Properties and Design of the Phase-Controlled Oscillator with a Sawtooth Comparator

A sawtooth phase comparator has advantages over the more common sinusoidal comparator in a phase-controlled oscillator because its output is linear for larger values of phase error. For some applications, it is no more complex or expensive than the sinusoidal comparator. This paper analyzes properties of the phase-controlled oscillator with a sawtooth comparator that have been mentioned in the literature for sinusoidal comparators. In addition, there is new theoretical material on the effect of fast jitter and noise. The properties of the circuit are presented in a manner which is convenient for design. Since it is easier to analyze the circuit with a sawtooth comparator, many applications of the device have been considered. Because of this wide viewpoint, the paper may be helpful in understanding the phase-controlled oscillator in general.