Apple patents oscillator design to reduce noise in radio chips
Apple has filed a patent for a voltage-controlled oscillator, a component that generates stable radio signals. The design separates a noise-filtering part from a power-stabilizing part to prevent unwanted frequency shifts, allowing the chip to operate over a wider range of frequencies.
In the filing’s own words
This disclosure is directed to an inductor-capacitor voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) with increased bandwidth and/or reduced common-mode noise compared to other VCOs. The VCO may include a common-mode filter disposed away from (e.g., not directly coupled to) a decoupling network to decrease undesired resonant frequency shifts of the common-mode filter. The separated common-mode filter and the decoupling network may reduce the parasitic capacitances and/or inductances and/or variations of the capacitance and inductance at different nodes of the VCO over an expanded oscillation frequency bandwidth. Accordingly, the common-mode filter may have decreased undesired resonant frequency shifts over the expanded oscillation frequency bandwidth and, therefore, the VCO may have the expanded oscillation frequency bandwidth.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A voltage-controlled oscillator comprising: a first inductor-capacitor tank circuit; a first current source circuit coupled to the first inductor-capacitor tank circuit; a differential capacitor having a first terminal coupled in series to the first current source circuit; a differential inductor having a first terminal coupled in series to the first current source circuit; a second current source circuit coupled in series to a second terminal of the differential capacitor and coupled in series to a second terminal of the differential inductor; a second inductor-capacitor tank circuit coupled to the second current source circuit.
Facts
- Company
- Apple (Apple Inc.)
- Official title
- INDUCTOR-CAPACITOR COMPLEMENTARY VOLTAGE-CONTROLLED OSCILLATOR WITH SHARED COMMON-MODE FILTER
- Publication number
- US20260332097A1
- Application number
- 19181008
- Filed
- Apr 16, 2025
- Published
- Oct 22, 2026
- Inventors
- 1
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
H03B 5/1212 Electricity & electronicsH03B 2200/0088 Electricity & electronicsMore from Apple in Chips & hardware
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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.