Enhanced Design and Performance Analysis of Ring VCO and LC VCO for Modern Wireless Applications

This project presents an enhanced design and comparative performance analysis of Ring Voltage-Controlled Oscillators (Ring VCOs) and LC Voltage-Controlled Oscillators (LC VCOs) for 5G and IoT applications. Using MATLAB and SPICE simulations, the proposed current-starved Ring VCO achieves a tuning range of 2.0–5.5 GHz with phase noise of -120 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset. The LC VCO, designed with on-chip spiral inductor, offers superior phase noise of -125 dBc/Hz but occupies larger area. Key enhancements include currentstarving technique for wider tuning and varactor bank for fine frequency control. Results show 15% improvement in Figure-of-Merit (FoM) over conventional designs. The Ring VCO is ideal for low-cost, compact IoT nodes, while LC VCO suits high-precision 5G transceivers. The study provides design guidelines for selecting VCO topology based on application constraints. Detailed simulations include output waveforms, current profiles, phase portraits, and power analysis, demonstrating the practicality of the designs.