Current-controlled quadrature oscillator based on differential g.sub.m /C cells
First Claim
1. An oscillator comprising:
- a first gm/C integrator stage having a first pair of input terminals, a first pair of output terminals, and a first pair of common-mode terminals;
a first common-mode biasing means coupled between a supply voltage and the first pair of common-mode terminals;
a second gm/C integrator stage having a second pair of input terminals, a second pair of output terminals, and a second pair of common-mode terminals;
a second common-mode biasing means coupled between a supply voltage and the second pair of common-mode terminals; and
wherein the first pair of output terminals is coupled to the second pair of input terminals and the second pair of output terminals is cross-coupled to the first pair of input terminals such that a signal appearing on the first pair of input terminals is 180 degrees out of phase with a concomitant signal appearing on the second pair of input terminals whereby the oscillator oscillates.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An oscillator including two gm/C stages is disclosed. Each gm/C stage includes a differential pair of transistors, a capacitor, and a tunable current source. Alternatively, multi-tanh n-tuplets can be used in place of the differential pairs in the gm/C stages to increase the linearity of the gm/C stage. The gm/C stages include a pair of input terminals, a pair of output terminals, and a pair of common-mode terminals. The two gm/C stages are interconnected in a feedback loop to form a quadrature oscillator. A common-mode biasing circuit is coupled a supply voltage and each pair of common-mode terminals for biasing the respective gm/C stage. The common-mode biasing circuits can include: current mirrors, diode pairs, and even resistors. An optional start-up circuit can be coupled to each gm/C stage to ensure start-up of the associated gm/C stage. The start-up circuit includes a pair of cross-coupled transistors in order to form a negative resistance so as to compensate for the impedance of the subsequent gm/C stage.
48 Citations
41 Claims
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1. An oscillator comprising:
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a first gm/C integrator stage having a first pair of input terminals, a first pair of output terminals, and a first pair of common-mode terminals; a first common-mode biasing means coupled between a supply voltage and the first pair of common-mode terminals; a second gm/C integrator stage having a second pair of input terminals, a second pair of output terminals, and a second pair of common-mode terminals; a second common-mode biasing means coupled between a supply voltage and the second pair of common-mode terminals; and wherein the first pair of output terminals is coupled to the second pair of input terminals and the second pair of output terminals is cross-coupled to the first pair of input terminals such that a signal appearing on the first pair of input terminals is 180 degrees out of phase with a concomitant signal appearing on the second pair of input terminals whereby the oscillator oscillates. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An oscillator according to claim I wherein the first gm/C integrator stage includes a first multi-tanh n-tuplet.
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11. An oscillator comprising:
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a first gm/C integrator stage having a first pair of input terminals, a first pair of output terminals, and a first pair of common-mode terminals; a first pair of common-mode transistors coupled between a supply voltage and the first pair of common-mode terminals, each one of the first pair of common mode transistors being coupled between the supply voltage and a respective one of the first pair of common-mode terminals, each one of the first pair of common mode transistors having a control terminal; a first common-mode biasing transistor having a control terminal coupled to a second gm/C integrator stage and a load terminal coupled to the control terminals of the first pair of common-mode transistors; a first start-up means coupled to the first pair of output terminals; the second gm/C integrator stage having a second pair of input terminals, a second pair of output terminals, and a second pair of common-mode terminals; a second pair of common-mode transistors coupled between the supply voltage and the second pair of common-mode terminals, each one of the second pair of common mode transistors being coupled between the supply voltage and a respective one of the second pair of common-mode terminals, each one of the second pair of common mode transistors having a control terminal; a second common-mode biasing transistor having a control terminal coupled to the first gm/C integrator stage and a load terminal coupled to the control terminals of the second pair of common-mode transistors; and a second start-up means coupled to the second pair of output terminals; wherein the first pair of output terminals is coupled to the second pair of input terminals and the second pair of output terminals is cross-coupled to the first pair of input terminals such that a signal appearing on the first pair of input terminals is 180 degrees out of phase with a concomitant signal appearing on the second pair of input terminals whereby the oscillator oscillates. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An oscillator comprising:
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a first gm/C integrator stage having a first pair of input terminals, a first pair of output terminals, and a first pair of common-mode terminals; a first common-mode biasing means coupled between a supply voltage and the first pair of common-mode terminals; a first pair of cross-coupled transistors coupled to the first pair of output terminals; a first biasing current source coupled to the first pair of cross-coupled transistors; a second gm/C integrator stage having a second pair of input terminals, a second pair of output terminals, and a second pair of common-mode terminals; a second common-mode biasing means coupled between a supply voltage and the second pair of common-mode terminals; and a second pair of cross-coupled transistors coupled to the second pair of output terminals; and a second biasing current source coupled to the second pair of cross-coupled transistors; wherein the first pair of output terminals is coupled to the second pair of input terminals and the second pair of output terminals is cross-coupled to the first pair of input terminals such that a signal appearing on the first pair of input terminals is 180 degrees out of phase with a concomitant signal appearing on the second pair of input terminals whereby the oscillator oscillates. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. An oscillator comprising:
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a first gm/C integrator stage having a first pair of input terminals, a first pair of output terminals, and a first pair of common-mode terminals; a first common-mode biasing circuit coupled between a supply voltage and the first pair of common-mode terminals; a second gm/C integrator stage having a second pair of input terminals, a second pair of output terminals, and a second pair of common-mode terminals; a second common-mode biasing circuit coupled between a supply voltage and the second pair of common-mode terminals; and wherein the first pair of output terminals is coupled to the second pair of input terminals and the second pair of output terminals is cross-coupled to the first pair of input terminals such that a signal appearing on the first pair of input terminals is 180 degrees out of phase with a concomitant signal appearing on the second pair of input terminals whereby the oscillator oscillates. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A method of tuning an oscillation frequency of an oscillation signal generated by an oscillator having a pair of gm/C integrator stages, each gm/C stage having a tunable current source coupled thereto for sourcing current from the associated gm/C stage, the method comprising:
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cross-coupling the pair of gm/C stages to form a closed loop; applying a control signal to the oscillator; altering the currents through the gm/C stages responsive to the control signal; and altering the transconductance (grn) of the integrator stages responsive to the alteration in the currents wherein the oscillation frequency is tuned. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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Specification