Timing oscillators and related methods
First Claim
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1. A device comprising:
- a timing oscillator formed on a first substrate, the timing oscillator comprising;
a micromechanical resonating structure configured to generate a first signal having a first frequency; and
a drive circuit coupled to the micromechanical resonating structure and configured to provide a drive signal to the micromechanical resonating structure to cause the micromechanical resonating structure to generate the first signal, wherein the drive circuit has a feedback loop including a tunable resistive component and a tunable capacitive component,wherein the timing oscillator is configured to produce an output signal based at least partially on the first signal;
a dividing circuit formed on a second substrate and configured to receive the output signal of the timing oscillator and divide the output signal to produce a divided signal having a second frequency less than the first frequency; and
a package surrounding the first substrate and the second substrate.
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Abstract
Timing oscillators as well as related methods and devices are described. A timing oscillator may include a mechanical resonating structure with major elements and minor elements coupled to the major element. The timing oscillator can generate stable signals with low phase noise at very high frequencies which allows a timing oscillator to be used effectively in a number of devices including computers and mobile phones for time and data synchronization purposes. The signal generated by the timing oscillator can be tuned using a driver circuit and a compensation circuit.
80 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A device comprising:
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a timing oscillator formed on a first substrate, the timing oscillator comprising; a micromechanical resonating structure configured to generate a first signal having a first frequency; and a drive circuit coupled to the micromechanical resonating structure and configured to provide a drive signal to the micromechanical resonating structure to cause the micromechanical resonating structure to generate the first signal, wherein the drive circuit has a feedback loop including a tunable resistive component and a tunable capacitive component, wherein the timing oscillator is configured to produce an output signal based at least partially on the first signal; a dividing circuit formed on a second substrate and configured to receive the output signal of the timing oscillator and divide the output signal to produce a divided signal having a second frequency less than the first frequency; and a package surrounding the first substrate and the second substrate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification