Dielectric Resonator Oscillator Research Articles

X-band low phase noise in-phase and out-of-phase injection-locked push-push DRO

An X-band push–push dielectric resonator (DR) oscillator with injection locking capability has been developed.Two injection locking methods, i.e., the in-phase method and the out-of-phase method, are studied. It is found that the out-of-phase method has wider locking range and much less effects on fundamental suppression than that of the in-phase method. The oscillator generates an output power of 9.5 dBm at 12.4 GHz and has a fundamental suppression of 32.5 dBc. Despite using a high quality (Q) factor DR, wide locking range has been obtained. SiGe HBTs with good flicker noise performance were chosen for low phase noise design. The phase noise values of the free running oscillator are −104.4 dBc/Hz, −120.2 dBc/Hz, and −142.6 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz, 100 kHz, and 1 MHz offsets from the carrier frequency, respectively. The phase noise performance is superior or comparable to the reported designs. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 52:2448–2452, 2010; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.25510

LTCC를 이용한 push-push 유전체 공진 발진기의 설계 및 제작

LTCC(low temperature co-fired ceramic) 공정의 다층기판을 이용하여 push-push 유전체 공진 발전기를 설계 및 제작하였다. 중심주파수 8GHz를 갖는 직렬 궤환형의 단일 유전체 공진 발진기를 설계하고 이를 이용하여 중심주파수 16GHz인 push-push 유전체 공진 발진기를 설계하였다. 발전기의 회로 크기에 큰 영향을 미치는 바이어스 회로를 LTCC 다층구조의 중간층에 배치함으로써 일반적인 단층기판을 이용한 경우에 비해 발진기 회로의 크기를 크게 줄 일 수 있었다. 제작된 push-push 유전체 공진 발진기의 측정결과 기본 주파수 및 3차 고조파 억압특성은 각각 15dBc 및 25dBc 이상의 특성을 나타내었으며 발진기의 위상잡음 특성은 -102dBc/Hz@100KHz 및 -128dBc/Hz@1MHz의 특성을 각각 나타내었다. The push-push DRO(dielectric resonator oscillator) using a multi-layer structure of LTCC(low temperature co-fired ceramic) fabrication is designed. After the single DRO of series feedback type in the center frequency of 8GHz is designed, the push-push DRO in the center frequency of 16GHz including the Wilkinson power combiner is designed. The bias circuit affecting the size of oscillator are embedded in the intermediate layer of the LTCC multi-layer substrate. As a result, the large reduction in the size of VCO is obtained compared to the general oscillator on the single layer substrate. Experimental results show that the fundamental and third harmonics suppression are above 15dBc and 25dBc, respectively, and phase noise characteristics of the push-push DRO presents performance of -102dBc/Hz@100KHz and -128dBc/Hz@1MHz offset frequencies from carrier.

A highly integrated Ka‐band transceiver module with two channels

AbstractA compact Ka‐band square‐wave modulation transceiver module with two receiving and transmitting channels is presented.This module consists of 15 monolithic microwave integrated circuits, two dielectric resonator oscillators, a E‐plane waveguide filter, a coupler, two power dividers, and over 200 components, and works at two Ka‐band operating frequency points. The developed Ka‐band transceiver module is fabricated using advanced packages techniques, which has a compact size of 120 mm × 60 mm × 20 mm and exhibits greater than 500 mw output power with amplitude imbalance of two output ports less than 30 mw, switch rise time and fall time less than 4 ns, isolation of transmitting two channels more than 63 dB, and voltage standing wave ratio of receiving ports better than 1.3. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 52: 615–618, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.25005

A Ku-Band Push-Push Dielectric Resonator Oscillator

A Ku-band dielectric resonator oscillator is presented in this paper. The push-push configuration is chosen in the oscillator so that an oscillator and a frequency doubler are realized in one circuit. To reduce the interference between the two oscillators at fundamental frequency, a wideband Wilkinson combiner is designed to improve the isolation, so that the influence introduced by the inconsistency of active devices can be minimized. The experimental results show that the output frequency is 17.4 GHz with output power about –14 dBm. The phase noise of –69 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz and –95 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz is achieved, while the depression of fundamental frequency and the third harmonic is better than –15 dBc and –23 dBc respectively.

