High-power low-noise voltage-controlled oscillator

Abstract

A high power, low noise voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) eliminates the drive-stage amplifier and costly surface-acoustic wave (SAW) inter-stage filter in a transmitter such as a cellular radiotelephone. The VCO includes a resonant circuit, an active part connected to the resonant circuit, and a buffer amplifier, connected to the active part, for isolating the VCO from a load connected to the buffer amplifier. The active part includes at least one transistor in a Colpitts configuration; capacitances connected in parallel with junction capacitances of the transistor, each capacitance having a value that is greater than a value of the respective junction capacitance with which it is connected in parallel; and a resistance for providing negative feedback at low frequencies. A second resistance may be provided for reducing the gain of the active part when oscillation starts. The buffer amplifier is a linear amplifier including a transistor, and the active part and the buffer amplifier may be connected by a capacitance for reducing coupling between the active part and the buffer amplifier.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.