Phase noise analysis of the Frequency Tracking Oscillator

R. Levy
DMPH/CMT ONERA Chtillon, France Raphael.levy@onera.fr

A. Dupret
ESYCOM, EA 2552 University Paris-Est, ESIEE Noisy le grand, France

H. Mathias
IEF/MINASYS University Paris 11 Orsay, France

Abstract The Frequency Tracking Oscillator (FTO) is being more and more used to drive vibrating MEMS sensors resonators (inertial sensors and mass sensors) because of its ability to control the phase shift over the resonator and thus to track the resonance frequency. The goal of this work is to study the FTO phase noise that determines the sensor resolution. First a phase noise model of the FTO is presented, then simulations are performed to quantify the impact of oscillator elements phase noises on the output phase noise. Finally model simulations are compared to experimental phase noise measurements.

The FTO is commonly used for MEMS vibrating sensors, its benefits have been demonstrated for QCM sensors[1,2], MEMS gyroscopes[3] and MEMS accelerometers[4], and the FTO also allows including self-test loops in the oscillator [5,6]. Studies have been undertaken to model the FTO in order to set properly the corrector parameters [7,8,9,10]. Although the frequency tracking ability of the FTO is now well known, its phase noise that determines the resolution of the sensors has not been studied, that is the goal of this paper. First a phase noise model of the FTO is presented, unlike the commonly used Leeson model [11] working only for the feedback oscillator, the model we have developed can be used for many oscillator architectures and takes into account the phase noises of all the oscillator elements, i.e. for the FTO: the VCO, the phase comparator, the resonator, and the corrector. Phase noise transfer functions between the output phase noise S_out and the phase noise of the oscillators elements are introduced and calculated. It allows quantifying the influence of the oscillators elements phase noise and of the design parameters on the output phase noise. Then a FTO circuit designed and realized to drive ONERAs MEMS resonators is presented. Measurements are performed with an Allan variance measurement bench, that permits to validate the model and to compare the phase noise of a FTO to the phase noise of a self sustained oscillator. Finally, the design rules for a low phase noise FTO are presented according to the model simulations and measurements, leading to high resolution vibrating MEMS sensors. II. OSCILLATORS PHASE NOISE MODEL

I.

INTRODUCTION

Vibrating MEMS sensors such as inertial sensors (vibrating beam accelerometers and Coriolis gyrometers), gaz sensors or bio sensors are being widely developed. They consist of a vibrating beam and an oscillator circuit to drive the beam at resonance. The Frequency Tracking Oscillator (FTO) has been developed in order to control the phase drift at resonance, that allows to increase the sensor bias stability. As shown in figure 1, the FTO consists of a circuit to cancel the inter-electrodes capacitance, a charge amplifier and a Phase Locked Loop (mixer, corrector and VCO) to control the zero phase shift over the resonator and thus to track its resonance frequency.
resonator Front end

Cf
Inter-electrodes capacitance cancellation
charge amplifier

-1

C0 PI
phase detector

Phase Locked Loop

VCO

A. Model description The linear time invariant models in the phase space are presented for the FTO and the self sustained oscillator.

Figure 1: Architecture of the Frequency Tracking Oscillator (FTO)

978-1-4244-6401-2/10/$26.00 2010 IEEE

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1) Frequency Tracking Oscillator As shown in figure 2, the linear time invariant model in the phase space of the FTO includes the model of the resonator and the model of the phase locked loop. The derivation of the resonator phase response is presented in [12], if we consider an input signal at the exact natural frequency of the resonator and small phase variations, the phase transfer function of the resonator is: RESout 1 (1) ( p) = 2Q RESin 1+ p

Preamplifier

nAMP
+

1+

1 2Q

nRES
+

Resonator

nPD
+ + + -

vnCORR
K PD 2
+ +

nVCO
1+1 p 2 p

KVCO 2 p

+ +

out

Phase Locked Loop

RESin

is the phase of the input signal,

RESout is the phase of

Figure 2: phase noise model of the FTO

the output signal, Q and 0 are respectively the quality factor and the resonance frequency of the resonator, and p=j, =-0 is the frequency offset from the resonance frequency 0. The transfer function between the phase noise power spectral densities (PSD) is:

The two main output phase noise contributors are the preamplifier and the VCO, their phase transfer function to the output phase are:

out KPDKVCO[1+ (1 + RES) p + RES1 p] = nAMP KPDKVCO RES p + (KPDKVCO1 RES + 2 ) p + RES 2 p3
2KVCO (1 + RES p) 2 p out = nVCO K PD KVCO RES p + (K PD KVCO 1 RES + 2 ) p + RES 2 p 3

(6)

SRESout SRESin

out 1 = 4Q nAMP 1+ 0

(2)

(7)

We can notice that the resonator acts as a low pass filter in the phase space. Slow varying input signal phase drifts are not changed by the resonator (cf. eq. 3) whereas fast input signal phase noise is rejected (cf. eq. 4) and the resonator changes phase variations into frequency variations (cf. eq. 5).

