Hrl Laboratories, LLC

Other

The Boeing Company

Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

Randall Lynn Kubena

David T Chang

Walter S Wall

Richard J Joyce

Hung P Nguyen

Deborah J Kirby

Frederic P Stratton

Logan D Sorenson

Raviv Perahia

Yook-Kong Yong

Pamela R Patterson

Jinsoo Kim

Hyok Jae Song

Tsung-Yuan Hsu

Harris P Moyer

Carson R White

Michael J Little

LeRoy H Hackett

Robert L Larson

A Dorian Challoner

Gabriel L Virbila

Robert Thomas M'Closkey

A resonator structure comprising of two sets of top and bottom electrodes disposed on a common piezoelectric substrate forming first and second acoustically coupled resonators with different resonant frequencies and which are driven by common signal source on the top electrodes at a frequency between the two resonant frequencies and at a power sufficient for nonlinear operation, thereby producing a phononic frequency comb output.

Acoustically coupled dual resonators for phononic frequency comb generation

A phononic frequency comb enhanced clock, including a nonlinear resonator configured to generate a phononic frequency comb in response to a drive signal and an AM-to-PM noise correction circuit. The AM-to-PM noise correction circuit includes a transfer function circuit which includes a two-channel PLL and a DSP. The two-channel PLL has one channel input with the phononic frequency comb and another channel input with at least a portion of the drive signal. The DSP is configured to periodically divide a PM noise of a predetermined tooth of the phononic frequency comb by an AM noise of the portion of the drive signal to generate periodically updated noise correction signals. The clock further includes a phase shifter having an input coupled to an output of the digital signal processor and another input connected to a frequency signal of a preselected tooth of the phononic frequency comb.

In-situ phase noise compensation for phononic frequency combs

A RF antenna having a magnetostrictive film may be made by patterning selected portions of a top surface of the quartz wafer for deposition of electrode metal and deposition of the magnetostrictive film and depositing the electrode metal and the magnetostrictive film; temporarily bonding the quartz wafer to a handle wafer; thinning the quartz wafer to a desired thickness; etching the quartz wafer to define the outlines of at least one quartz resonator bearing the electrode metal and the magnetostrictive film; patterning selected portions of a bottom surface the at least one quartz resonator for deposition of electrode metal and at least one bond pad and depositing the electrode metal and the at least one bond pad; bonding the at least one quartz resonator to a substrate wafer; and releasing the at least one quartz resonator from the handle wafer.

Quartz MEMS piezoelectric resonator for chipscale RF antennae

A method and an apparatus for coupling two nonlinear resonators via a nonlinear element to generate phononic frequency combs.

Method and system for generating phononic frequency comb

A RF transmitting device and method for transmitting digital information wherein the device is connected to or connectable with an antenna, the RF transmitting device having an RF source or transmitter, an electronic switch, a plurality electromechanical resonators each connected to the electronic switch. The electronic switch connects a selected one or selected ones of the electromechanical resonators between the RF source or transmitter and the antenna. Alternatively, the electronic switch connects a selected one or selected ones of the electromechanical resonators between different portions of the antenna. The electronic switch is controlled by a digital control unit for causing the electronic switch to couple RF energy produced by the RF source or transmitter to the antenna via the selected one or selected ones of the plurality of electromechanical resonators.

Antenna dynamically matched with electromechanical resonators

An antenna system having at least one active element with a first end thereof for connection to a radio receiver, transmitter or transceiver and at least one electromechanical resonator connected in series with (i) at least portion of said at least one active element and at least another portion of said at least one active element or (ii) said at least one active element and said radio receiver, transmitter or transceiver. The at least one active element exhibits capacitive reactance at an intended frequency of operation and the at least one electromechanical resonator exhibits inductive reactance at the intended frequency of operation, the inductive reactance of the at least one electromechanical resonator offsetting or partially offsetting the capacitive reactance of the at least one antenna element at the intended frequency of operation.

Antenna loaded with electromechanical resonators

A magnetic gradiometer sensor comprising a substrate with at least a pair of resonators disposed thereon, wherein each of the at least a pair of resonators is coated with a magnetostrictive film. The resonators are preferably connected to sustaining circuits to form oscillators and the oscillators are preferably used within a phase lock loop to detect a difference in the magnetic field between the at least a pair of resonators.

Magnetostrictive MEMS magnetic gradiometer

An atomic clock stabilized or disciplined by tooth selected from a phononic comb of frequency teeth. A method of stabilizing an atomic clock having a reference oscillator, the method comprising selecting a particular tooth from a phononic comb of frequency teeth and applying a correction signal to said reference oscillator, the correction signal being based the selected tooth of said phononic comb. The disclosed technology is not limited to stabilizing reference oscillators associated with atomic clocks and thus may be utilized to stabilize reference oscillators whether or not they are interfaces with an atomic clock.