Fundamental wave phase-locked dual-band push-push DRO using out-of-phase Wilkinson power combiner

A new push-push phase-locked dielectric resonator oscillator (PLDRO) with dual-band (C/Ku) output capability is presented. An out-of-phase Wilkinson power combiner is used to provide the fundamental ( f 0 ) output. The phase-locking is implemented at f 0 as an alternative to direct locking the push-push output frequency (2 f 0 ) using prescalers. The push-push PLDRO has shown a fundamental suppression of 35.12 dBc and a second-harmonic suppression of 34.77 dBc at the 2 f 0 output and the f 0 output, respectively. Experimental results also indicate a maximum spur level of -77.4 dBc, and phase noise values of -109.6 and -143 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz and 1 MHz offsets, respectively, from a 12.6 GHz carrier.

24GHz 대역 CW 레이더 송수신기 설계

본 논문은 절전형 센서에 사용되는 24GHz대역의 CW 레이더 송수신기의 설계에 관한 것이다. K-대역의 송수신기 회로의 기본 구조와 전력분배기와 송수신 안테나가 디자인 되었고 발진기, 주파수혼합기, 고주파 증폭기는 상용 제품을 사용하였다. 제작된 분배기와 안테나의 성능이 측정되었고 송신 주파수와 출력전력레벨이 상용 제품에 적용될 수 있을 정도로 양호하였다. 제안된 송수신기의 크기는 35<TEX>${\times}$</TEX>35<TEX>${\times}$</TEX>10(mm)이며 여러 가지 제품에 사용될 수 있도록 설계되었다. This paper describes a K-band CW radar transceiver suitable for power saving motion sensor. The presented transceiver module is designed and contains patch antennas, dielectric resonator oscillator (DRO), IF amplifier, mixer, divider. The designed divider and antenna are measured and the transmitting frequency and the power were fairly good for using in commercial applications. The transceiver is manufactured with a dimension of 35<TEX>${\times}$</TEX>35<TEX>${\times}$</TEX>10(mm) and can be adapted in various applications.

Microwave dielectric properties of Mg 4Ta 2O 9 ceramics with TiO 2 additions for dielectric resonator oscillator

The microwave dielectric properties of the Mg 4Ta 2O 9 electro-ceramics with TiO 2 addition were investigated and the dielectric resonator oscillator (DRO) was simulated and manufactured. All specimens were prepared by solid-state reaction method and sintered at 1450 °C. From the XRD patterns, the Mg 4Ta 2O 9 phase was observed in (1 − x)Mg 4Ta 2O 9– xTiO 2 ceramics as a main phase. Meanwhile, the MgTi 2O 5 phase appeared by increasing the amount of TiO 2. It was found that MgTi 2O 5 and TiO 2 phases have influence on the microwave dielectric properties of the (1 − x)Mg 4Ta 2O 9– xTiO 2 ceramics. The temperature coefficient of resonant frequency ( τ f) was significantly improved by adding the TiO 2 with x = 0.5. However, the Q × f r value decreased from 116,800 GHz of the pure Mg 4Ta 2O 9 ceramics to 102,100 GHz of the TiO 2 added one with x = 0.5. The dielectric constant, Q × f r value and τ f of (1 − x)Mg 4Ta 2O 9– xTiO 2 ceramics sintered at 1450 °C for 10 h were 11.56–22.5, 24,980–186,410 GHz and −49.82 to +19.72 ppm/°C, respectively, depending on the value of x. Advanced Design System (ADS) as an electro-magnetic simulation tool was used for simulation and design for DR and DRO. The estimated EM characteristics of DR with 0.5Mg 4Ta 2O 9–0.5TiO 2 ceramics showed the operating frequency of 11.97 GHz and S 21 of −35.034 dB. The size of manufactured DRO was 56 mm × 48 mm × 34 mm and the operation frequency was 11.93 GHz. The power output and secondary harmonic of the manufactured DRO were +13.61 dBm and −23.81 dBc at 23.85 GHz, respectively.

