Method and apparatus for upconverting and filtering an information signal utilizing a vibrating micromechanical device
First Claim
1. A method for upconverting and filtering an information signal having a frequency, the method comprising:
- providing a micromechanical device having a first port for receiving the information signal, a second port for receiving an AC signal having a desired frequency and an output port; and
vibrating the micromechanical device so that the micromechanical device translates the frequency of the information signal upward based on the desired frequency and filters the information signal.
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Abstract
Several MEMS-based architectures which utilize vibrating micromechanical resonators in circuits to implement filtering, mixing, frequency reference and amplifying functions are provided. A method and apparatus are provided for upconverting and filtering an information signal utilizing a vibrating micromechanical device based on an AC signal having a desired frequency. One of the primary benefits of the use of such architectures is a savings in power consumption by trading power for high selectivity (i.e., high Q). Consequently, the present invention relies on the use of a large number of micromechanical links in SSI networks to implement signal processing functions with basically zero DC power consumption.
147 Citations
13 Claims
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1. A method for upconverting and filtering an information signal having a frequency, the method comprising:
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providing a micromechanical device having a first port for receiving the information signal, a second port for receiving an AC signal having a desired frequency and an output port; and
vibrating the micromechanical device so that the micromechanical device translates the frequency of the information signal upward based on the desired frequency and filters the information signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A micromechanical up-converting mixer-filter apparatus for upconverting and filtering an information signal having a frequency, the apparatus comprising:
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a mixing micromechanical transducer having a first port for receiving the information signal, a second port for receiving an AC signal having a desired frequency and an output port; and
a micromechanical resonator coupled to the transducer wherein the apparatus translates the frequency of the information signal upwards based on the desired frequency and filters the information signal. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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Specification