Analysis and modeling of LC oscillator reliability

In this paper, MOS device degradations due to hot carrier and gate oxide breakdown are shown experimentally, and their effects on the NMOS LC oscillator have been evaluated analytically and through SpectreRF simulation. The reduction in transconductance of the differential pair transistors may cause the oscillation to cease. The amplitude of oscillation reduces as the equivalent tank resistance decreases due to the breakdown effect on the MOS varactor. The reduction of amplitude reduces the tank capacitances, and therefore shifts the frequency of oscillation and increases the oscillator phase noise. The tank amplitude of the oscillator is derived analytically. A closed-form expression for the average capacitance of the varactor that accounts for large-signal effects is presented. Finally, a set of guidelines to design an LC oscillator in reliability is presented.