TECHNICAL FEATURE
MICROWAVE TRANSISTOR
OSCILLATORS: AN ANALYTIC
APPROACH TO SIMPLIFY
COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN
M
icrowave oscillator design generally
represents a complex problem. De-
pending on the technical require-
ments of the oscillator, it is necessary to define
the configuration of the oscillation system and
transistor type, evaluate and measure small-
and large-signal parameters of the transistor
equivalent circuit and use an appropriate non-
linear simulator to calculate the oscillator
electrical and spectral characteristics.
When a transistor is used, representing the
circuit as a two-port network is the most suit-
able approach for computer-aided design of
free-running microwave oscillators. In this
case, the basic parameters of the equivalent
circuit either can be directly measured or ap-
proximated on the basis of experimental data
with sufficient accuracy over a wide frequency
range.1–3 In large-signal operation, it is neces-
sary to define the appropriate parameters of
the active two-port network as well as the pa-
rameters of the oscillator circuit’s external ele-
ments. Initially, the values of the external cir-
cuit elements are unknown. In addition, it is
difficult to directly choose the values for a giv-
en microwave oscillator with a required oscil-
lation frequency without any preliminary cal-
culation. This process can be sufficiently time-
consuming and, in a typical case, calls for
much simulation. Therefore, it is convenient
to use an analytic method of optimizing mi-
crowave oscillator design that incorporates ex-
plicit expressions for feedback elements and
load impedance in terms of the transistor
equivalent circuit elements and its static
characteristics.4
A conventional analytic approach to derive
explicit expressions for the optimum values of
an oscillator circuit first was applied to a bipo-
lar transistor oscillator using an ideal trans-
former for feedback.5 Later, an analytic ap-
proach was used with a GaAs FET oscillator
using a simplified transistor model where the
influence of internal feedback from the gate-
drain capacitance had not been taken into ac-
count.6 Such an approach involves a two-step
procedure. First, the optimum combination of
feedback elements required to realize a small-
signal maximum negative resistance to permit
oscillations at the largest amplitude is defined.
Then, taking into account the large-signal
nonlinearity of the transistor equivalent circuit
elements, the realized small-signal negative
resistance is characterized to determine the
optimum load impedance when maximum
output power is generated for a given oscilla-
tor circuit configuration.
A GENERAL ANALYTIC APPROACH
In general, the purpose of the microwave
bipolar oscillator design procedure is to define
the optimum bias conditions and the values of
feedback elements and load that correspond
to the maximum power at a given frequency in
ANDREY V. GREBENNIKOV
Institute of Microelectronics
Singapore
 TECHNICAL FEATURE
According to the optimization analytic procedure pre-
Cco
sented previously,4 the optimum values of X1 and X2 at
which the negative value of Rout is maximal are deter-
+ Vµ − mined by solving
Lb rb rµ rc Lc ∂Rout ∂Rout
b
= 0 and =0 (3)
+ Cci rce
∂X 1 ∂X 2
rπ
Cπ Cs
Vπ The optimal values of X01, X02 and X0out depend on the im-
− pedance parameters of the active two-port network such
Z1 ZL that
Re gmFVπ − gmRVµ, τ
R 21 – R12  R12 + R 21  X + X 21
X 01 =  – R11 – R1  – X 11 + 12
X 21 – X 12  2  2
Le
e
X 02 =
(2R 2 + R12 + R 21 )(R 21 – R12 ) – X 12 + X 21
Z2 Zout
2( X 21 – X 12 ) 2

