A 480-MHz to 1-GHz sub-picosecond clock generator with a fast and accurate automatic frequency calibration in 0.13-µm CMOS

In this paper, an ultra-low jitter clock generator that employs a novel automatic frequency calibration (AFC) technique is presented. To achieve low jitter, the clock generator uses an LC-VCO with S-bit switched tuning scheme. The clock output is taken from the output of a multi-modulus divider, which increases the output frequency range with small variation in the loop bandwidth. The capacitor array of the the VCO is controlled by a novel AFC technique that performs binary search for fast calibration and fine search to select an optimum tuning curve. A prototype chip implemented in 0.13-mum CMOS process achieves 480 MHz to 1 GHz of output frequency while consuming 22 mW from a 1.2 V supply. The measured tins jitter and calibration time of the proposed clock generator are 940 fs at 600 MM/, and 350 ns, respectively. These numbers are the fastest calibration time and one of the lowest jitter that have been reported in a clock generator.