A D-Band Dual-Mode Dynamic Frequency Divider in 130-nm SiGe Technology

Abstract

In this work, a dual-mode (divide-by-2 and divide-by-3) dynamic frequency divider is presented. A tunable delay gated ring oscillator (TDGRO) topology is proposed for dual-mode operation and bandwidth extension. It uses a 130-nm gate length SiGe BiCMOS technology with the $f_{t}$ and $f_{\mathrm {max}}$ of 250 and 370 GHz, respectively. Verification shows that it works at $W$ -band from 70 to 114 GHz (47.8% bandwidth) for divide-by-2 and works at $D$ -band from 105 to 160 GHz (41.5% bandwidth) for divide-by-3. This divider can be used in integrated phase-locked loops (PLLs) at millimeter-wave frequencies.