A frequency multiplier for reference frequency in frequency synthesizer systems

A low jitter frequency multiplier, which requires less power, area, and design complexity than reference multiplying PLL or DLL circuits can be used to generate the reference frequency for a low phase noise frequency synthesizer. This paper proposes a mixed signal solution based on the fact that the average DC value of a signal is proportional to its duty cycle. The solution uses a feedback loop with coarse and fine delay resolution to generate a (90^{circ }) phase shifted clock that is used to produce a doubled frequency signal with 50% duty cycle. This method can be used to multiply the input frequency of 40 MHz by multiples of 2, up to 16. The design is implemented in 65 nm UMC CMOS process. Operating from 1.2-V supply, it dissipates 0.46 to 1.2 mA at output frequencies 80–640 MHz, achieving ? 162.3 and ? 139 dBc/Hz phase noise at 1 MHz offset, respectively.