A fully integrated, 1-µs start-up time, 32-MHz relaxation oscillator for low-power intermittent systems

This paper proposes a fully integrated 32-MHz relaxation oscillator (ROSC) capable of fast start-up time operation for low-power intermittent VLSI systems. The proposed ROSC employs current mode architecture that is different from conventional voltage mode architecture. This enables compact and fast switching speed to be achieved. By designing transistor sizes equally between one in a bias circuit and another in a voltage to current converter, the effect of process variation can be minimized. A prototype chip in a 0.18-μm CMOS demonstrated that the ROSC generates a stable clock frequency of 32.6 MHz within 1-μs start-up time. Measured line regulation and temperature coefficient were ±0.69% and ±0.38%, respectively.