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US 6,486,744 B1Granted
Low phase noise voltage-controlled oscillator and method of using the same
AssigneeDigital Microwave Corporation
InventorMichael John Cann
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A low phase noise voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) and method are provided. The VCO comprises a negative resistance generator and a resonator that reduces VCO phase noise.
Claims22
A voltage-controlled oscillator comprising:
- a resonator comprising a three-finger interdigital filter and a plurality of varactors, a first varactor coupled to a first finger of the interdigital filter and a ground terminal, a second varactor coupled to a third finger of the interdigital filter and a ground terminal, a second finger of the interdigital filter coupled to a ground terminal, wherein the first and second varactors are configured to alter a resonant frequency of the interdigital filter to a desired frequency in response to a tuning voltage applied to the resonator;
- and
- a negative resistance generator coupled to the resonator, the negative resistance generator configured to receive a first signal from the resonator, the first signal having a frequency, the negative resistance generator configured to output a second signal, the second signal having a substantially similar frequency and a higher amplitude compared to the first signal.
A method of generating an oscillating signal at a desired frequency, the method comprising:
- applying a tuning voltage to a resonator, the resonator comprising an interdigital filter and a plurality of varactors, the interdigital filter comprising a first finger, a second finger and a third finger, the first finger coupled to a first varactor and the third finger coupled to a second varactor;
- and
- using the tuning voltage to alter a resonant frequency of the interdigital filter to generate a signal with a desired oscillation frequency.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.