Freescale Semiconductor,inc.

Nxp Usa, Inc.

Hugues Beaulaton

Thierry Cassagnes

Laurent Cornibert

Didier Salle

Jean-Christophe Nanan

Joseph Staudinger

Philippe Gorisse

Gerhard Trauth

Thierry Dominique Yves Cassagnes

Volker Dietmar Wahl

Philippe Patrick Calmettes

Stephane Colomines

Nadim Khlat

Damon G Holmes

Hao Li

Gilles Montoriol

Pierre Pascal Savary

Jean-Jacques Bouny

Robert Gach

Christophe Landez

Marianne Maleyran

Yean Ling Teo

Cedric Cassan

Akbar Ghazinour

Sung-Jin Jo

Gerald Haennig

Stéphane Colomines

A system is provided that includes a mechanical resonator, and an analog circuit coupled to the mechanical resonator. The analog circuit is arranged to receive a mechanical resonator measurement signal having a quadrature error from the mechanical resonator, and to extract a quadrature error signal from the mechanical resonator measurement signal using a quadrature clock. A digital quadrature controller is coupled to the analog circuit and is arranged to generate a quadrature error compensation signal from the extracted quadrature error signal and apply the quadrature error compensation signal to the mechanical resonator or the mechanical resonator measurement signal to reduce quadrature error in the mechanical resonator measurement signal error.

System comprising a mechanical resonator and method therefor

MEMS gyroscopes are often integrated in modern electronic products for measuring orientation or rotation in those products. However, these MEMS gyroscopes are often inaccurate. The invention provides a compensation circuit to compensate for errors causing a distortion of a measured Coriolis force. The compensation circuit demodulates an input signal provided by the MEMS gyroscope to produce a quadrature signal indicative of the quadrature error and provides a compensation signal to the MEMS gyroscope for actively compensating the quadrature error.

Quadrature error compensation circuit for a MEMS gyroscope

Vibration gyroscope circuitry, connectable to a vibrating MEMS gyroscope, includes drive circuitry for driving the gyroscope and a measurement circuit for providing a drive measurement signal indicating displacement of a mass along a drive axis. Sense circuitry processes a sense measurement signal of the gyroscope indicating displacement of the mass along a sense axis. A digital sample clock generator includes an oscillator for generating a master clock, a counter for counting master clock periods during one period of an input signal derived from the drive measurement signal, and a number count monitor for determining during how many input signal periods the number count stays constant and for comparing a number of constant periods with a critical number of constant periods. A frequency shifter triggers the oscillator to shift the master clock frequency whenever the monitor determines that the number of constant periods exceeds the critical number of constant periods.

In-band beating removal for a MEMS gyroscope

A drive circuitry for a vibration gyroscope is described. The drive circuitry comprises a digital phase shifter, a variable gain amplifier and a pulse signal generator arranged to generate a digital pulse signal having a frequency substantially equal to a drive frequency of the vibration gyroscope. A controller is arranged to connect drive actuation units of the vibration gyroscope to outputs of the pulse signal generator during a first start-up time period, to outputs of the digital phase shifter during a second start-up time period, and to outputs of the variable gain amplifier during a measurement time period. Furthermore, a vibration gyroscope device and a method of driving a vibration gyroscope are described.

Drive circuitry and method for a vibration gyroscope

A drive-mode oscillator module for use within a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) device is described. The drive-mode oscillator module is arranged to receive a proof-mass measurement signal from a proof-mass of the MEMS device and to output a proof-mass actuation signal to the proof-mass of the MEMS device. The drive-mode oscillator module comprises a first, higher gain accuracy drive-mode component for generating an actuation signal to be output by the drive-mode oscillator module during an active mode of the MEMS device, and a second, lower power consumption drive-mode component for generating an actuation signal to be output by the drive-mode oscillator module during a standby mode of the MEMS device.

Micro-electro-mechanical system drive-mode oscillator module and method therefor

A system comprises a mechanical resonator; an analog circuit operably coupled to the mechanical resonator; the analog circuit arranged to receive a mechanical resonator measurement signal and to output a mechanical resonator actuation signal to the mechanical resonator; and a digital actuator operably coupled to the analog circuit and configured to provide a frequency sweep of signals to the analog circuit that induces movement of the mechanical resonator.

An embodiment of an amplifier includes N (N&#x3e;1) switch-mode power amplifier (SMPA) branches. Each SMPA branch includes two drive signal inputs and one SMPA branch output. A module coupled to the amplifier samples an input RF signal, and produces combinations of drive signals based on the samples. When an SMPA branch receives a first combination of drive signals, it produces an output signal at a first voltage level. Conversely, when the SMPA branch receives a different second combination of drive signals, it produces the output signal at a different second voltage level. Finally, when the SMPA branch receives a different third combination of drive signals, it produces the output signal at a voltage level of substantially zero. A combiner combines the output signals from all of the SMPA branches to produce a combined output signal that may have, at any given time, one of 2*N+1 quantization states.

