The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 31, 2001
Filed:
Nov. 20, 1998
James R. Welch, Maplegrove, MN (US);
Applied Micro Circuits Corporation, San Diego, CA (US);
Abstract
The voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) of the present invention generally includes a energy storage circuit portion, an oscillator operably connected to the energy storage circuit portion, a varactor connected to the oscillator and energy storage circuit portion, and an amplitude controller that is operably connected to the energy storage circuit portion, oscillator, and varactor. The energy storage circuit portion includes an inductance and a capacitance. The oscillator provides an oscillating output signal having a frequency and an amplitude. The varactor has a capacitance and receives an input signal having a varying level. The capacitance of the varactor varies according to the level of the input signal. The amplitude controller sets the amplitude of the oscillating output signal. Meanwhile, the inductance of the energy storage circuit portion, the capacitance of the energy storage circuit portion, and the varying capacitance of the varactor are used to set the frequency of the oscillating output signal. The VCO of the present invention is preferably fabricated entirely on a single integrated circuit chip utilizing low-cost CMOS technology.