▲ Fig. 1 The series-feedback bipolar transistor oscillator’s

X 0out = X 02 + X 22 –
X 21 – X 12
(
R 21 – R12 0
Rout – R 2 – R 22 ) (4)
equivalent circuit.
Fig. 2 The series-feedback oscillator with a simplified SMALL-SIGNAL OSCILLATOR CIRCUIT DESIGN
transistor equivalent circuit. ▼
Figure 2 shows another, simplified version of the bipo-
lar transistor’s equivalent circuit where Cc = Cco + Cci, rb1
Lb rb1 Cc rc Lc = rbCci/Cc and rb2 = rbCco/Cc. This equivalent bipolar
b
transistor circuit is possible because the condition rb <<
rb2
c
(Cci + Cco)/ωCciCco exists over the entire frequency range
gmVπ
up to the maximum oscillation frequency f max. In this
Vπ Cπ case, it is advisable to ignore the effect of base-width
modulation (the so-called Early effect) so that resistance
Z1 ZL rce can be regarded as infinite. The parasitic lead induc-
re
tances and substrate capacitance can be taken into ac-
Le
count in the external feedback circuit. The condition rbe
>> 1/ωCe simplifies the analytic and numerical calcula-
e tions substantially without a significant decrease in the fi-
Z2 Zout nal result’s accuracy at RF and microwave frequencies.
As a result, the internal bipolar transistor in a common-
emitter small-signal operation is characterized by the real
and imaginary parts of its Z parameters as
steady-state, large-signal operation. Figure 1 shows a
generalized two-port circuit for transistor oscillators used R11 = R12
mostly at RF and microwave frequencies where Zi = Ri +
jXi, i = 1, 2 and ZL = RL + jXL. The equivalent SPICE-   ω  
2
1
Gummel/Poon model of the bipolar transistor, accurately = a + rb 2   
 gm  ωT  
simulating both its DC and high frequency behavior up to  
the transition frequency fT = gm/2πCe, is also shown.7
The steady-state oscillation condition for a single oscil- R 21 = R 22
lation frequency is expressed as a
= R11 +
Zout(I, ω) + ZL(ω) = 0 (1) ω TCc

where Zout(I, ω) = Rout(I, ω) + jXout(I, ω) is the equivalent X 11 = X 12

one-port network output impedance looking into the col- ω  1 
lector of the transistor as a series-tuned circuit, and ZL(ω) = –a  – rb 2 
= RL(ω) + jXL(ω) is the frequency-dependent load impe- ω T  gm 
dance. To optimize the oscillator circuit in terms of the
maximum value of negative real output impedance of a
one-port network, the expression for output impedance a
X 21 = X 11 +
Zout is written as ωC c

Zout = Z 22 + Z 2 –
(Z12 + Z 2 )(Z 21 + Z 2 ) X 22 = X 11 –
a  ω 
2

(2)   (5)
Z11 + Z 2 + Z1 ωC c  ω T 
 TECHNICAL FEATURE
I1 LARGE-SIGNAL
SIMULATION
V1
OSCILLATOR
One of the most 20 nH 8 pF
Yload P1
CIRCUIT popular approaches 35 Ω 50 nH
to nonlinear free-
Yosc Y1 running oscillator FREQ
analysis is to use the SINGLE TONE
▲ Fig. 3 The principle of nonlinear
harmonic balance +
0.8 pF 1.2 nH
+
circuit simulation. nHarm: 5
− BIAS BIAS −
equations devel- Freq: ?3.5GHz 4.5GHz?
oped for the circuit V = −2 V=9
TABLE I and consider the os-
TRANSISTOR EQUIVALENT cillation frequency
CIRCUIT PARAMETERS as an additional op-
Cco (pF) 0.35
timization variable.1 ▲ Fig. 4 The simulated series-feedback bipolar transistor oscillator
equivalent circuit.
Such an algorithm is
Cci (Vµ = 0) (pF) 0.34 used in the new ver- Fig. 5 The simulated starting
Cπ (Vπ = 0) (pF) 2 sion of Microwave Harmonica as a oscillation conditions. ▼
part of the Serenade 7.5 circuit sim- 20
Le (nH) 0.3
ulator.8 The basic idea in this method
Lb (nH) 0.3 can be explained starting from the os- 0
cillation conditions when an oscillator