Phononic comb enhanced atomic clock

A method and apparatus for for sensing a change in an acceleration gradient &#x3b4;a(t) between two gravity fields a(t) and a(t) respectively sensed by the first and second proof masses, the first and second proof masses either being coupled only to a first resonator or being individually coupled to first and second resonators, the first resonator generating, in use, a signal at a frequency fwhich is applied said second resonator, the second resonator being driven, in use, into a non-linear state corresponding to a modal resonant frequency fwherein it generates a comb of frequencies each tooth of which is separated from each other by a frequency &#x394; which is frequency-wise proportional a frequency difference between fand fand also proportional to the change in said acceleration gradient &#x3b4;a(t), circuitry for selecting an ntooth in said comb of frequencies where the frequency of the ntooth is equal to f+n&#x394;, circuitry for detecting a change in the frequency of the ntooth and for generating a signal that is proportional to n times the change in an acceleration gradient &#x3b4;a(t).

Phononic comb enhanced MEMS gravity gradiometers

A comb enhanced oscillator in which a drive signal from a first oscillator is split into two signals. The first signal is applied to a nonlinear resonator producing a phononic frequency comb of equally spaced resonances. The second signal is passed through an amplitude detector and a phase shifter. In one embodiment, the comb is applied to the phase shifter to correct for AM-PM cross-correlation noise and then applied to a phase lock loop (PLL) for locking to a second oscillator. The output of the second oscillator is used as the output of the comb enhanced oscillator.

Comb enhanced oscillator with AM-to-PM noise suppression

A method and apparatus for enhancing the sensitivity of an oscillator circuit functioning, in use, to sense changes in the inductance of inductive elements and/or the capacitance of capacitive elements coupled to said oscillator circuit. The oscillator circuit is coupled to a nonlinear resonator for generating a comb of frequencies in response to a drive frequency generated by the oscillator circuit, the comb of frequencies having at least a portion of at least one tooth for which an absolute value of the first derivative of the drive frequency with respect to said comb frequency is less than 1.0, comparing an output of the nonlinear resonator with an output of a reference oscillator for detecting changes in the drive signal of the oscillator circuit as enhanced by the slope of the at least a portion of at least one tooth for which the absolute value of the first derivative of the drive frequency with respect to said comb frequency is less than 1.0.

Phononic comb enhanced capacitive inductive sensor

A differential gradiometer comprising a substrate with at least a pair of resonators disposed thereon, wherein each of the at least a pair of resonators is sensitive to environmental factors which produces differential strains between the resonators, a first one of said pair of resonators being connected with a circuit for forming a first oscillator, the second one of said pair of resonators being connected with another circuit for forming a non-linear oscillator, an output of the first oscillator being applied to the non-linear oscillator for generating a comb of frequencies, wherein an addition oscillator is locked to the nth tooth of the comb thereby increasing the sensitivity of the gradiometer by a factor of n.

Phononic comb enhanced gradiometers

A RF antenna or sensor has a substrate, a resonator operable at UHF disposed on the substrate, the resonator preferably having a quartz bar or body with electrodes disposed on opposing major surfaces thereof and with a magnetostrictive material disposed on or covering at least one of the electrodes. A pair of trapezoidal, triangular or wing shaped high permeability pole pieces preferably supported by that substrate are disposed confronting the resonator, one of the pair being disposed one side of the resonator and the other one of the pair being disposed on an opposing side of said resonator, the pair of high permeability pole pieces being spaced apart by a gap G, the resonator being disposed within that gap G. The size of gap G is preferably less than 100 &#x3bc;m.

Femto-tesla MEMS RF antenna with integrated flux concentrator

A resonator includes a piezoelectric layer comprising a piezoelectric material, the piezoelectric layer having a first surface and a second surface; an inner electrode disposed on the first surface of the piezoelectric layer, the inner electrode connected to a circuit; and an outer electrode surrounding the inner electrode on the first surface of the piezoelectric layer, the outer electrode left floating or connected to ground. The inner electrode and the outer electrode are separated by at least one gap smaller than an acoustic wavelength. One single piece electrode or multiple piece electrodes may be disposed on the second surface of the piezoelectric layer. The outer electrodes are configured for optimal modal confinement of an acoustic resonance while the inner electrodes are configured to produce a higher motional resistance than the interconnect resistance for maintaining high Q.

Piezoelectric resonator with multiple electrode sections

An angular rate sensor. The sensor includes a Coriolis vibratory gyroscope (CVG) resonator, configured to oscillate in a first normal mode and in a second normal mode; a frequency reference configured to generate a reference signal; and a first phase control circuit. The first phase control circuit is configured to: measure a first phase difference between: a first phase target, and the difference between: a phase of an oscillation of the first normal mode and a phase of the reference signal. The first phase control circuit is further configured to apply a first phase correction signal to the CVG resonator, to reduce the first phase difference. A second phase control circuit is similarly configured to apply a second phase correction signal to the CVG resonator, to reduce a corresponding, second phase difference.

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Oak Park, CA, United States of America

Randall Lynn Kubena