Circuit for measuring the resonant frequency of nanoresonators

US9013241B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES · FR

Inventor

• Patrick Villard · Grenoble, FR

Key dates

• Filing date: Aug 19, 2013
• Grant date: Apr 21, 2015
• Expiry date: Aug 19, 2033

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01N2291/0256
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to nanoresonator oscillators or NEMS (nanoelectromechanical system) oscillators. A circuit for measuring the oscillation frequency of a resonator is provided, comprising a first phase-locked feedback loop locking the frequency of a controlled oscillator at the resonant frequency of the resonator, this first loop comprising a first phase comparator. Furthermore, a second feedback loop is provided which searches for and stores the loop phase shift introduced by the resonator and its amplification circuit when they are locked at resonance by the first loop. The first and the second loops operate during a calibration phase. A third self-oscillation loop is set up during an operation phase. It directly links the output of the controllable phase shifter to the input of the resonator. The phase shifter receives the phase-shift control stored by the second loop.