We report on a multifractal type approach to the study of low frequenc
y noise in oscillators. The time sequence is interrogated by means of
a multiscale local stability exponent which acts as a sliding filterin
g window. Its discontinuities are reflected into a binary coding of wh
ich the correlations are analyzed. The mapping of binary data into a d
evil's staircase is used to emphasize the correlated origin of frequen
cy fluctuations. (C) 1995 American Institute of Physics.