Abstract: A digitally controlled oscillator (DCO) using a three-transistor XOR gate as the variable load has been presented. A delay cell using an inverter and a three-transistor XOR gate as the variable capacitance is also proposed. Three-, five- and seven-stage DCO circuits have been designed using the proposed delay cell. The output frequency is controlled digitally with bits applied to the delay cells. The three-bit DCO shows output frequency and power consumption variation in the range of 3.2486-4.0267 GHz and 0.6121-0.3901 mW, respectively, with a change in the control word 111-000. The five-bit DCO achieves frequency and power of 1.8553-2.3506 GHz and 1.0202-0.6501 mW, respectively, with a change in the control word 11111-00000. Moreover, the seven-bit DCO shows a frequency and power consumption variation of 1.3239-1.6817 GHz and 1.4282-0.9102 mW, respectively, with a varying control word 1111111-0000000. The power consumption and output frequency of the proposed circuits have been compared with earlier reported circuits and the present approaches show significant improvements.

Key words: digital control oscillator,  delay cell,  power consumption,  variable capacitance,  voltage controlled oscillators,  XOR gate