Hybrid phase-locked loop with fast locking time and low spur in a 0.18-μm CMOS process

We propose a novel hybrid phase-locked loop (PLL) architecture for overcoming the trade-off between fast locking time and low spur. To reduce the settling time and meanwhile suppress the reference spurs, we employ a wide-band single-path PLL and a narrow-band dual-path PLL in a transient state and a steady state, respectively, by changing the loop bandwidth according to the gain of voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) and the resister of the loop filter. The hybrid PLL is implemented in a 0.18-μm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process with a total die area of 1.4× 0.46 mm². The measured results exhibit a reference spur level of lower than -73 dB with a reference frequency of 10 MHz and a settling time of 20 μs with 40 MHz frequency jump at 2 GHz. The total power consumption of the hybrid PLL is less than 27 mW with a supply voltage of 1.8 V.