Periodic noise analysis of electric circuits: Artifacts,singularities and a numerical method

In this paper it is shown that a numerical method largely adopted for the simulation of noise in autonomous circuits is affected by singularities that manifest when the frequency at which the noise analysis is carried out approaches a harmonic of the autonomous circuit. The resulting noise power spectral density (PSD) is thus characterized by spurious spikes. The presence of these singularities is for the first time justified from an analytical standpoint and their effects are shown by simulating some oscillators, employed as benchmarks. Furthermore, the presented approach justifies the 1/(f_s?f)² shape of the PSD of noise at the output when the f_s frequency approaches the f fundamental of a stable oscillator and the 1/|f_s?f|³ shape when the effects of flicker noise are manifest. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.