Design of a Linear LC Digitally Controlled Oscillator Using Topographical Field Maps

The purpose of this thesis was to present a novel perspective on how to design extremely linear digitally controlled oscillators. This was achieved by introducing a new concept known as linearity field maps. The linearity response of the measured DCO had an R^2 value of 0.996. The measured frequency response of the DCO was from 6.66 GHz to 5.45 GHz. The DCO had fine tuning steps of 20.5 kHz resolution and a tuning range of ∼ 20%. The measured FoM was between -175 dBc/Hz and -181 dB/Hz (throughout the entire frequency span of the DCO and for various power levels). The thesis experiment was a success in showing how to design a linear DCO, the DCO in the thesis worked even though the frequency was shifted from simulated results, the point of the thesis was made, and the theorem and perspective introduced in this thesis held true.