Inductor and capacitor-based clock generator and timing/frequency reference
First Claim
1. An apparatus for providing a first reference signal, the apparatus comprising:
- an oscillator comprising an inductor and a capacitor, the oscillator adapted to provide the first reference signal having a first frequency;
a voltage controller adapted to provide a plurality of voltage control signals; and
a plurality of switchable, controlled reactance modules coupled to the oscillator and to the voltage controller, each reactance module of the plurality of reactance modules adapted to provide a selected reactance in response to a corresponding voltage control signal of the plurality of voltage control signals to modify the first frequency.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In various embodiments, the invention provides a clock generator and/or a timing and frequency reference comprising an LC oscillator with a frequency controller to control and provide a stable resonant frequency. Such stability is provided over variations in a selected parameter such as temperature and fabrication process variations. The various apparatus embodiments include a sensor adapted to provide a signal in response to at least one parameter of a plurality of parameters; and a frequency controller adapted to modify the resonant frequency in response to the second signal. In exemplary embodiments, the sensor is implemented as a current source responsive to temperature fluctuations, and the frequency controller is implemented as a plurality of controlled reactance modules which are selectively couplable to the oscillator or to one or more control voltages. The controlled reactance modules may include fixed or variable capacitances or inductances, and may be binary weighted. Arrays of resistive modules are also provided, to generate one or more control voltages.
13 Citations
37 Claims
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1. An apparatus for providing a first reference signal, the apparatus comprising:
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an oscillator comprising an inductor and a capacitor, the oscillator adapted to provide the first reference signal having a first frequency;
a voltage controller adapted to provide a plurality of voltage control signals; and
a plurality of switchable, controlled reactance modules coupled to the oscillator and to the voltage controller, each reactance module of the plurality of reactance modules adapted to provide a selected reactance in response to a corresponding voltage control signal of the plurality of voltage control signals to modify the first frequency. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An apparatus for providing a first reference signal the apparatus comprising:
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a harmonic oscillator comprising an inductor and a capacitor, the harmonic oscillator adapted to provide the first reference signal having a first frequency and to operate without locking to an external reference signal;
a plurality of resistive modules adapted to generate a plurality of voltage control signals;
a plurality of controlled reactance modules coupled to the harmonic oscillator and to the plurality of resistive modules, each reactance module of the plurality of reactance modules adapted to provide a selected reactance in response to a corresponding voltage control signal of the plurality of voltage control signals to modify the first frequency;
a coefficient register coupled to the plurality of switches, the coefficient register adapted to store a plurality of switching coefficients; and
a plurality of switches coupled to the plurality of resistive modules and to the plurality of controlled reactance modules, each switch of the plurality of switches responsive to a corresponding switching coefficient to couple a selected control voltage of the plurality of control voltages to a corresponding controlled reactance module. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. An integrated circuit for providing a plurality of output reference signals, the integrated circuit comprising:
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an oscillator comprising an inductor and a capacitor, the oscillator adapted to provide a frequency reference signal having a resonant frequency;
a sensor adapted to provide a second signal in response to at least one parameter of a plurality of parameters;
aa voltage controller adapted to provide a plurality of voltage control signals;
a plurality of switchable, controlled reactance modules coupled to the oscillator and to the voltage controller, each reactance module of the plurality of reactance modules adapted to provide a selected reactance in response to a corresponding voltage control signal of the plurality of voltage control signals to modify the resonant frequency;
a frequency divider coupled to the oscillator and adapted to provide the frequency reference signal having a first frequency; and
a plurality of phase-locked loops coupled to the frequency divider, each phase-locked loop of the plurality of phase-locked loops having a corresponding divide ratio of a plurality of different divide ratios, each phase-locked loop of the plurality of phase-locked loops adapted to phase lock to the frequency reference signal and provide an output signal having an output frequency determined from the first frequency and the corresponding divide ratio. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. An integrated circuit for providing a first reference signal and having an integrated processor, the integrated circuit comprising:
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a harmonic oscillator comprising an inductor and a capacitor, the harmonic oscillator adapted to provide the first reference signal having a first frequency;
a plurality of resistive modules adapted to generate a plurality of voltage control signals;
a plurality of controlled capacitance modules coupled to the harmonic oscillator and to the plurality of resistive modules, each capacitance module of the plurality of capacitance modules adapted to provide a selected capacitance in response to a corresponding voltage control signal of the plurality of voltage control signals to modify the first frequency;
a coefficient register coupled to the plurality of switches, the coefficient register adapted to store a plurality of switching coefficients;
a plurality of switches coupled to the plurality of resistive modules and to the plurality of controlled capacitance modules, each switch of the plurality of switches responsive to a corresponding switching coefficient to couple a selected control voltage of the plurality of control voltages to a corresponding controlled capacitance module;
a divider circuit coupled to the harmonic oscillator and adapted to convert the first reference signal into a substantially square-wave clock signal having a substantially equal duty cycle; and
a processor coupled to the divider circuit and adapted to receive the clock signal.
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Specification