• Transactions on Semiconductor Engineering
• /
• v.2 no.3
• /
• pp.1-5
• /
• 2024

This paper presents a crystal-less reference clock recovery (CR) frequency synthesizer with compensation designed for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Smart-tag applications, operating at frequencies of 32, 72, and 80MHz. In contrast to conventional frequency synthesizers, the proposed design eliminates the need for external components. Using a single-ended antenna to receive a minimal input power of -36dBm at a 2.4GHz signal, the CR synthesizes frequencies by processing the RF signal received through a Low Noise Amplifier ( L N A ) . This approach allows the system to generate a reference clock without relying on a crystal. The received signal is amplified by the LNA and then input to a 16-bit ACC (Automatic Clock Compensation) circuit. The ACC compares the frequency of the received signal with the oscillator output signal, using the synthesis of a 32MHz reference clock through a frequency compensation method. The oscillator is constructed using a Ring Oscillator (RO) with a Frequency Divider, offering three different frequencies (32/72/80MHz) for various system components. The proposed frequency synthesizer is implemented using a 55-nm CMOS process.