The transfer functions between the phase noise power spectral densities (PSD) are:

= out SnAMP nAMP

SOUT SnVCO

SOUT

(8)
2

< <

0
2Q

SOUT = SnAMP
SOUT =

(3) (4) (5)

= out nVCO

(9)

0
2Q

S F .OUT

0 SnAMP 4Q = 0 SnAMP 4Q

2) Self sustained Oscillator The phase model of the self sustained oscillator shown in figure 3 includes the model of the resonator, the model of the amplifier that is a unity gain transfer function because the amplifier doesnt change the phase of its input signal, and the noise contributions of the resonator and the amplifier.

The oscillator is a phase locked loop including a phase detector, a corrector, and a Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO). The transfer functions of these blocks are presented in figure 2: KVCO is the the conversion factor of the Voltage Controlled Oscillator (Hz/V), K is the conversion factor of the phase comparator (V/rad) , 1 and 2 are respectively the integration and proportional time constant of the Proportional Integral controller.

resonator
+

nRES
+

Resonator

1+

1 2Q

out
amplifier

1
Amplifier

nAMP

Figure 3: schematic of the self sustained oscillator (left) and its phase noise model including input phase noises of the resonator and of the feedback amplifier (right)

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The main contributor to the output phase noise is the amplifier, its phase transfer function to the output phase is:
Amplitude (dB)

80 60 40 20 0 -20 -40 -60 -80 1,E-01 1,E+00 1,E+01 1,E+02 1,E+03 1,E+04 1,E+05 1,E+06

out = 1+ 0 nAMP 2Q. p

SOUT SnAMP

(10)

SOUT SnAMP

S OUT S nVCO

The transfer function between the phase power spectral densities (PSD) is:

0 = out = 1 + 4Qf nAMP

(11)

This transfer function is known as the Leeson formula that describes the increase of the amplifier phase noise next to the resonance frequency [11]. B. Model Simulation First the calculated phase noise transfer functions of the FTO are presented in order to determine what elements contribute the most to the output phase noise, and the influence of the design parameters is shown. The phase noise transfer functions of the self sustained oscillator and the self sustained oscillator are then compared. 1) Phase noise simulations of the FTO The oscillator design parameters used for the phase noise transfer functions calculation are presented in table 1. The frequency and Q factor are those of the VIA vibrating accelerometer resonator and the oscillator circuit parameters are those of the circuits realized for phase noise mleasurements.
TABLE I. OSCILLATOR DESIGN PARAMETERS USED FOR THE PHASE KVCO 4.103 Hz/V 4.103 Hz/V 4.103 Hz/V KPD 2 V/rad 2 V/rad 2 V/rad 1 5.10-3 s 5.10-3 s 5.10-3 s 2 5.10-4 s 5.10-4 s 5.10-1 s f0 60 kHz 60 kHz 60 kHz Q 10.000 100 1000 10.000 10.000
NOISE TRANSFER FUNCTIONS CALCULATION

Frequency (Hz)
Figure 4: Phase spectral power density transfer functions for the FTO.

The phase noise transfer functions are shown in figure 5 for the FTO and the self sustained oscillator. They are the same next to the carrier, so the Leeson effect that increases phase noise before the Leeson frequency f L =

f0 (cf. eq. 11) also 2Q

occurs for the FTO. Far from the carrier , the phase noise of the self sustained oscillator comes from the preamplifier whereas the phase noise of the FTO comes from the VCO.
80 60 40 20 0 -20 -40 -60

SOUT SnAMP

Amplitude (dB)

( self sustained oscillator)

SOUT SnAMP

(FTO)

S OUT S nVCO

figures. 4&5 figure 6 figure 7

-80 1,E-01 1,E+00 1,E+01 1,E+02 1,E+03 1,E+04 1,E+05 1,E+06

Frequency (Hz)
Figure 5: Comparison between Phase spectral power density transfer functions of the FTO and the self sustained oscillator.

The phase noise transfer functions of the FTO are shown in figure 4. We can notice that the input phase noise from the preamplifier is low pass filtered whereas the input phase noise from the VCO is high pass filtered. The VCO phase noise is then rejected far from the carrier, and in the case of a vibrating sensor the VCO phase noise can be totally rejected if its cutoff frequency is above the bandwidth of the sensor.

The influence of the design parameters is shown in figures 6 and 7. We can notice that a Q factor increase induces a phase noise reduction as a consequence of the Leeson effect. The corrector integral time constant 2 increase induces a diminution of the VCO and amplifier phase noise cutoff frequencies. It is then possible to reject the VCO phase noise or the preamplifier phase noise. In the case of vibrating sensors, it is the possible to drive the resonator with a low cost and poor phase noise VCO such as standard relaxation oscillator and reject the VCO phase noise, or to drive the resonator with a low noise VCO and reject the preamplifier phase noise.

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70

Amplitude (dB)

50 30 10 -10 -30

Q increase

S OUT S nVCO

of the beam through piezoelectricity. The low noise high input impedance AD8066 operational amplifier is used for the charge amplifier. The phase locked loop consists of a relaxation oscillator, and low bias corrector and phase detector.
Front end circuit charge amplifier
Resonator

S OUT S nAMP

-50 1,E-01 1,E+00 1,E+01 1,E+02 1,E+03 1,E+04 1,E+05 1,E+06

Frequency (Hz)
Figure 6: Phase noise transfer function modification due to Q factor increase
-1
AD8066

Cf

C0
corrector
AD8672

80 60

Amplitude (dB)

SOUT SnAMP

S OUT S nVCO

40 20 0

Oscillator circuit

VCO

phase detector
AD63

XR2206
Kvco=4.10 Hz/V
3

-20 -40 -60 -80 1,E-01 1,E+00 1,E+01 1,E+02 1,E+03 1,E+04 1,E+05 1,E+06

1=5.10 s 2=4.10-4 s

-3

KCP=2 V/ rad

Figure 9: The FTO circuit used for the phase noise measurements.

Frequency (Hz)
Figure 7: Phase noise transfer function modification due to the corrector integral time constant increase: 2=5.10-1s

B. Description of the phase noise measurement bench The Allan deviation measurement bench presented in figure 10 is used to measure the oscillator phase noise in the time domain. It consists of a low pass filter, a low noise comparator and a high resolution counter.
The relations between phase spectral density and Allan deviation is shown in figure 11. A major drawback odf the Allan deviation is that it is not possible to distinguish the Flicker and the white phase noise.

III.

PHASE NOISE MEASUREMENTS

The oscillator circuit, the resonator used for phase noise measurements, and the Allan deviation measurement bench are presented. Experimental results are then compared to simulations in order to validate the model.

A. Description of the oscillator circuit and the resonator The VIA is a vibrating micro-accelerometer developed by ONERA. It is based on a quartz vibrating beam (cf. figure 8), its resonance frequency under vacuum is 60 kHz and its Q factor is 12000.
Vibrating beam
Seismic mass

Oscillator under test

Low-pass filter

comparator

High resolution counter (SR620)

Decoupling frame

= y ( ) = (

N 1 1 f f 1 k +1 f k 2 ( N 1) k = 0

Figure 8: The VIA vibrating micro-accelerometer quartz structure

Figure 10: The Allan deviation measurement bench

.The FTO circuit is shown in figure 9. The front end preamplifier circuit is put next to the resonator in order to have a good immunity to noise and parasitc components. The goal of this circuit is to detect and amplify the low amplitude charges induced on the electrodes by the mechanical vibratons

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Phase power spectral density (dBc/Hz)

S (f )
Flicker frequency b3 f 3 White frequency b 2 f 2 Flicker phase b1 f 1 b0 White phase Allan deviation
f

y ( )

Flicker and white phase

-1 -1 -1/2 -1/2
White frequency

Flicker frequency

Figure 11: Relations between the phase spectral power density and the Allan deviation

the output phase noise of the oscillator. These transfer functions have been calculated and indicate that next to the carrier the preamplifier phase noise is the principal contributor to output phase noise and the Leeson effect occurs as in the self sustained oscillator. Far from the carrier the preamplifier phase noise is filtered by the FTO and the principal output phase noise contributor is the VCO phase noise that is high pass filtered by the FTO. These model simulations are confirmed by phase noise measurements with an Allan deviation measurement bench on a FTO circuit and a VIA accelerometer quartz resonator. Indeed the VCO phase noise is totally rejected abode the bandwidth of the sensor. This enables to use a poor phase noise VCO for vibrating sensors without decreasing the resolution. This model can be used for different oscillator architectures. Future work will include the calculation of the input phase noises of the oscillator elements: VCO, phase detector, preamplifier. The resonator vibrations nonlinearities must also be included in the phase noise model. REFERENCES
[1] A. Arnau, J. V. Garcia, Y. Jimenez, V. Ferrari, M. Ferrari, Improved electronic interfaces for heavy loaded AT cut quartz crystal microbalance sensors, Proceedings of the Frequency Control symposium, pp. 357-362, 2007. [2] A. Arnau, T. Sogorb, Y. Jimenez, A new method for continuous monitoring of series resonance frequency and simple determination of motional impedance parameters for loaded quartz-crystal resonators, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency control vol. 48, n2, pp 617-623, march 2001. [3] R. Levy, D. Janiaud, O. Le Traon, S. Muller, JP. Gilles, G. Raynaud, A new analog oscillator electronics applied to a piezoelectric vibrating gyro, Proceedings of the IEEE Frequency Control Symposium , pp. 326-329, 2004. [4] V. Ferrari, A. Ghisla, D. Marioli, A. Taroni, Silicon resonant accelerometer with electronic compensation of input-output cross-talk, Sensors and Actuators A 123-124, pp. 258-266, may 2005. [5] M. Aikele, K. Bauer, W. Ficker, F. Neubauer, U. Prechtel, J. Schalk, H. Seidel, Resonant accelerometer with self-test, Sensors and Actuators A 92, 2001, pp161-167. [6] M. Ferrari, V. Ferrari, D. Mariolo, A. Taroni, M. Suman, E. Dalcanale, Combined measurements of acoustic and dielectric loading on cavitand TSM quartz sensors with ACC oscillator for in-liquid chemical detection, proceedings of IEE sensors conference, pp. 445448, 2004. [7] C. Gokcek, Tracking the resonance frequency of a series RLC circuit using a phase locked loop, Proceedings of IEEE conference on Control Applications, pp 609-613, 2003. [8] J. Mannermaa, K. Kalliomaki, T. Mansten, Influence of characteristics of crystals on performance of tracking loops, Proceeindgs of the IEEE Frequency Control symposium, pp. 868-872, 2007. [9] X. Sun, R. Horowitz, K. Komvopoulos, Analysis of a natural frequency tracking system for MEMS fatigue testing, Proceedings of the ASME international Mechanical Engineering Congress ans Exposition, november 2001. [10] S. Hayashi, On the tracking of resonance and antiresonance of a piezoelectric resonator Part II: Accurate models of the phase locked loop, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control, vol. 39, pp. 787-790, november 1992. [11] D.B. Leeson, A simple model of feedback oscillator noise spectrum, Proceedings of the IEEE, vol.54, pp329-330, 1966 [12] E. Rubiola, Phase Noise and Frequency Stability in Oscillators, The Cambridge RF and Microwave Engineering Series.

C. Comparison model/measurements Allan deviation measurements are performed on the stand alone VCO, the FTO and the self sustained oscillator. As the low pass filter cutoff frequency in the measurement bench is lower than the FTO cutoff frequency, the phase noise transfer function calculation (cf. figure 5) indicates that the VCO phase noise is totally rejected in the FTO, so the FTO phase noise and the self sustained oscillator phase noise should be the same as the preamplifier is the same for the two oscillator architectures. That is confirmed by the Allan deviation measurements. Indeed we can notice that the phase noise of the stand alone VCO is a lot worst than the FTO phase noise and the FTO phase noise is equal to the self sustained oscillator phase noise. The Flicker frequency noise is better for the self sustained oscillator probably because the phase detector induces phase noise in the FTO.
1,E-03 Allan deviation 1,E-04 1,E-05 1,E-06 1,E-07 1,E-08 1,E-09 0,0001 0,01 1 100
VCO

integration time (en s)

Figure 12: Allan deviations measurement of the stand alone VCO, the FTO and the self sustained oscillator.

IV.

CONCLUSION

A phase noise model of the Frequency tracking oscillator has been developed. It allows to calculate transfer functions between the input phase noise of the oscillator elements and

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