A short-pulse Ka-band instrumentation radar for foliage attenuation measurements

A portable K(a)-band instrumentation radar for foliage attenuation measurements has been designed. It uses direct dielectric resonator oscillator multiplier pulse modulation giving a half power pulse width of 17 ns. The dual conversion scalar receiver utilizes either a digital storage oscilloscope in envelope detection format or a special gated comparator arrangement providing 1 m resolution and associated led seven segment display for data analysis. The calibrated dynamic range is better than 37 dB with an equivalent noise floor of 0.005 dBsm at 25 m test range distance. First experiments indicate an effective beamwidth close to 1 degree. The total weight is below 5 kg and the unit can be mounted on a conventional photographic tripod. Power is supplied from a 12 V/6 A h sealed lead acid battery giving an operating time in excess of 10 h.

An RF module integrated with a dual‐band DRO oscillating at X‐ and K‐band simultaneously

AbstractIn this article, a high quality vehicle RF module integrated with a temperature stable dual‐band dielectric resonator oscillator (DRO) oscillating at X‐ and K‐band simultaneously is implemented. The DRO shows the first oscillating frequency at 11.545 GHz and the second oscillating frequency at 23.09 GHz using the fundamental TE01 and enhanced TE02 mode of the dielectric resonator (DR), respectively. The used DR is (Zr, Sn)TiO4 ceramic with a dielectric constant (εr) of 36, a quality factor (Q×f) of 60,000 and a temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (τf) of ± 1 ppm/°C. The design procedure is clearly described in this article. The propagation mode behaviors and equivalent circuits of the DRO are used to predict the circuit performances of the RF module. For practical testing, the RF module combining with a horn antenna, the DRO and a surface‐mounted mixer is fabricated and measured. The results are close matched with the circuit simulation. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 2961–2965, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23805

Microwave frequency modulation in continuous-wave far-infrared ESR utilizing a quasi-optical reflection bridge

We report the development of the frequency-modulation (FM) method for measuring electron spin resonance (ESR) absorption in the 210- to 420 GHz frequency range. We demonstrate that using a high-frequency ESR spectrometer without resonating microwave components enables us to overcome technical difficulties associated with the FM method due to nonlinear microwave-elements, without sacrificing spectrometer performance. FM was achieved by modulating the reference oscillator of a 13 GHz Phase-Locked Dielectric Resonator Oscillator, and amplifying and frequency-multiplying the resulting millimeter-wave radiation up to 210, 315 and 420 GHz. ESR spectra were obtained in reflection mode by a lock-in detection at the fundamental modulation frequency, and also at the second and third harmonic. Sensitivity of the setup was verified by conduction electron spin resonance measurement in KC 60.

Ka Band Phase Locked Loop Oscillator Dielectric Resonator Oscillator for Satellite EHF Band Receiver

This paper describes the design and fabrication of a Ka Band PLL DRO having a fundamental oscillation frequency of 19.250 GHz, used as local oscillator in the low-noise block of a down converter (LNB) for an EHF band receiver. Apposite circuital models have been created to describe the behaviour of the dielectric resonator and of the active component used in the oscillator core. The DRO characterization and measurements have shown very good agreement with simulation results. A good phase noise performance is obtained by using a very highQdielectric resonator.

Novel Utilization of the Dielectric Resonator Antenna as an Oscillator Load

For the first time, the idea of using the dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) as an oscillator load, named as DRAO, is presented in this paper. Unlike the conventional dielectric resonator oscillator (DRO), where the DR was merely used as a resonator, the DR here serves as both the radiating and oscillating loads. In addition, a compact tri-function hollow DR that incorporates the packaging function to the above dual function is demonstrated. The design procedures of the dual- and tri-function DRAOs are discussed. For demonstration, the DRAOs are designed at 1.85 GHz, which is used in the popular personal communications system (PCS). The return losses, input impedances, antenna gains, signal spectrums, phase noise, and radiation patterns of the two DRAOs are presented. It is shown that the loaded QL factor of the DRA can be increased by internally embedding a compact metallic cavity to the DR. It is found that with a higher loaded QL factor, the phase noise of the antenna oscillator using the hollow DRA (tri-function DRAO) is better than that using a solid DRA (dual-function DRAO).

Reduced transposed flicker noise in microwave oscillators using GaAs-based feedforward amplifiers

Transposed flicker noise reduction and removal is demonstrated in 7.6 GHz microwave oscillators for offsets greater than 10 kHz. This is achieved by using a GaAs-based feedforward power amplifier as the oscillation-sustaining stage and incorporating a limiter and resonator elsewhere in the loop. 20 dB noise suppression is demonstrated at 12.5 kHz offset when the error correcting amplifier is switched on. Three oscillator pairs have been built. A transmission line feedback oscillator with a Qo of 180 and two sapphire-based, dielectric resonator oscillators (DROs) with a Qo of 44,500. The difference between the two DROs is a change in the limiter threshold power level of 10 dB. The phase noise rolls-off at (1/f)(2) for offsets greater than 10 kHz for the transmission line oscillator and is set by the thermal noise to within 0-1 dB of the theoretical minimum. The noise performance of the DROs is within 6-12 dB of the theory. Possible reasons for this discrepancy are presented.

Push‐push voltage controlled dielectric resonator oscillator using a LTCC technology

AbstractA push–push voltage‐controlled dielectric resonator oscillator (VCDRO) with a modified frequency tuning structure is investigated. The push–push VCDRO designed at 16 GHz is manufactured using a low temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC) technology to reduce the circuit size. The frequency tuning structure is embedded in a layer of A6 substrate by an advantage of LTCC process. Experimental results show that the fundamental frequency suppression is above 30 dBc, and a phase noise of push–push VCDRO presents a good performance of −103 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz offset frequency from carrier. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 1824–1827, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22619

공진기의 결합 특성을 개선한 Push-Push 발진기 설계

This paper introduces a new type push-push harmonic dielectric resonator oscillator. Proposed oscillators are utilized by HDRO(Harmonic Dielectric Resonator Oscillator) which are combined in push-push structure. As a result, fundamental signal suppression ratio and output power of harmonic signal has been improved. The increase of phase noise is compensated by improving coupling characteristic between resonator and parallel microstrip line. The proposed push-push HDRO shows the output power of 9.32 dBm, the fundamental signal suppression of -47.2 dBc and phase noise of -99.86 dBc at 100 kHz offset frequency and 18.7 GHz center frequency.

Wide Tuning Range VCDRO and Low Phase Noise DRO in InGaP/GaAs HBT Technology

A monolithic microwave integrated circuit voltage-controlled dielectric resonator oscillator (MMIC-VCDRO) is demonstrated at Ku-band for a low noise block down-converter (LNB) system in InGaP/GaAs HBT process with on-chip varactors. The fabricated VCDRO achieves high output power of 6.45 to 5.31 dBm with frequency tuning range of 165 MHz and also achieves low phase noise of under -95 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz offset and -115 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset. Also InGaP/GaAs HBT monolithic DRO with the same topology of the proposed VCDRO is fabricated which exhibits the output power of 1.33 dBm, and extremely low phase noise of -109 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz and -131 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset at the 10.75 GHz oscillation frequency.

Broad tuning ultra low phase noise dielectric resonator oscillators using SiGe amplifier and ceramic-based resonators

This paper describes the design of very low noise, tunable, X-band dielectric resonator oscillators (DROs) demonstrating phase-noise performance of -135 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz offset. SiGe transistors are used for the oscillator sustaining amplifiers that offer a circulating power of 12 dBm and a gain of 5.4 dB per stage as well as a low flicker noise corner of 40 kHz. A variety of resonator configurations utilising BaTiO 3 resonators are presented demonstrating unloaded Qs from 10 000 to 22 000. These resonators are optimised and coupled to the amplifiers for minimum phase noise where Q L /Q 0 = 1/2, and hence S 21 = -6 dB. To incorporate tuning with low additional phase noise, a phase shifter is also investigated. The theory for the low noise oscillator design is included; experimental results demonstrate close correlation with the theory.

