A Continuously Tunable LC-VCO PLL with Bandwidth Linearization Techniques for PCI Express Gen2 Applications

Abstract

Abstract-This paper describes bandwidth linearization techniques in phase-locked loop (PLL) design for common-clock serial link applications. Utilizing a continuously tunable single-input dual-path LC VCO and a constant-gain phase detector, a proposed architecture is well suited to implementing PLLs that must be compliant with standards that specify minimum and maximum allowable bandwidths such as PCI Express Gen2 or FB-DIMM applications. A prototype 4.75 to 6.1-GHz PLL is implemented in 90-nm CMOS. Measurement results show that the PLL bandwidth and random jitter (RJ) variations are well regulated and that the use of a differentially controlled dualpath VCO is important for deterministic jitter (DJ) performance.