High Performance Fractional-N RF Frequency Synthesizer PLL in TSMC 16 for 5G, WiFi, etc

Overview

Perceptia’s DeepSub™ pPLL08F is an high performance RF frequency synthesizer PLL featuring industry leading jitter (sub 200fs), phase noise and compact area suitable for RF applications, including 5G and WiFi at frequencies up to 8GHz. It is suitable for use as an LO and/or clocking ADCs/DACs with demanding SNR requirements.

pPLL08 uses a LC tank DCO to achieve the performance demands of critical RF systems. It is still low power (< 3 mW) and is extremely compact (< 0.05 sq mm). The all digital architecture minimises interference from other circuits on the same die, making it capable of supporting SNDR better than 60dB.

pPLL08 integrates easily into any SoC design and includes all the views and models required by back end flows.

The pPLL08F is built using Perceptia’s second generation all digital PLL technology. This robust technology delivers identical performance across many processes, regardless of PVT conditions. It consumes a fraction of the area of an analog PLL whilst maintaining comparable performance.

pPLL08F can be used as an integer-N PLL or as a fractional-N PLL. The fractional-N mode provides a high flexibility to choose the best combination of input and output clock frequencies at the system level.

Perceptia further provides integration support and offers customization and migration services.

Key Features

Ultra-low jitter, less than 300fs RMS integrated between 12kHz to 20MHz.
Suitable for many RF applications, including LO, clocks for, ADC, DAC, high-speed PHY
Small die area (< 0.05 sq mm), using a LC tank oscillator
Output frequency can be from 1 to 2047 times the input reference, up to 8GHz
Reference clock from 5MHz to 1GHz
Second-generation digital PLL architecture, providing integer and 24 bit fractional multiplication
Two PLL outputs via separate postscalers

Post-scalers programmable from 1 to 2,040

Lock-detect output
PLL output duty cycle better than 49 / 51%
Highly testable using industry standard flows

ATPG vectors provided
Specification of functional tests to supplement ATPG testing

Benefits

Fractional Multiplication with frequencies up to 8GHz
Extremely low jitter (< 200fs RMS)
Small size (< 0.05 sq mm)
Low Power (< 3 mW)
Support for many wireless standards including 5G and WiFi
Easy integration

Applications

RF LO
Clock for RF ADC/DAC
5G and LTE radio (3GPP)
WiFi Radio (802.11ax)
SerDes
Optical transceiver

Deliverables

Datasheet
Detailed Verilog behavioral model
Timing models
LEF5.6 abstract for floor planning/chip assembly
Integration Guide
DFT Guide
Integration support
Characterization report
GDSII layout macrocell
CDL netlist for LVS
DRC, LVS and SI verification reports
Netlist model with accompanying documentation – allowing integration of the module in scan chains

Technical Specifications

Foundry, Node

TSMC 16. Portable to all CMOS processes 40nm and smaller.

Maturity

In development

Availability

Q3 2023

TSMC

Pre-Silicon: 16nm

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