A nA Crystal-Less Oscillator for Internet of Things

M. Coustans, F. Krummenacher, M. Kayal (EPFL, Switzerland), C. Terrier (EM Microelectronic-Marin SA, Switzerland)

This work presents an ultra-low power oscillator designed to target different contexts, such as crystal-assisted time keeping, reference oscillator to optimize the always on domain of a microcontroller or wake-up timer. This oscillator enables ultra-low power operation in 0.18 µm CMOS technology; the core oscillator consumes 2.5 nW at room temperature, with a temperature stability of 14 ppm/°C [-40°C - 60°C] and 0.07 %/V supply sensitivity.