US5373264A — Negative resistance oscillator with electronicall…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 152 words

An oscillator comprising: an active device having first, second and third terminals; a tank circuit having a resonant frequency, the tank circuit being coupled to the first terminal, said resonant circuit including a first circuit element responsive to a first signal for varying the resonant frequency of said tank circuit; an output coupled to the third terminal for providing an oscillator output signal; said oscillator having an operational characteristic other than frequency which is dependent, at least in part, on a reactance presented to the second terminal of the active device by a network coupled thereto; said network coupled to the second terminal including a second circuit element responsive to a second signal for varying the reactance presented to the second terminal by the network; and means for providing to the second circuit element with the second signal, said second signal tending to optimize said characteristic as a function of oscillator frequency.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 152 words

An oscillator comprising: an active device having first, second and third terminals; a tank circuit having a resonant frequency, the tank circuit being coupled to the first terminal, said resonant circuit including a first circuit element responsive to a first signal for varying the resonant frequency of said tank circuit; an output coupled to the third terminal for providing an oscillator output signal; said oscillator having an operational characteristic other than frequency which is dependent, at least in part, on a reactance presented to the second terminal of the active device by a network coupled thereto; said network coupled to the second terminal including a second circuit element responsive to a second signal for varying the reactance presented to the second terminal by the network; and means for providing to the second circuit element with the second signal, said second signal tending to optimize said characteristic as a function of oscillator frequency.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 14 words

The oscillator of claim 1 in which the second circuit element comprises a varactor.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 18 words

The oscillator of claim 1 which further includes means for deriving the second signal from the first signal.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 13 words

The oscillator of claim 1 in which the operational characteristic is phase noise.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 12 words

The oscillator of claim 1 in which the operational characteristic is compression.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 82 words

The oscillator of claim 1 in which: the frequency of oscillator operation is a function of the tank circuit resonant frequency and of a reactance presented to the tank circuit by the first terminal of the active device; the second signal tends to minimize the reactance presented to the tank circuit by the first terminal of the active device as the frequency of oscillator operation is changed; wherein the frequency of oscillator operation substantially matches the resonant frequency of the tank circuit.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 72 words

In a method of operating an oscillator, the oscillator including an active device that has a base terminal thereof coupled to ground through a base network, the base network serving to couple RF signals between the base terminal and ground, an improvement comprising electronically altering a reactance of the base network without changing the topology of said network so as to tailor a parameter of oscillator operation as a function of frequency.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 72 words

In a method of operating an oscillator, the oscillator including an active device that has a base terminal thereof coupled to ground through a base network, the base network serving to couple RF signals between the base terminal and ground, an improvement comprising electronically altering a reactance of the base network without changing the topology of said network so as to tailor a parameter of oscillator operation as a function of frequency.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 21 words

The method of claim 7 which further includes electronically tuning a capacitive element to alter the reactance of the base network.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 52 words

The method of claim 7 in which the oscillator is electronically tunable in response to a frequency control signal, and in which the method further includes: deriving from said frequency control signal a base tune signal; and electrically altering the reactance of the base network in response to the base tune signal.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 20 words

The method of claim 9 which includes changing the base tune signal linearly with changes in the frequency control signal.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 17 words

The method of claim 7 which includes tailoring a phase noise characteristic as a function of frequency.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 16 words

The method of claim 7 which includes tailoring a compression characteristic as a function of frequency.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 53 words

The method of claim 7 which includes: tuning a frequency-determining network of said oscillator with a first signal so as to change a frequency of an oscillator output signal; and electrically altering the reactance of the base network by applying a second signal thereto, said second signal being derived from said first signal.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 118 words

In a method of operating a voltage controlled oscillator over a range of frequencies, the oscillator including a tank circuit having a resonant frequency responsive to a tuning voltage applied to a varactor therein, the tank circuit being coupled to a transistor, the transistor presenting to the tank circuit an impedance, any reactive part of said impedance serving to pull an oscillator output frequency from said resonant frequency, an improvement comprising applying an optimizing voltage to a reactive element in a network coupled to a transistor base terminal so as to reduce the reactive part of the impedance presented to the tank circuit by the transistor while still permitting oscillation, and without changing a topology of said network.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 118 words

In a method of operating a voltage controlled oscillator over a range of frequencies, the oscillator including a tank circuit having a resonant frequency responsive to a tuning voltage applied to a varactor therein, the tank circuit being coupled to a transistor, the transistor presenting to the tank circuit an impedance, any reactive part of said impedance serving to pull an oscillator output frequency from said resonant frequency, an improvement comprising applying an optimizing voltage to a reactive element in a network coupled to a transistor base terminal so as to reduce the reactive part of the impedance presented to the tank circuit by the transistor while still permitting oscillation, and without changing a topology of said network.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 15 words

The method of claim 14 which includes deriving the optimizing voltage from the tuning voltage.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1997-12-12	1998-06-13	1998-12-13	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2001-12-12	2002-06-13	2002-12-13	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2005-12-12	2006-06-13	2006-12-13	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Negative resistance oscillator with electronically tunable base inductance

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