High performance pulse ring voltage controlled oscillator for Internet of Things

This paper presents a low phase noise, low power, wide tuning range, small area pulse ring oscillator fabricated in inexpensive 130nm CMOS technology, suitable for the widescale internet of things market. The ring uses very non-linear Pulse gates instead of conventional inverters as buffers substantially reducing the impulse sensitivity function (ISF) and thus the phase noise. The timing signal is rising-edge and ground referenced, allowing the supply to be used as control voltage. Common mode supply noise is rejected by double inversion in every stage of of the pulse gate as well as insensitivity to pulse amplitude and width. Fabricated ring oscillators show a phase noise of −98.41 dBC/Hz at 1MHz offset for 1.872GHz oscillator at 2.94mW power consumption and −95.14dBC/Hz at 1MHz offset for 388MHz oscillator at 216uW power consumption. The oscillators have a tuning range of 388MHz to 2.455GHz.