Y1 (mA)
Lc (nH) 0.5 −20
circuit is considered as a one-port cir-
re (Ω) 0.3 −40
cuit. To determine the resonant fre-
rb (Ω) 4 quency, the program computes the −60
rc (Ω) 1.75 circuit loop gain by imposing a small
test voltage source on the circuit, as −80
τ (ps) 10 shown in Figure 3. The fundamental
3.4 3.6 3.8 4.0 4.2 4.4 4.6
FREQUENCY (GHz)
source current I1 = Re(I1) + jIm(I1) is
where a function of zero phase peak voltage

FREQUENCY (GHz)
V1 and frequency f. If f is the circuit
1 4.05 25
=

Pout (dBm)
a self-resonant frequency, then the 4.00 20
2
 ω  phase of the current I1 is zero and 3.95 15
1+  Im(I1) = 0 for a nonzero Re(I1). For a 3.90 10
 ωT  nonzero voltage V 1 and a small 3.85 5
ω T = 2πf T Im(I 1), the steady-state oscillation 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
conditions are present for Re(I1) = 0 Re (Ω)
Substituting the expressions for real when the circuit feedback loop gain is
and imaginary parts of the Z parame- equal to unity. Starting oscillation ▲ Fig. 6 Output power and oscillation
ters from Equation 5 into Equation 4, frequency vs. emitter bias resistance.
conditions are found at Re(I 1) < 0
the optimum values of imaginary and Im(I1) = 0.
parts of the feedback elements X10, X20 To verify the accuracy of the ana- ▼ Fig. 7 Output power vs. load resistance.
and X0out expressed through the para- lytic approach used to determine the
22
meters of the bipolar transistor equiv- oscillator external feedback parame-
Pout (dBm)

21
alent circuit are given by ters, a medium power microwave
20
bipolar transistor was chosen. To de-
1 ω termine the value of output resis- 19
X 01 = – r b1 0 18
2ωC c ωT tance R out for the chosen value of
17
load resistance RL, the amplitude bal-
ω 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
X 02 = –
1
2ωC c
( )
– rb 2 + re
ωT
ance equation R out + rc + RL = 0 must
0
be used. For the preliminary chosen
RL (Ω)

1 ω oscillation frequency f = 4 GHz, the cillation conditions were determined

X 0out = – – Roout
2ωC c ωT
Thus, it follows from Equation 6 that
the oscillations in the optimal mi-
crowave oscillator arise as a result of
the capacitive reactance in the emit-
ter circuit (X20 < 0), inductive reac-
tance in the base circuit (X10 > 0), and
inductive (XL > 0) or capacitive (XL <
0) reactance in the collector circuit
depending on the value of R0out.
(6) optimal oscillator feedback parame-
ters according to the theoretical pre-
dictions given by Equation 6 must be
L = 1.2 nH and C = 0.8 pF, respec-
tively. The transistor equivalent cir-
cuit parameters are listed in Table 1.
A nonlinear circuit simulation was
performed for the microwave bipolar
transistor series feedback circuit os-
cillator; the equivalent circuit is
shown in Figure 4. The starting os-
by sweeping the frequency f of the
external test source from 3.5 to 4.5
GHz. The curves satisfy starting oscil-
lation conditions under linear small-
signal operation where Re(I 1 )
< 0 and Im(I1) = 0 at 4.24 GHz, as
shown in Figure 5.
Large-signal oscillation conditions
with various values of emitter bias resis-
tor Re, load RL and feedback elements
L and C are shown in Figures 6, 7

