
Data Sheet
ADF4351
Rev. 0 | Page 23 of 28
FAST LOCK LOOP FILTER TOPOLOGY
To use fast lock mode, the damping resistor in the loop filter is
reduced to one-fourth its value while in wide bandwidth mode.
To achieve the wider loop filter bandwidth, the charge pump
current increases by a factor of 16; to maintain loop stability,
the damping resistor must be reduced by a factor of one-fourth.
To enable fast lock, the SW pin is shorted to the AGND pin by
setting Bits[DB16:DB15] in Register 3 to 01. The following two
topologies are available:
The damping resistor (R1) is divided into two values
An extra resistor (R1A) is connected directly from SW, as
that the parallel combination of the extra resistor and the
damping resistor (R1) is reduced to one-fourth the original
ADF4351
CPOUT
SW
C1
C2
R2
R1
R1A
C3
VCO
098
00-
0
18
Figure 31. Fast Lock Loop Filter Topology 1
ADF4351
CPOUT
SW
C1
C2
R2
R1
R1A
C3
VCO
098
00-
0
19
Figure 32. Fast Lock Loop Filter Topology 2
SPUR MECHANISMS
This section describes the three different spur mechanisms that
arise with a fractional-N synthesizer and how to minimize them
Fractional Spurs
Σ-Δ modulator with a modulus (MOD) that is programmable
to any integer value from 2 to 4095. In low spur mode (dither
on), the minimum allowable value of MOD is 50. The Σ-Δ
modulator is clocked at the PFD reference rate (fPFD), which
allows PLL output frequencies to be synthesized at a channel
step resolution of fPFD/MOD.
In low noise mode (dither off), the quantization noise from the
Σ-Δ modulator appears as fractional spurs. The interval between
spurs is fPFD/L, where L is the repeat length of the code sequence
in the digital Σ-Δ modulator. For the third-order Σ-Δ modulator
used in th
e ADF4351, the repeat length depends on the value of
Table 7. Fractional Spurs with Dither Off (Low Noise Mode)
MOD Value (Dither Off)
Repeat
Length
Spur Interval
MOD is divisible by 2, but not by 3
2 × MOD
Channel step/2
MOD is divisible by 3, but not by 2
3 × MOD
Channel step/3
MOD is divisible by 6
6 × MOD
Channel step/6
MOD is not divisible by 2, 3, or 6
MOD
Channel step
In low spur mode (dither on), the repeat length is extended
to 221 cycles, regardless of the value of MOD, which makes the
quantization error spectrum look like broadband noise. This
may degrade the in-band phase noise at the PLL output by as
much as 10 dB. For lowest noise, dither off is a better choice,
particularly when the final loop bandwidth is low enough to
attenuate even the lowest frequency fractional spur.
Integer Boundary Spurs
Another mechanism for fractional spur creation is the inter-
actions between the RF VCO frequency and the reference
frequency. When these frequencies are not integer related (the
purpose of a fractional-N synthesizer), spur sidebands appear
on the VCO output spectrum at an offset frequency that corre-
sponds to the beat note, or difference frequency, between an
integer multiple of the reference and the VCO frequency. These
spurs are attenuated by the loop filter and are more noticeable
on channels close to integer multiples of the reference, where
the difference frequency can be inside the loop bandwidth (thus
the name integer boundary spurs).
Reference Spurs
Reference spurs are generally not a problem in fractional-N
synthesizers because the reference offset is far outside the loop
bandwidth. However, any reference feedthrough mechanism
that bypasses the loop may cause a problem. Feedthrough of
low levels of on-chip reference switching noise, coupling to the
VCO, can result in reference spur levels as high as 80 dBc. The
PCB layout must ensure adequate isolation between VCO circuitry
and the input reference to avoid a possible feedthrough path on
the board.