A 2.56-GHz SEU Radiation Hard $LC$ -Tank VCO for High-Speed Communication Links in 65-nm CMOS Technology

This paper presents a radiation tolerant phase-locked loop CMOS application-specified integrated circuit with an optimized voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) for single-event upsets (SEUs). The circuit is designed for high-energy particle physics experiments for low-jitter clock generation and clock recovery. An optimal tuning strategy of the VCO is presented that minimizes the cross section and the SEU sensitivity of the oscillator. The circuit is processed in a 65-nm CMOS technology and has been irradiated with heavy ions with a linear energy transfer between 10 to 69.2 MeV.cm$^2$/mg. A comparison has been made with a conventional oscillator which proves a significant improvement in SEU sensitivity.