Phase-coherent frequency divider with high speed-gain/power figure-of-merit.

A phase-coherent transformer (PCT) enabled 22 GHz dynamic frequency divider in 0.18 µm CMOS with 16 dB power gain, 7 dB phase noise reduction and superb speed-gain/power FOM of 2×102/pJ is demonstrated. The on-chip PCT enforces energy reverberation between the sensing/latching stages and enhances the frequency divider efficiency by eliminating the ‘slave’ stage and the buffer amplifiers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]