Influence of output power of a spin torque oscillator on phase locked loop operation

Abstract

This work investigates the influence of the output power of a spin torque oscillator (STO) on the operation of a phase locked loop (PLL) circuit. Timing jitter and minimum output power for stable PLL operation determined by Johnson noise and shot noise are first theoretically calculated, and compared with experimental results. The theory and experiment show a reasonably good agreement, indicating that smaller than −50 dBm (10 nW), or −60 dBm (1 nW) when a low pass filter is used, of output power is sufficient for stable PLL operation if a large timing jitter is acceptable. However, it is also shown that a large output power is needed to suppress timing jitter down to the level comparable to state-of-the-art commercial PLL circuits. The estimate of minimum output power for stable PLL operation is verified by intentionally attenuating the STO output signal down to −55 dBm (3.2 nW) and demonstrating a stable phase locked oscillation.