Low phase noise operation of microwave oscillator circuits

In this paper, we describe a theoretical basis, leading to new results, on the general conditions to be fulfilled by oscillator circuits to achieve a very low phase noise. Three main conditions must be fulfilled by a transistor oscillator circuit to reach the minimum phase noise. The energy stored in the resonator must be maximum. Its transfer to the controlling voltage port of the transistor current source must be first maximized. A possible conversion noise at the transistor output port will be also minimized by maximizing the energy transferred to that port. The proposed method has been applied to an experimental oscillator set up with a PHEMT transistor. A state-of-the-art phase noise of -80 dBc/Hz at 100 Hz offset from carrier with a 1/f(3) slope has been measured at room temperature with a 9.2 GHz, oscillator. The application of these new results to free-running oscillator circuits with one-stage then multistage transistor amplifiers demonstrate clearly the validity of the design method. The efficiency of this design method and its ease of use represent a real breakthrough in the field of low noise transistor oscillator circuit design.