Abstract
In this paper, we propose a parameterized digitally controlled oscillator that can produce oscillating-clock signal with the tunable frequency covering an entire designated range. Moreover, we formulate the all-digital phase-locked loop optimization process as a search problem, during which we can find a good configuration that not only meets the user-defined requirement but also achieves a smaller area and lower power consumption than a typical manual design. The silicon measurement results show that this is indeed a promising new alternative for analog phase-locked loops, especially for advanced nanometer technologies. © 2013 IEEE.