In virtually every RF and microwave system, a frequency synthesizer is required. The frequency synthesizer creates the local oscillator signal that drives mixer, modulators, demodulators, and many other RF and microwave components. One way of creating a synthesizer, often considered the “heartbeat” of the system, is using a Phase Locked Loop (PLL) frequency synthesizer. Traditionally,…
Analyzing, Optimizing, and Eliminating Integer Boundary Spurs in Phase Locked Loops with VCOs
A Phase Locked Loop (PLL) and Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO) outputs an RF signal at a certain frequency, and ideally, this signal would be the only signal present at the output. In reality, there are unwanted spurious signals and phase noise at the output. This article discusses the simulation and elimination of one of the…