim-Neves, "LC-VCO Design Challenges in the Nano-Era", Analog/RF and Mixed-Signal Circuit Systematic Design, vol. 233: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 363-379, 2013. Abstract

The progressive scaling of CMOS technology towards nanometre sizes has made the implementation of highly integrated systems for the wireless communication systems possible. Additionally, higher speed, lower power consumption and area reduction has been reached. Due to the high-density integration needs, as well as to low cost fabrication, RF applications, such as the LC-voltage controlled oscillator (LC-VCO), are usually implemented in CMOS technology. The complexity of designing LC-VCOs has lead to the development of several design methodologies. This chapter introduces an optimization based methodology for the design of LC-VCOs, where its efficiency is granted by the use of analytical models to characterize the active and passive elements’ behaviour.