A crystal oscillator is coupled to a digital automatic gain control (AGC) having oscillation detection and amplitude control loops. The oscillation detection loop may increase the transconductance (gm) of the oscillator transistor until oscillation is detected therefrom. Then the amplitude control loop detects the amplitudes of oscillations from the crystal oscillator, compares these amplitudes to high and low voltage references and generates digital signals to find a critical transconductance (gm) for an oscillator amplifier and control this gm to maintain a constant oscillation waveform amplitude therefrom. An up/down counter defines the servo control loop bandwidth/update-rate according to an update clock rate thereto. Loop stability is achieved when the control loop bandwidth is less than the start-up time required for the oscillation envelope of the crystal oscillator to grow for oscillation. An oscillator failure detector may also be provided.

An oscillation circuit design support method is provided for designing an oscillation circuit condition in a circuit board equipped with an integrated circuit (IC) chip for oscillation and an oscillator. The method includes receiving an input of IC chip information about an IC chip for oscillation, providing sample oscillator data and sample oscillation circuit condition data that are determined in accordance with the IC chip information, receiving an input of frequency measurement information measured based on the sample oscillation circuit condition data when an oscillator corresponding to the sample oscillator data is installed at a circuit board, and a providing information relating to matched oscillation circuit condition data determined based on at least the frequency measurement information.

A crystal oscillator and a method are provided for adjusting an oscillation frequency. The crystal oscillator includes: a first oscillator circuit, a frequency control circuit and a crystal; where the first oscillator circuit is configured to output a first drive signal having a first oscillation frequency to drive the crystal, and the frequency control circuit is configured to determine a frequency control amount according to a feature of an electrical signal flowing through the crystal under driving of the first drive signal, and adjust the first oscillation frequency according to the frequency control amount. When the technical solutions are applied to scenarios where the crystal oscillator is enabled to quickly en-oscillate, a natural en-oscillation cycle of the crystal oscillator may be shortened, and the en-oscillation speed is increased.

Increases of circuit scale and power consumption are suppressed while frequency deviation is kept within a predetermined allowable range. A semiconductor device according to an embodiment includes a variable load capacity circuit including a plurality of load capacity elements coupled in parallel to one end of a crystal resonator and a plurality of switches that are respectively serially coupled to the load capacity elements, and a switch control unit that controls ON/OFF of the switches on the basis of information to be an index of frequency deviation due to temperature change of a frequency signal obtained by oscillating the crystal resonator. The switch control unit changes the number of switches that will be turned ON among the plurality of switches so that an absolute value of the frequency deviation becomes small when the information is not included in a predetermined allowable range.

A voltage setting circuit includes a frequency comparator that compares the oscillation frequencies of a first distributed voltage-controlled oscillator and a second distributed voltage-controlled oscillator and a frequency determination circuit that determines the levels of the oscillation frequencies of the first distributed voltage-controlled oscillator and the second distributed voltage-controlled oscillator. The bias to be supplied to the first distributed voltage-controlled oscillator and the bias to be supplied to the second distributed voltage-controlled oscillator are determined in accordance with a result of the determination. The bias at a time when the levels of the oscillation frequencies are reversed is determined to be the optimum bias, and the optimum bias is supplied to the core circuit.

A crystal oscillator and a method are provided for adjusting an oscillation frequency. The crystal oscillator includes: a first oscillator circuit, a frequency control circuit and a crystal; where the first oscillator circuit is configured to output a first drive signal having a first oscillation frequency to drive the crystal, and the frequency control circuit is configured to determine a frequency control amount according to a feature of an electrical signal flowing through the crystal under driving of the first drive signal, and adjust the first oscillation frequency according to the frequency control amount. When the technical solutions are applied to scenarios where the crystal oscillator is enabled to quickly en-oscillate, a natural en-oscillation cycle of the crystal oscillator may be shortened, and the en-oscillation speed is increased.

A frequency calibrator includes an input signal generator configured to generate an input signal based on an oscillation signal and an external signal; a frequency difference extractor configured to extract, from the input signal, a frequency difference signal having a frequency corresponding to a frequency difference between an external frequency of the external signal and an oscillation frequency of the oscillation signal; a divider configured to generate a division signal by dividing a signal having the oscillation frequency by a division ratio; and a frequency tuner configured to tune the oscillation frequency of the oscillation signal based on a result of comparing the frequency difference signal to the division signal.

A crystal oscillator is coupled to a digital automatic gain control (AGC) having oscillation detection and amplitude control loops. The oscillation detection loop may increase the transconductance (gm) of the oscillator transistor until oscillation is detected therefrom. Then the amplitude control loop detects the amplitudes of oscillations from the crystal oscillator, compares these amplitudes to high and low voltage references and generates digital signals to find a critical transconductance (gm) for an oscillator amplifier and control this gm to maintain a constant oscillation waveform amplitude therefrom. An up/down counter defines the servo control loop bandwidth/update-rate according to an update clock rate thereto. Loop stability is achieved when the control loop bandwidth is less than the start-up time required for the oscillation envelope of the crystal oscillator to grow for oscillation. An oscillator failure detector may also be provided.

An oscillation circuit design support method is provided for designing an oscillation circuit condition in a circuit board equipped with an integrated circuit (IC) chip for oscillation and an oscillator. The method includes receiving an input of IC chip information about an IC chip for oscillation, providing sample oscillator data and sample oscillation circuit condition data that are determined in accordance with the IC chip information, receiving an input of frequency measurement information measured based on the sample oscillation circuit condition data when an oscillator corresponding to the sample oscillator data is installed at a circuit board, and a providing information relating to matched oscillation circuit condition data determined based on at least the frequency measurement information.

A crystal driver circuit for driving a crystal to oscillate at a resonant frequency including an amplifier having an input coupled to an amplifier input node and having an output coupled to an amplifier output node, a current source that provides a core bias current to the amplifier, a first tune capacitor coupled between the amplifier output node and a reference node, and a second tune capacitor coupled between the amplifier input node and the reference node. The first tune capacitor has a first capacitance that is greater than a second capacitance of the second tune capacitor by a capacitance offset that reduces frequency shift during operation. The first and second capacitances have a combined capacitance that achieves an oscillating signal having a target frequency.