Frequency divider with variable capacitance
First Claim
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1. A marker, comprising:
- a first resonant circuit comprising a first planarized coil having a pair of terminals and a capacitor connected to said pair of terminals, said first resonant circuit to generate a first resonant signal in response to an interrogation signal; and
a second resonant circuit comprising a second planarized coil having a pair of terminals and a variable capacitor connected to said pair of terminals, with a portion of said second planarized coil to overlap a portion of said first planarized coil, said second resonant circuit to receive said first resonant signal and generate a second resonant signal having a second resonant frequency;
wherein said variable capacitor comprises a metal-oxide semiconductor device, said metal-oxide semiconductor device to operate as a non-linear capacitor having varying amounts of capacitance corresponding to varying amounts of voltage received by said metal-oxide semiconductor device; and
wherein said metal-oxide semiconductor device comprises a lamination of an insulation material and a semiconductor material disposed between metal terminals, and as said voltage applied across said terminals varies, a concentration of charge carriers in a region of said semiconductor material adjacent to said insulation material also varies to thereby vary said capacitance.
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Abstract
Method and apparatus for a frequency divider using variable capacitance are described.
16 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A marker, comprising:
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a first resonant circuit comprising a first planarized coil having a pair of terminals and a capacitor connected to said pair of terminals, said first resonant circuit to generate a first resonant signal in response to an interrogation signal; and a second resonant circuit comprising a second planarized coil having a pair of terminals and a variable capacitor connected to said pair of terminals, with a portion of said second planarized coil to overlap a portion of said first planarized coil, said second resonant circuit to receive said first resonant signal and generate a second resonant signal having a second resonant frequency; wherein said variable capacitor comprises a metal-oxide semiconductor device, said metal-oxide semiconductor device to operate as a non-linear capacitor having varying amounts of capacitance corresponding to varying amounts of voltage received by said metal-oxide semiconductor device; and wherein said metal-oxide semiconductor device comprises a lamination of an insulation material and a semiconductor material disposed between metal terminals, and as said voltage applied across said terminals varies, a concentration of charge carriers in a region of said semiconductor material adjacent to said insulation material also varies to thereby vary said capacitance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system, comprising:
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a transmitter to transmit an interrogation signal operating at a first frequency; a security tag having a marker, said marker comprising; a first resonant circuit comprising a first planarized coil having a pair of terminals and a capacitor connected to said pair of terminals, said first resonant circuit to generate a first resonant signal in response to said interrogation signal; a second resonant circuit comprising a second planarized coil having a pair of terminals and a variable capacitor connected to said pair of terminals, with a portion of said second planarized coil to overlap a portion of said first planarized coil, said second resonant circuit to receive said first resonant signal and generate a second resonant signal having a second resonant frequency; wherein said variable capacitor comprises a metal-oxide semiconductor device, said metal-oxide semiconductor device to operate as a non-linear capacitor having varying amounts of capacitance corresponding to varying amounts of voltage received by said metal-oxide semiconductor device; and a detector to detect said second resonant signal from said marker and generate a detection signal in accordance with said second resonant signal; wherein said metal-oxide semiconductor device comprises a lamination of an insulation material and a semiconductor material disposed between metal terminals, and as said voltage applied across said terminals varies, a concentration of charge carriers in a region of said semiconductor material adjacent to said insulation material also varies to thereby vary said capacitance. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method, comprising:
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receiving an interrogation signal at a first resonant circuit for a marker; generating a first resonant signal having a first resonant frequency in response to the interrogation signal; receiving said first resonant signal at a second resonant circuit overlapping said first resonant circuit; and generating a second resonant signal having a second resonant frequency in response to said first resonant signal using variable capacitance, with said second resonant frequency being different from said first resonant frequency; wherein the variable capacitance is provided by a metal-oxide semiconductor device, the metal-oxide semiconductor device comprising a lamination of an insulation material and a semiconductor material disposed between metal terminals, and as a voltage applied across the terminals varies, a concentration of charge carriers in a region of the semiconductor material adjacent to the insulation material also varies to thereby vary the capacitance. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification