An InGaP/GaAs HBT Monolithic VCDRO with Wide Tuning Range and Low Phase Noise

The InGaP/GaAs hetero-junction bipolar transistor(HBT) monolithic voltage-controlled dielectric resonator oscillator(VCDRO) is first demonstrated for a Ku-band low noise block down-converter(LNB) system. The on-chip voltage control oscillator core employing base-collector(B-C) junction diodes is proposed for simpler frequency tuning and easy fabrication instead of the general off-chip varactor diodes. The fabricated VCDRO achieves a high output power of 6.45 to 5.31 dBm and a wide frequency tuning range of ]65 MHz( 1.53 $\%$) with a low phase noise of below -95dBc/Hz at 100 kHz offset and -115 dBc/Hz at ] MHz offset. A]so, the InGaP/GaAs HBT monolithic DRO with the same topology as the proposed VCDRO is fabricated to verify that the intrinsic low l/f noise of the HBT and the high Q of the DR contribute to the low phase noise performance. The fabricated DRO exhibits an output power of 1.33 dBm, and an extremely low phase noise of -109 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz and -131 dBc/Hz at ] MHz offset from the 10.75 GHz oscillation frequency.