Investigation on Locking and Pulling Modes in Analog Frequency Dividers

We compare the main analytical results available to estimate the locking range, which is the key figure-of-merit of LC frequency dividers based on the injection locking phenomenon. Starting from the classical result by Adler concerning injection-locked oscillators, we elucidate the merits and the sh...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Antonio Buonomo, Alessandro Lo Schiavo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2013-01-01
Series:Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/246742
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We compare the main analytical results available to estimate the locking range, which is the key figure-of-merit of LC frequency dividers based on the injection locking phenomenon. Starting from the classical result by Adler concerning injection-locked oscillators, we elucidate the merits and the shortcomings of the different approaches to study injection-locked frequency dividers, with particular emphasis on divider-by-2. In particular, we show the potential of a perturbation approach which enables a more complete analysis of frequency dividers, making it possible to calculate not only the amplitude and the phase of the locked oscillation, but also the region where it exists and is stable, which defines the locking region. Finally, we analyze the dynamical behaviour of the dividers in the vicinity of the boundary of the locking region, showing that there exists a border region where the occurrence of the locking or the pulling operation mode is possible, depending on the initial conditions of the system.
ISSN:2090-0147
2090-0155