Phase noise simulation and estimation methods: a comparative study

A comparison of various simulation and estimation methods available to predict the phase noise in oscillators is presented in this paper. The phase noise of two ring oscillators and one radio frequency CMOS oscillator was determined using the Hajimiri and Lee (1998) phase noise analysis method, and the commercial simulators SpectreRF and EldoRF. Good agreement was obtained between the estimated and simulated phase noise performances. These oscillators were fabricated in a 0.35-/spl mu/m CMOS process. The measured data also shows reasonable agreement with the analysis and simulations.