Flicker noise conversion in CMOS LC oscillators: capacitance modulation dominance and core device sizing
Flicker noise upconversion mechanisms in oscillators have been acquired in the literature, however their relative weights are still under investigation. It is desirable to find the dominant one, since a certain noise suppression method reduces one mechanism but may increase another. In this work, we propose a systematic simulation method to distinguish their relative impacts. The outcome indicates parasitic capacitance is the dominant factor for both tail 1/f noise and switch pair 1/f noise upconversions, implying to use small dimension core devices. Design guidelines on sizing devices are presented and two suppression techniques are compared. Two voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs) with these suppression techniques are fabricated in a 0.18 mu m CMOS process, allowing us to compare their performance. The two VCOs can be Focused-Ion-Beam (FIB) trimmed to change the width of switch pair FETs. The fair comparison of measurement results among them verify the dominant role of parasitic capacitance in 1/f noise upconversion. The measurement results also confirm the design guidelines and demonstrate the difference of two suppression methods.
flicker noise oscillator device sizing 1/f noise vco phase noise