Design, analysis, and performance of UHF oscillators using thin-film resonator-based devices as the feedback element

Thin-film bulk-acoustic-wave resonators (TFR) and TFR-based devices are synthesized using monolithic integrated circuit techniques. AlN and ZnO are used for piezoelectric transduction. The design, analysis, and operation of a series of 1-GHz fundamental mode single-line, comb-line, and voltage-controlled oscillators using several topological variations of TFR-based filters as the feedback element are discussed. SPICE linear and nonlinear closed-loop simulations and a perturbational S-parameter measurement technique are used for design and analysis. TFR circuit representations are based on a modified Butterworth-VanDyke model with values extracted from a TOUCHSTONE optimization routine. Phase noise performance ranges from -70 dBc/Hz to -100 dBc/Hz depending on the TFR topology and oscillator function. Although these oscillators were fabricated as hybrid circuits, monolithic realizations combining the TFR and active devices on the same silicon substrate have been demonstrated.