A Monolithic Differential Coupling Mechanism for Dielectric Resonators Excitation in Conductive Silicon Substrates

This letter describes the design and performance characteristics of a new monolithic K <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">a</sub> -band differential printed dipole launcher that is used to excite a dielectric resonator (DR) in the presence of a conducting silicon substrate. The configuration was fabricated using the IBM SiGeHP5 process and was experimentally tested. Good agreement is obtained between the simulations and experimental results for the TE <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">01delta</sub> mode of cylindrical DRs. The developed excitation mechanism can be used with fully integrated differential DR oscillators or on-chip DR antennas implemented using silicon-based technology

위상고정루프를 이용한 낮은 위상 잡음 특성을 갖는 발진기 설계 및 제작

본 논문에서는 부성저항 특성을 갖는 발진기 이론을 적용하여 직렬 궤환형 유전체 공진 발진기를 구성하고 바랙터 다이오드를 삽입하여 전압 제어 유전체 공진 발진기를 제작한 후, 샘플링 위상 비교기와 루프 필터를 결합한 PLL 방식을 도입하여 고안정 주파수 발생기인 위상고정 유전체 공진형 발진기를 설계 및 제작하였다. 설계 제작한 PLDRO는 주파수 12.05 GHz에서 13.54 dBm의 출력 전력을 얻었으며, 이때의 주파수 가변 동조 범위는 중심 주파수에서 약 <TEX>${\pm}7.6 MHz$</TEX> 이며, 전력 평탄도는 0.2 dBm으로서 매우 우수한 선형 특성 결과를 얻었다. 또한 데이터 전송시 오율특성에 상당한 영향을 미치는 위상 잡음은 반송파로부터 100 kHz 떨어진 offset 지점에서 -114.5 dBc/Hz을 얻었다. 고조파 억압 특성은 2 차 고조파에서 -41.49 dBc 이하의 특성을 나타내었다. 이러한 특성은 위상고정을 하기 전의 전압 제어 발진기보다 더욱 향상된 특성을 보였으며, 종전의 PLDRO보다 위상 잡음과 전력 평탄도면을 개선시킬 수가 있었다. In this paper, we designed VCO(voltage controlled oscillator} that is composed of a dielectric resonator and a varactor diode, and the PLDRO(phase locked dielectric resonator oscillator) that is combined with the sampling phase detector and loop filter. The results at 12.05 GHz show the output power is 13.54 dBm frequency tuning range approximately +/- 7.5 MHz, and power variation over the tuning range less than 0.2 dB, respectively. The phase noise which effects on bits error rate in digital communication is obtained with -114.5 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz offset from carrier, and The second harmonic suppression is less than -41.49 dBc. These measured results are found to be more improved than those of VCO without adopting PLL, and the phase noise and power variation performance characteristics show the better performances than those of conventional PLL.

On the conception and analysis of a 12-GHz push-push phase-locked DRO

This paper describes the design and behavior of a 12-GHz push-push dielectric resonator oscillator in a phase-locked environment. This phase-locked dielectric resonator oscillator (PLDRO) differs from conventional designs on many fronts. First, it uses a push-push oscillator for its improved phase noise and reduced fundamental frequency. Second, the phase detection is implemented at a 3-GHz IF as an alternative to detecting at RF using a sampling phase detector (PD). Finally, the push-push PLDRO is tuned via coupled microstrip lines to minimize oscillator loading. These modifications are intended to minimize the risk of PLDRO lock failures by maintaining a constant PD gain via amplifiers operating at P1dB, and by halving the DRO fundamental frequency using the push-push approach. Experimental results indicate a fundamental suppression of 27 dBc, and single-sideband phase noise densities of -105, -110, and -125 dBc/Hz at 10-kHz, 100-kHz, and 1-MHz offsets, respectively, from a 12-GHz carrier