Experimental comparison of phase‐noise in cross‐coupled RC‐ and LC‐oscillators

Relaxation RC‐oscillators are notorious for their poor phase‐noise performance. However, there are reasons to expect a phase‐noise reduction in quadrature oscillators obtained by cross‐coupling two relaxation oscillators. We present measurements on 5 GHz oscillators, which show that in RC‐oscillators the coupling reduces both the phase‐noise and quadrature error, whereas in LC‐oscillators the coupling reduces the quadrature error, but increases the phase‐noise. A comparison using standard figures of merit indicates that quadrature RC‐oscillators may be a viable alternative to LC‐oscillators when area and cost are to be minimized. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A numerical model for the oscillation frequency,the amplitude and the phase‐noise of MOS‐current‐mode‐logic ring oscillators

This paper presents a new model for the frequency of oscillation, the oscillation amplitude and the phase‐noise of ring oscillators consisting of MOS‐current‐mode‐logic delay cells. The numerical model has been validated through circuit simulations of oscillators designed with a typical 130 nm CMOS technology. A design flow based on the proposed model and on circuit simulations is presented and applied to cells with active loads. The choice of the cell parameters that minimize phase‐noise and power consumption is addressed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A study of amplitude‐to‐phase noise conversion in planar oscillators

This paper explores the many interesting implications for oscillator design, with optimized phase‐noise performance, deriving from a newly proposed model based on the concept of oscillator conjugacy. For the case of 2‐D (planar) oscillators, the model prominently predicts that only circuits producing a perfectly symmetric steady‐state can have zero amplitude‐to‐phase (AM‐PM) noise conversion, a so‐called zero‐state. Simulations on standard industry oscillator circuits verify all model predictions and, however, also show that these circuit classes cannot attain zero‐states except in special limit‐cases which are not practically relevant. Guided by the newly acquired design rules, we describe the synthesis of a novel 2‐D reduced‐order LC oscillator circuit which achieves several zero‐states while operating at realistic output power levels. The potential future application of this developed theoretical framework for implementation of numerical algorithms aimed at optimizing oscillator phase‐noise performance is briefly discussed.     

Design and implementation of switched coil LC‐VCOs in the GHz range using the self‐inductance technique

This paper presents the design and implementation of dual‐band LC‐VCOs in the GHz‐range featuring a switched coil LC‐tank. The proposed design exploits the self‐inductance technique. The design of the coil starts from simple considerations and back‐of‐the‐envelope calculations, then electromagnetic simulations are used to optimize the coil layout. The sizing of the switch and its impact on the VCO performance are addressed as well. The VCOs have been implemented in 65 nm CMOS technology. Good correlation between simulated and measured tuning range and phase noise is obtained for all designs, thus confirming the validity and robustness of the design methodology and coil models. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.