Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
127 words
A Bulk Acoustic Wave (BAW) resonator, comprising: a substrate; resonating means; a first electrode situated adjacent to a first surface of said resonating means; a second electrode situated adjacent to a second surface of said resonating
means; a membrane situated between said second electrode and said substrate; and an etch window; and a gap separating at least a portion of said substrate from at least a portion of
said membrane, said gap being formed by removing a portion of said substrate
through said etch window; wherein said resonating means resonates in response to an electric field
produced between said first and second electrodes as a result of a voltage that
is applied therebetween, and wherein said gap inhibits vibrations produced by
said resonating means from said substrate.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
22 words
A Bulk Acoustic Wave resonator as set forth in Claim 1, wherein said membrane
comprises a first layer and a second layer.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
45 words
A Bulk Acoustic Wave resonator as set forth in Claim 2, wherein said first layer
comprises at least one of poly-silicon (poly-si) and aluminum nitride (AIN), and wherein
said second layer comprises at least one of silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ) and gallium arsenide
(GaAs).
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
23 words
A Bulk Acoustic Wave resonator according to any of the preceding claims,
wherein said first and second electrodes are comprised of gold (Au).
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
27 words
A Bulk Acoustic Wave resonator according to any of the preceding claims,
wherein said resonating means comprises at least one of zinc-oxide (ZnO) and
aluminum nitride (AIN).
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
35 words
A Bulk Acoustic Wave resonator according to any of the preceding claims,
wherein said substrate comprises at least one of silicon (Si), silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ),
gallium arsenide (GaAs), glass, and a ceramic material.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
148 words
An amplitude modulator circuit, comprising: a variable voltage generator for generating a low frequency signal having a time-varying
voltage; a tunable resonator coupled to said variable voltage generator, said tunable
resonator exhibiting parallel and series resonances at frequencies which shift as
a function of voltage; and means for generating an RF carrier signal having a frequency that is between a
parallel resonant frequency and a series resonant frequency exhibited by said
tunable resonator in response to a signal output by said variable voltage
generator; wherein, in response to both of a the low frequency signal being output by said
variable voltage generator and an RF signal being output by said RF carrier
signal generator, said tunable resonator causes the RF carrier signal to be
attenuated by amounts that are a function of the time-varying voltage of the
modulating low frequency signal, thereby amplitude modulating the RF carrier
signal.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
28 words
An amplitude modulator circuit as set forth in Claim 7, wherein said resonator is
connected within said circuit in one of a parallel configuration and a series
configuration.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
53 words
An amplitude modulator circuit according to claim 7 or claim 8, wherein
said RF carrier signal generator generates an RF carrier signal having a frequency
which is within a range of frequencies over which said tunable resonator yields a
minimum phase shift in response to a signal output by said variable voltage generator.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
152 words
A phase modulator circuit, comprising: a variable voltage signal generator for generating a low frequency signal having
a time-varying voltage; a tunable resonator, said tunable resonator yielding a maximum phase shift at
one of a parallel resonant frequency and a series resonator frequency in
response to a modulating low frequency signal output by said variable voltage
signal generator; and means for generating an RF carrier signal having a frequency that is
substantially equal to said one of a parallel resonant frequency and a series
resonant frequency; wherein, in response to both of a modulating low frequency signal being output
by said variable voltage signal generator and an RF carrier signal being output
by said RF carrier signal generator, said tunable resonator causes the RF carrier
signal to be phase shifted by an amount that is a function of a variation of the
modulating low frequency signal voltage, thereby forming a phase-modulated
signal.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
80 words
A phase modulator circuit as set forth in Claim 10, wherein said RF carrier signal
generator generates a signal having a frequency that is substantially equal to said
parallel resonant frequency for a case in which said resonator is connected within said
tunable circuit in a parallel configuration, and wherein said RF carrier signal generator
generates a signal having said series resonant frequency for a case in which said
tunable resonator is connected within said circuit in a series configuration.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
107 words
A method for amplitude modulating a signal, comprising the steps of: applying a modulating low frequency signal having a time-varying voltage to a
tunable resonator, the tunable resonator exhibiting parallel and series
resonances at frequencies which shift by amounts that are a function of the
time-varying voltage; and applying an RF carrier signal having a frequency that is between the parallel
resonant frequency and the series resonant frequency to the tunable resonator,
wherein in response thereto, the tunable resonator causes the RF carrier signal
to be attenuated as a function of the time-varying voltage of the modulating low
frequency signal, thereby amplitude modulating said RF carrier signal.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
39 words
A method as set forth in Claim 12, wherein the RF carrier signal has a frequency
which is approximately equal to one of which the resonator yields a minimum phase
shift in response to the modulating low frequency signal.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
132 words
A method for phase modulating a signal, comprising the steps of: applying a modulating low frequency signal having a time-varying voltage to a
tunable resonator, the tunable resonator yielding a maximum phase shift at one
of a parallel resonant frequency and a series resonant frequency in response to
the modulating low frequency signal, wherein the amount of phase shift yielded
is a function of a variation of the voltage of the modulating low frequency signal;
and applying an RF carrier signal having a frequency that is substantially equal to
said one of a parallel resonant frequency and a series resonant frequency,
wherein in response thereto, the tunable resonator phase shifts the RF carrier
signal by the amount of phase shift yielded by the tunable resonator, thereby
phase modulating said RF carrier signal.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
67 words
A method as set forth in Claim 14, wherein the RF carrier signal has a frequency
that is substantially equal to said series resonant frequency for a case in which the
tunable resonator is connected in series, and wherein the RF carrier signal has a
frequency that is substantially equal to said parallel resonant frequency for a case in
which the tunable resonator is connected in parallel.