Enhanced stability oscillators using a phononic comb
AssigneeHRL Laboratories, LLC
InventorsRandall L. Kubena, Walter S. Wall
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for enhancing the stability of an oscillator circuit by generating a comb of frequencies in a non-linear resonator member in response to a drive frequency, the oscillator circuit including a voltage controlled oscillator which is locked to a particular tooth of the comb of frequencies produced by the non-linear resonator member at a drive frequency for which the absolute value of the first derivative of the drive frequency versus said comb frequency is greater than 1, and wherein the second voltage controlled oscillator is coupled with a phase locked loop circuit which controls the locking of the second voltage controlled oscillator to said particular tooth of the comb of frequencies.
Claims18
An oscillator comprising:
- a first voltage controlled oscillator, a nonlinear resonator element, a second voltage controlled oscillator, and a phase locked loop (PLL) circuit;
- wherein the first voltage controlled oscillator comprises at least a first resonator and a sustaining circuit in electrical communication with the first resonator, the first voltage controlled oscillator producing a drive signal having a drive frequency,
- wherein the first voltage controlled oscillator drives the nonlinear resonator element to produce, in use, a frequency comb,
- wherein the second voltage controlled oscillator is locked, in use, to a selected tooth of the comb at a frequency in which a first derivative of the drive frequency with respect to the frequency of the selected tooth in the comb has an absolute value greater than 1, and
- wherein the phase locked loop circuit controls the locking of the second voltage controlled oscillator to the frequency of the selected tooth.
An oscillator comprising:
- a plurality of piezoelectric resonators;
- first and second sustaining circuits coupled to first and second ones of the plurality of piezoelectric resonators,
- wherein the first of the sustaining circuits generates a drive frequency signal of a given frequency that is applied to another one of said plurality of piezoelectric resonators which generates a frequency comb signal;
- wherein the second of the sustaining circuits is coupled with a phase locked loop system, the second one of the plurality of resonators being locked to a selected tooth of the frequency comb signal at a particular frequency for which a first derivative of the drive frequency signal with respect to the frequency of the selected tooth of the frequency comb signal has an absolute value greater than one;
- and
- wherein the phase locked loop system controls the locking of the second oscillator to the selected tooth of the frequency comb signal wherein said first derivative has an absolute value greater than one.
A method for enhancing the stability of an oscillator circuit by generating a comb of frequencies in a non-linear resonator member in response to a drive frequency, the oscillator circuit including a voltage controlled oscillator which is locked to a particular or selected tooth of the comb of frequencies produced by the non-linear resonator member at a drive frequency for which an absolute value of a first derivative of the drive_frequency with respect to said comb frequency is greater than 1, the voltage controlled oscillator being coupled with a phase locked loop circuit for controlling the locking of the voltage controlled oscillator to said particular or selected tooth of the comb of frequencies.
An oscillator circuit, the oscillator circuit generating a drive signal, the oscillator circuit including a non-linear resonator member which generates, in use, a comb of frequencies in response to said drive signal, the oscillator circuit including a voltage controlled oscillator and a phase locked loop, the voltage controlled oscillator being locked by the phased locked loop to a particular or selected tooth of the comb of frequencies produced by the non-linear resonator member at a drive signal frequency for which an absolute value of a first derivative of the drive frequency with respect to the particular or selected tooth of the comb is greater than one.
A method for increasing the stability of a quartz oscillator by generating a phononic comb in a nonlinear quartz resonator and selecting a tooth in said comb for which a first derivative of the drive frequency signal versus the frequency of the selected tooth of the comb has an absolute value greater than one to thereby reduce frequency instability of the quartz oscillator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.