A 270 Hz, Fine Frequency Tuning Class-C Oscillator Using Capacitive--Inductive Degeneration Technique in 130nm CMOS

Sehmi Saad (1) , Fayrouz. Haddad (2, 1) , Aymen Ben Hammadi (3)

1 IM2NP - Institut des Matériaux, de Microélectronique et des Nanosciences de Provence
2 AMU - Aix Marseille Université
3 ENSICAEN - École Nationale Supérieure d'Ingénieurs de Caen

This paper presents a high-resolution Class-C type voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) with a robust startup. The proposed oscillator achieves a minimum frequency quantification step of 270 Hz without adding any additional dithering approach. The very fine tuning is obtained through a capacitive-inductive degeneration coupling (CIDC) technique which reduces the capacitance value without appreciably affecting the intrinsic oscillator phase noise (PN). This technique also provides a negative transconductance to compensate for losses in the LC tank, resulting in high oscillation amplitude and relatively low power consumption in the oscillator core. The proposed design, implemented in 130 nm CMOS technology, achieves 45% tuning range. It exhibits a phase noise of-107 dBc/Hz @ 1-MHz offset, while it draws 5.75 mA from a supply of 1.2 V, resulting in a FoM of 165 dBc/Hz.

Mots clés: Capacitive-Inductive Degeneration Coupling; Class-C oscillator; LC-VCO; robust start-up; CMOS

Domaines: Micro et nanotechnologies/Microélectronique

Sehmi Saad, Fayrouz. Haddad, Aymen Ben Hammadi. A 270 Hz, Fine Frequency Tuning Class-C Oscillator Using Capacitive--Inductive Degeneration Technique in 130nm CMOS. 16th International Conference on Design & Technology of Integrated Systems in Nanoscale Era (DTIS 2021), Jun 2021, Montpellier, France. ⟨10.1109/DTIS53253.2021.9505061⟩. ⟨hal-03601915⟩