Patent ID: 7760033

Claim:
A circuit forming an oscillator stage, comprising: a load transistor, wherein the coupling of the load transistor comprises a gate and a drain of the load transistor and a constant load voltage terminal coupled together, a gate and a source of the load transistor coupled together and the drain of the load transistor coupled to a constant load voltage terminal, or a drain and the source of the load transistor coupled together and the gate of the load transistor coupled a constant load voltage terminal; an enable transistor having a source of the load transistor coupled to a drain of the enable transistor; a switch transistor having a source of the enable transistor coupled to a drain of the switch transistor and a source of the switch transistor coupled to a constant switch voltage terminal, wherein the load transistor, enable transistor, and switch transistor comprise a similar type of transistor and form an oscillator stage, wherein the load transistor, enable transistor, and switch transistor comprise n-channel field effect transistors (FETs) with the constant load voltage terminal coupled to a high voltage potential, the constant switch voltage terminal coupled to the low voltage potential, or p-channel FET transistors with the constant load voltage terminal coupled to a low voltage potential, and wherein the constant switch voltage terminal is coupled to a high voltage potential; and an odd plurality of oscillator stages that are coupled together with the drain of the switch transistor of an earlier oscillator stage are coupled to a gate of the switch transistor of a later oscillator stage, wherein the odd plurality of oscillator stages comprises a first oscillator stage, an odd plurality of middle oscillator stages, and a last oscillator stage, and wherein a gate of the enable transistor of the first oscillator stage is coupled to the constant load voltage terminal.