This paper proposes a mm-wave quadrature frequency generator using injection-locked harmonic extractors (HEs) incorporated with quadrature class-F oscillators. While maintaining high output levels at 28 GHz, the utilization of injection locking technique improves the effective quality ($Q$)-factor and helps to achieve a fundamental harmonic suppression of 60 dB. This results in an FoM of the entire frequency generation system reaching -184 dB. The consideration of quadrature phase mismatch induced by electromagnetic coupling between quadrature buffers is also discussed.

This paper presents a millimeter-wave (mmW) frequency generation stage aimed at minimizing phase noise (PN) via waveform shaping and harmonic extraction while suppressing flicker noise upconversion via proper harmonic terminations. A 2nd-harmonic resonance is assisted by a proposed embedded decoupling capacitor inside a transformer for explicit common-mode current return path. Class-F operation with 3rd-harmonic boosting and extraction techniques allow maintaining high quality factor of a 10-GHz tank at the 30-GHz frequency generation. We further propose a comprehensive quantitative analysis method of flicker noise upconversion mechanism exploiting latest insights into the flicker noise mechanisms in nanoscale short-channel transistors, and it is numerically verified against foundry models. The proposed 27.3- to 31.2-GHz oscillator is implemented in TSMC 28-nm CMOS. It achieves PN of -106 dBc/Hz at 1-MHz offset and figure-of-merit (FoM) of -184 dBc/Hz at 27.3 GHz. Its flicker phase-noise (1/f³) corner of 120 kHz is an order-of-magnitude better than currently achievable at mmW.

This paper presents a mmW frequency generation stage aimed at minimizing phase noise via waveform shaping and harmonic extraction while suppressing flicker noise upconversion via proper harmonic terminations. A second-harmonic tank resonance is assisted by a proposed embedded decoupling capacitor inside a transformer for shortest and well controlled common-mode current return path. Class-F operation with third-harmonic boosting and extraction techniques allow maintaining high quality factor of a 10 GHz tank at the 30 GHz frequency generation while providing implicit divide-by-3 functionality. The proposed 27.3-31.2 GHz oscillator is implemented in 28-nm CMOS. It achieves phase noise of-106 dBc/Hz at 1-MHz offset and figure-of-merit (FoM) of -184 dB at 27.3GHz. Its flicker phase-noise (1/f³) corner of 120 kHz is an order-of-magnitude better than currently achievable at mmW.