Abstract
A design of a binary frequency-shift-keying (BFSK) transmitter for a low area overhead is presented in this thesis. The transmitter is applied to the Hypothesis, Odyssey, and Yield (HOY) wireless test system and operates in the 2.4-GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band. To reduce the area overhead, a stacked-LC tank structure is proposed for the digitally-controlled oscillator (DCO). The effects of inductor stacking are modeled and discussed. Compensation is required to account for Q degradation and the oscillation frequency shift. The frequency step is also estimated based on the modified capacitance step and additional inductance step. The stacked inductor also acts as an on-chip antenna using multipath transmission to enhance the emission efficiency. The proposed switch-Q varactor, along with an open-loop modulation architecture, is adopted in order to increase the data rate. The transmitter design is verified through chip fabrication based on a 0.18-μm CMOS process. An area of only 0.1 mm2 and a data rate as high as 10 Mb/s are achieved, which outperforms other FSK transmitters. Integration with the HOY system is also demonstrated.