Novel Phase Noise Reduction Method for CPW-Based Microwave Oscillator Circuit Utilizing a Compact Planar Helical Resonator

This letter describes a compact printed helical resonator and its application to a microwave oscillator circuit implemented in coplanar waveguide (CPW) technology. The high quality (Q)-factor and spurious-free characteristic of the resonator contribute to the phase noise reduction and the harmonic suppression of the resulting oscillator circuit, respectively. The designed resonator showed a loaded Q-factor of 180 in a chip area of only 40% of the corresponding miniaturized hairpin resonator without any spurious resonances. The fully planar oscillator incorporated with this resonator showed an additional phase noise reduction of 10.5 dB at a 1 MHz offset and a second harmonic suppression enhancement of 6 dB when compared to those of a conventional CPW oscillator without the planar helical resonator structure.