A low-voltage low-noise superharmonic quadrature oscillator

A qualitative analysis of the large-signal operation of cross-connected LC oscillators at steady state is presented. It provides a physically understandable picture of the amplitude stabilization in these oscillators. Based on the insights gained from the mechanism of operation, a new low-noise, low-voltage (Vdd as low as 0.6 V) quadrature oscillator utilizing the superharmonic coupling is proposed and verified with simulation. The same coupling scheme can be extended to multiphase signal generation.

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