On the Minimum Supply Voltage for MOSFET Oscillators

In order to investigate the minimum supply voltage for MOSFET oscillators, three topologies were studied. Two of them, namely the enhanced swing inductive-load ring and the enhanced swing Colpitts oscillators, can operate with supply voltages below the thermal voltage. Simplified theoretical expressions for the minimum supply voltage of the oscillators were derived. Measurement results obtained using prototypes built with zero-VT transistors and high-quality-factor inductors confirmed the operation of one of the oscillators down to a supply voltage below 5 mV.

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