25
Pout (dBm)
20
15
10
5
0.7 1.0 1.3
1.20 0.80
▲ Fig. 8 Output power vs. circuit
feedback elements.
and 8, respectively. Despite some suffi-
ciently serious preliminary simplifica-
tion, the experimental results indicate
good accuracy of the predicted oscilla-
tion frequency by means of an analytic
calculation of the feedback parameters
(taking into account the standard load-
ing conditions with RL = 50 Ω). The ex-
act value of the steady-state oscillation
frequency f = 4 GHz is realized at Re =
28 Ω when the output power Pout is
close to the maximum value. Further-
more, the output power Pout = 21.5
dBm is very close to the maximum val-
ue 21.9 dBm at optimal load RL0 = 45 Ω
where complete phase compensation is
realized.
To verify the validity of the chosen
feedback parameters L = 1.2 nH and
C = 0.8 pF, some circuit simulations
with other sets of feedback parame-
ters that satisfy the oscillation condi-
tions at the resonant frequency f = 4
GHz have been performed. From the
results, it follows that a deviation of
the feedback parameters from the
optimal set leads first to a deteriora-
TECHNICAL FEATURE
tion of the phase conditions and then
to oscillation failure. (The broken
lines in the Pout vs. L and C plot de-
fine the borders of the oscillation re-
gion.) The constant bias collector cur-
rent did not exceed 32 mA during the
simulation procedure.
1.6 1.9 2.2
L (nH)
CONCLUSION
0.60 0.50 0.45 A simple analytic method of mi-
C (pF) crowave bipolar transistor oscillator
design has been developed that de-
fines explicit expressions for optimum
values of feedback elements through
the bipolar transistor Z parameters. A
negative resistance concept is utilized
to design a series-feedback mi-
crowave bipolar transistor oscillator
with optimized feedback elements
and maximum output power in terms
of the transistor impedance parame-
ters. Such an approach significantly
simplifies the nonlinear circuit simu-
lation procedure. Final simulation re-
sults indicate the attractiveness and
advisability of the circuit parameter
analytic evaluation used for nonlinear
computer-aided design. ■
References
1. C.R. Chang, M.B. Steer, S. Martin and E.
Reese, “Computer-aided Analysis of Free-
running Microwave Oscillators,” IEEE
Transactions on Microwave Theory and
Techniques, Vol. 39, October 1991,
pp. 1735–1745.
2. R.J. Trew, “MESFET Models for Mi-
crowave Computer-aided Design,” Mi-
crowave Journal, Vol. 33, No. 5, May 1990,
pp. 115–128.
3. D.A. Warren, J.M. Golio and W.L. Seely,
“Large- and Small-signal Oscillator Analy-
sis,” Microwave Journal, Vol. 32, No. 5,
May 1989, pp. 229–246.
4. A.V. Grebennikov and V.V. Nikiforov, “An
Analytic Method of Microwave Transistor
Oscillator Design,” International Journal
of Electronics, Vol. 83, December 1997,
pp. 849–858.
5. D.F. Page, “A Design Basis for Junction
Transistor Oscillator Circuits,” Proceedings
of IRE, Vol. 46, November 1958, pp.
1271–1280.
6. M. Madihian and T. Noguchi, “An Analyti-
cal Approach to Microwave GaAs FET Os-
cillator Design,” NEC Research and Devel-
opment, No. 82, July 1986, pp. 49–56.
7. P. Antognetti and G. Massobrio, Semicon-
ductor Device Modeling with SPICE, Mc-
Graw-Hill, New York, NY, 1993.
8. Serenade 7.5, Reference Volume, Ansoft
Corp., New Jersey, 1998.
Andrey V.
Grebennikov received
his Dipl Ing degree
from the Moscow
Institute of Technology
and his PhD degree
from the Moscow
Technical University of
Communication and
Informatics in 1980
and 1991, respectively.
He joined the scientific research department of
the Moscow Technical University of
Communication and Informatics as a research
assistant in 1983. Since October 1998,
Grebennikov has been with the Institute of
Microelectronics, Singapore. His research
interests include the design and development of
power FM broadcasting and VHF-UHF
television transmitters; hybrid ICs of narrow-
and wideband RF and microwave low and high
power high efficiency and linearity amplifiers;
and single-frequency and voltage-controlled
oscillators using bipolar and FET devices.