Large-signal and phase noise performance analysis of active inductor tunable oscillators

The design of an active inductor tunable oscillator (AITO) is discussed in this paper. The active inductor is implemented by the gyrator-C approach, using negative resistance units to supply the energy loss when oscillating. From the large-signal and phase noise performance analysis, some design techniques for AITO are achieved. An AITO oscillating at 2.4 GHz is designed and simulated, showing a very wide tuning range and acceptable noise performance. The effects of device scaling on AITO are also analyzed and simulated.