# US 11,309,729 B2 · Apparatus comprising a first and second layer of conductive material and methods of manufacturing and operating such apparatus > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,309,729 B2 - Document ID: US11309729B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/553,857 - Filed: 2019-08-28 - Published: 2020-03-05 - Granted: 2022-04-19 - Earliest claimed: 2018-08-30 - Assignees: Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy - Applicants: Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy - Inventors: Senad Bulja; Pawel Rulikowski; Anna Wielgoszewska - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11309729B2 ## CPC - H10B 63/80: {Arrangements comprising multiple bistable or multi-stable switching components of the same type on a plane parallel to the substrate, e.g. cross-point arrays} - H02J 50/10: using inductive coupling - H02K 11/0094: {Structural association with other electrical or electronic devices} - H10B 63/84: {arranged in a direction perpendicular to the substrate, e.g. 3D cell arrays} - H10N 70/245: {the species being metal cations, e.g. programmable metallization cells} - H10N 70/253: {having three or more electrodes, e.g. transistor-like devices} - H10N 70/826: {adapted for essentially vertical current flow, e.g. sandwich or pillar type devices} - H10N 70/8833: {Binary metal oxides, e.g. TaOx} - H10B: ELECTRONIC MEMORY DEVICES - H02J: ELECTRIC POWER NETWORKS; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY - H02K: DYNAMO-ELECTRIC MACHINES (dynamo-electric relays H01H53/00; conversion of DC or AC input power into surge output power {H03K3/53}) - H10N: ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR ## Abstract Apparatus comprising a first layer of electrically conductive material and a second layer of electrically conductive material, and a plurality of impedance elements connecting said first layer with said second layer, wherein an impedance value of at least some of said plurality of impedance elements is controllable. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An apparatus for processing signals in the radio frequency range, comprising a first layer of electrically conductive material and a second layer of electrically conductive material, and a plurality of impedance elements arranged between said first layer and said second layer, at least some of the impedance elements from said plurality of impedance elements connect said first layer with said second layer, wherein an impedance value of at least some of the impedance elements from said plurality of impedance elements is controllable; wherein a plurality of control lines is configured to control at least one individual impedance element of said plurality of impedance elements and/or a group of several impedance elements of said plurality of impedance elements. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first layer and/or said second layer is a contiguous layer comprising a contiguous area of electrically conductive material. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a substrate layer is between said first layer and said second layer, and wherein said plurality of impedance elements are arranged within said substrate layer. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one impedance element of said plurality of impedance elements comprises at least one of: a switch or a variable capacitor. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said switch is an electrochromic switch. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a first group of one or more impedance elements of said plurality of impedance elements comprises a first type of impedance element, and a second group of one or more impedance elements of said plurality of impedance elements comprises a second type of impedance element which is different from said first type of impedance element. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first layer of electrically conductive material and said second layer of electrically conductive material are arranged substantially parallel to each other. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least some of the impedance elements from said plurality of impedance elements are arranged in a regular raster along at least one dimension of said apparatus. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said regular raster is characterized by a respective spacing along said at least one dimension (x, z). ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one impedance element of said plurality of impedance elements comprises a stacked layer configuration having a plurality of functional layers, wherein said functional layers are stacked over each other along a stack coordinate, which stack coordinate is substantially parallel to a surface normal of a surface of the first layer and/or said second layer. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one capacitive element is connected in series to at least one impedance element of said plurality of impedance elements. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control device for controlling at least some impedance elements and/or groups (G1, G2) of impedance elements of said plurality of impedance elements, wherein said control device is configured to control an impedance value of at least some impedance elements and/or groups of impedance elements of said plurality of impedance elements. ### Claim 13 A method of manufacturing an apparatus for processing signals in the radio frequency, RF, range, comprising: a first layer of electrically conductive material and a second layer of electrically conductive material, said method comprising the following: providing said first layer of electrically conductive material, providing said second layer of electrically conductive material, providing a plurality of impedance elements between said first layer and said second layer, said impedance elements connecting said first layer with said second layer, wherein an impedance value of at least some of said plurality of impedance elements is controllable; and providing a plurality of control lines configured to control at least one individual impedance element of said plurality of impedance elements and/or a group of several impedance elements of said plurality of impedance elements. ### Claim 14 A method of operating an apparatus for processing signals in the radio frequency range, the method comprising: configuring a plurality of impedance elements arranged between a first layer of electrically conductive material and a second layer of electrically conductive material; and processing one or more radio frequency signals through the plurality of impedance elements; wherein an impedance value of at least some of the impedance elements from the plurality of impedance elements is controllable; wherein a plurality of control lines is configured to control at least one individual impedance element of said plurality of impedance elements and/or a group of several impedance elements of said plurality of impedance elements. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, further comprising reconfiguring one or more of the impedance elements. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, wherein configuring one or more impedance elements comprises controlling at least one of an impedance value of at least one impedance element or at least one group of impedance elements. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16, wherein controlling at least one of an impedance value of at least one impedance element or at least one group of impedance elements comprises controlling to a predetermined value.