Method and apparatus for filtering signals in a subsystem including a power amplifier utilizing a bank of vibrating micromechanical apparatus
First Claim
1. A method for filtering signals to obtain at least one desired passband of frequencies in a subsystem including a power amplifier to allow the power amplifier to operate with less power consumption, the method comprising:
- providing a bank of micromechanical apparatus wherein each apparatus has at least one passband of frequencies and each of the apparatus is switchable and tunable;
controllably switching the bank of micromechanical apparatus to select the at least one desired passband and to substantially attenuate power outside the at least one desired passband; and
vibrating the micromechanical apparatus corresponding to the at least one desired passband.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Several MEMS-based methods and architectures which utilize vibrating micromechanical resonators in circuits to implement filtering, mixing, frequency reference and amplifying functions are provided. Apparatus is provided for selecting at least one desired passband or channel in an RF transmitter subsystem utilizing a bank of vibrating micromechanical devices. 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.
72 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method for filtering signals to obtain at least one desired passband of frequencies in a subsystem including a power amplifier to allow the power amplifier to operate with less power consumption, the method comprising:
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providing a bank of micromechanical apparatus wherein each apparatus has at least one passband of frequencies and each of the apparatus is switchable and tunable;
controllably switching the bank of micromechanical apparatus to select the at least one desired passband and to substantially attenuate power outside the at least one desired passband; and
vibrating the micromechanical apparatus corresponding to the at least one desired passband. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus for processing signals in a transmit path, the apparatus comprising:
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an amplifier that generates an amplified signal in the transmit path;
a bank of micromechanical bandpass filters coupled to the amplifier to receive the amplified signal; and
a controller for selecting at least one desired filter of the bank of filters;
wherein each of the filters includes an anchor and a vibrating filter structure anchored to a substrate via the anchor wherein the vibrating filter structure includes a vibrating beam.
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14. An apparatus for processing signals in a transmit path, the apparatus comprising:
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an amplifier that generates an amplified signal in the transmit path;
a bank of micromechanical bandpass filters coupled to the amplifier to receive the amplified signal; and
a controller for selecting at least one desired filter of the bank of filters;
wherein each of the filters includes an anchor and a vibrating filter structure anchored to a substrate via the anchor wherein each of the filters is switchable via application of a bias voltage to each filter.
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15. In a subsystem including a power amplifier, a signal filtering apparatus for filtering signals to obtain at least one desired passband of frequencies while allowing the power amplifier to operate with less power consumption, the apparatus comprising:
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a parallel bank of micromechanical filters wherein each of the filters has a passband and is capable of handling amplified signals and each of the filters is switchable and tunable; and
a controller for selecting at least one desired filter of the bank of filters to thereby provide the at least one desired passband of frequencies. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for filtering signals to obtain at least one desired passband of frequencies in a subsystem including a power amplifier to allow the power amplifier to operate with less power consumption, the method comprising:
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providing a bank of micromechanical filters wherein each filter has at least one passband of frequencies;
controllably switching the bank of micromechanical filters to select the at least one desired passband and to substantially attenuate power outside the at least one desired passband;
vibrating the micromechanical filter corresponding to the at least one desired passband; and
wherein each of the filters has a Q greater than 5000.
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21. In a subsystem including a power amplifier, a signal filtering apparatus for filtering signals to obtain at least one desired passband of frequencies while allowing the power amplifier to operate with less power consumption, the apparatus comprising:
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a parallel bank of micromechanical filters wherein each of the filters has a passband and is capable of handling amplified signals;
a controller for selecting at least one desired filter of the bank of filters to thereby provide the at least one desired passband of frequencies; and
wherein each of the filters has a Q greater than 5000.
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22. In a subsystem including a power amplifier, a signal filtering apparatus for filtering signals to obtain at least one desired passband of frequencies while allowing the power amplifier to operate with less power consumption, the apparatus comprising:
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a parallel bank of micromechanical filters wherein each of the filters has a passband and is capable of handling amplified signals;
a controller for selecting at least one desired filter of the bank of filters to thereby provide the at least one desired passband of frequencies; and
wherein the controller includes a decoder for controlling application of an appropriate bias voltage to the at least one desired filter.
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Specification