Multiple-state, switch-mode power amplifier systems and methods of their operation

A drive-mode oscillator module generates at least one proof-mass drive signal for use within a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) device. The drive-mode oscillator module comprises at least one gain control component arranged to receive at least one proof-mass motion measurement signal, and to generate a digital modulation control signal based at least partly on the at least one proof-mass motion measurement signal, and at least one modulation component arranged to receive the digital amplitude modulation control signal, and to output at least one proof-mass drive signal. The at least one modulation component is arranged to digitally modulate the at least one proof-mass drive signal based at least partly on the received digital amplitude modulation control signal.

Method and apparatus for generating a proof-mass drive signal

An embodiment of an amplifier includes N (N&#x3e;1) switch-mode power amplifier (SMPA) branches. Each SMPA branch includes two drive signal inputs and one SMPA branch output. A module coupled to the amplifier samples an input RF signal, and produces combinations of drive signals based on the samples. When an SMPA branch receives a first combination of drive signals, it produces an output signal at one voltage level. Conversely, when the SMPA branch receives a different second combination of drive signals, it produces the output signal at another voltage level. At least two of the SMPA branches produce output signals having different absolute magnitudes. A combiner combines the output signals from all of the SMPA branches to produce a combined output signal that may have, at any given time, one of 2*N+1 quantization states.

A communication unit comprises a power DAC. The DAC comprises: a switched mode power amplifier (SMPA); and a digital band-pass sigma-delta modulator operably coupled to the SMPA. The sigma-delta modulator comprises an input to receive an input baseband signal; a delay; an adder module arranged to add a feedback signal with an output from the delay; and at least two feedback branches. The sigma-delta modulator is arranged to digitally oversample the input baseband signal such that a ratio of a sampling frequency employed by the sigma-delta modulator to a radio frequency (RF) output from the DAC is fixed and the sampling frequency tuned or wherein the sampling frequency is fixed and the ratio is adjusted, such that a first feedback branch in the sigma-delta modulator is formed using at least one from a group of: a zero gain, an additive inverse of a second feedback branch.

Communication unit, digital band-pass sigma-delta modulator and method therefor

A digital sample clock generator for generating a sample clock signal from an input signal derived from a drive measurement voltage signal of a vibrating MEMS gyroscope is provided.

Digital sample clock generator, a vibration gyroscope circuitry comprising such digital sample clock generator, an associated apparatus, an associated semiconductor device and associated methods

A phase locked loop system, comprises: a voltage controlled oscillator circuit, comprising a first plurality of switchable varactors for selecting a frequency band of the VCO, that has a gain that changes with frequency band, and a second plurality of switchable varactors for varying the gain in the selected band. The PLL system has a PLL feedback circuit comprising a switching device for switching the feedback circuit to an open loop state wherein a plurality of predefined tuning voltages can be applied to the VCO; a frequency measurement device for measuring the synthesized VCO frequency; and a control unit operable to determine the gain with respect to the synthesized frequency and the tuning voltages.

PLL system and method for controlling a gain of a VCO circuit

An integrated circuit comprises frequency generation circuitry for controlling a frequency source for an automotive radar system. The frequency generation circuitry comprises a Phase Locked Loop (PLL) arranged to generate a control signal for controlling the frequency source, a fractional-N divider located within a feedback loop of the PLL, and frequency pattern control logic operably coupled to the fractional-N divider and arranged to control the fractional-N divider, by way of a frequency control signal, such that the PLL generates a Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) control signal.

Integrated circuit comprising frequency generation circuitry for controlling a frequency source

A method for reducing noise in a device that includes at least one phase locked loop (PLL), the method includes: adjusting at least one adjustable component of a PLL such as to determine a time shift; modulating a frequency divider such as to generate a modulation noise within a modulation noise period and to provide a frequency divided signal; introducing the time shift between the modulation noise period and a measurement period; and measuring during a measurement period a difference between a reference signal and the frequency divided signal. A device that includes a phased locked loop. The phase locked loop (PLL) includes: a frequency divider, adapted to receive an output signal from a controlled oscillator and to provide a divided frequency signal; a modulator, adapted to affect at least one frequency division characteristic and to introduce a modulation noise during a modulation noise period, a phase detector, adapted to measure, during a measurement period, a difference between a reference signal and the frequency divided signal; and an adjustable delay unit adapted to affect an adjustable time shift between the modulation period and the measurement period.

Method for noise reduction in a phase locked loop and a device having noise reduction capabilities

The output power of an RF power amplifier is controlled using a feedback loop including a differential integrator for controlling the amplifier's bias voltage. The gain of integration in the differential integrator is varied so as to compensate for variations in the derivative of the power amplifier output power versus the bias voltage.

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Toulouse, France

Hugues Beaulaton