LC Oscillator Driver for Safety Critical Applications

Abstract

A CMOS harmonic signal LC oscillator driver for automotive applications working in a harsh environment with high safety critical requirements is described. The driver can be used with a wide range of external components parameters (LC resonance network of a sensor). Quality factor of the external LC network can vary two decades. Amplitude regulation of the driver is digitally controlled and the DAC is constructed as exponential with piece-wise-linear (PWL) approximation. Low current consumption for high quality resonance networks is achieved. Realized oscillator is robust, used in safety critical application and has low EMC emissions.