SNAS739E June 2018 – December 2025 LMX2615-SP
PRODUCTION DATA
To reduce the VCO tuning gain and therefore improve the VCO phase-noise performance, the VCO frequency range is divided into several different frequency bands. The entire range, 7600MHz to 15200MHz, covers an octave that allows the divider to take care of frequencies below the lower bound. This creates the need for frequency calibration to determine the correct frequency band given a desired output frequency. The frequency calibration routine is activated any time that the R0 register is programmed with the FCAL_EN = 1. A valid OSCin signal must present before VCO calibration begins.
The VCO also has an internal amplitude calibration algorithm to optimize the phase noise which is also activated any time the R0 register is programmed.
The optimum internal settings for this are temperature dependent. If the temperature is allowed to drift too much without being re-calibrated, some minor phase noise degradation can result. The maximum allowable drift for continuous lock, ΔTCL, is stated in the electrical specifications. For this device, a number of 125°C means the device never loses lock if the device is operated under recommended operating conditions.
The LMX2615-SP allows the user to assist the VCO calibration. In general, there are three kinds of assistance, as shown in Table 6-4:
| ASSISTANCE LEVEL | DESCRIPTION | VCO_SEL | VCO_SEL_FORCE VCO_CAPCTRL_FORCE VCO_DACISET_FORCE | VCO_CAPCTRL VCO_DACISET |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No assist | User does nothing to improve VCO calibration speed. | 7 | 0 | Don't Care |
| Partial assist | Upon every frequency change, before the FCAL_EN bit is checked, the user provides the initial starting VCO_SEL. | Choose by table | 0 | Don't Care |
| Full assist | The user forces the VCO core (VCO_SEL), amplitude settings (VCO_DACISET), and frequency band (VCO_CAPCTRL) and manually sets the value. | Choose by readback | 1 | Choose by readback |
For the no assist method, just set VCO_SEL = 7 and this is done. For partial assist, the VCO calibration time can be improved by changing the VCO_SEL bit according to the target frequency. Note that the frequencies in Table 6-5 is not the exact VCO core range, but actually favors choosing the VCO. This is not only optimal for VCO calibration time, but required for reliable locking. Both method requires programming R0, with FCAL_EN = 1, to complete the VCO calibration.
| fVCO (MHz) | VCO CORE (MIN) |
|---|---|
| 7600 - 8740 | VCO1 |
| 8740 - 10000 | VCO2 |
| 10000 - 10980 | VCO3 |
| 10980 -12100 | VCO4 |
| 12100 - 13080 | VCO5 |
| 13080 - 14180 | VCO6 |
| 14180 - 15200 | VCO7 |
Full assist mode completely skips the VCO calibration process, this method results in the shortest VCO frequency switching time. Operation of this mode requires a one-time VCO calibration to get the VCO parameters (VCO_SEL, VCO_DACISET and VCO_CAPCTRL) for all the frequency of interests. This data is manually applied to the LMX2615-SP device. When the xxx_FORCE bits are set, the device uses this data to setup the VCO. Programming of R0 is not necessary in full assist mode. However, if R0 with FCAL_EN = 1 is programmed, a VCO calibration takes place but the VCO parameters remain as the written values.