Ring oscillators: Characteristics and applications

The structure and operating principle of ring oscillators (RO) have been described. The expression for the frequency of oscillation of a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) delay cell based conventional ring oscillator is presented and propagation delay of the delay stages is calculated. The limitations of a conventional RO have been studied and a few techniques to overcome these limitations have been mentioned. In this context, some modified structures of ring oscillators such as negative skewed delay RO, multi feedback RO, coupled RO are described for high frequency oscillation. The effect of noise sources on the output of ring oscillators has also been studied. Some potential applications of such ring oscillator based on its voltage tuning characteristics and multiphase outputs are also mentioned.