A Total Power Filter Spectrometer for Radio Astronomy

A system is described which employs two decade sets of local oscillators to separate signal power into a bank of 100 identical filters. By commutating the local oscillators, filter instabilities are removed from the resulting output and local oscillator stability is the remaining factor. Practical limits on this are discussed in relation to the total output uncertainty of the spectrometer.     

Synthesising gene clock with toggle switch and oscillator

The usefulness of a genetic clock lies in its role to stimulate a sequence of logic reactions for sequential biological circuits. A clock signal is a periodic square wave, its amplitude alternates at a steady frequency between fixed minimal and maximal levels. Transition between the minimum and the maximum is instantaneous for an ideal square wave; however, the function is unrealisable in physical bio‐systems. This research develops a new genetic clock generator based on a genetic oscillator, in which, a sine wave generator is adopted as a signal oscillator. It is shown that combination of a genetic oscillator with a toggle switch is able to generate clock signals forming an efficient way to generate a near square wave. In silico study confirms the proposed idea.Inspec keywords: genetics, oscillators, biological techniques, square‐wave generators, switchesOther keywords: toggle switch, genetic clock, logic reaction sequence, sequential biological circuits, clock signal, periodic square wave, physical biosystem, genetic clock generator, sine wave generator, signal oscillator, genetic oscillator     

石英晶体振荡器加速度效应及敏感度的测试

石英晶体振荡器因其具有频率稳定度高的特点,作为标准频率源或脉冲信号源提供频率基准是目前其它类型的振荡器所不能替代的.而加速度对晶振输出频率影响的补偿问题目前还没有得到很好解决,加速度已成为当前影响晶体振荡器准确度的重要因素.本文简要介绍了加速度对晶体频率的影响,国内外加速度敏感度的测试方法及其改进方法,并以实验验证,取得了较好的效果.     

Period–amplitude co‐variation in biomolecular oscillators

The period and amplitude of biomolecular oscillators are functionally important properties in multiple contexts. For a biomolecular oscillator, the overall constraints in how tuning of amplitude affects period, and vice versa, are generally unclear. Here, the authors investigate this co‐variation of the period and amplitude in mathematical models of biomolecular oscillators using both simulations and analytical approximations. The authors computed the amplitude–period co‐variation of 11 benchmark biomolecular oscillators as their parameters were individually varied around a nominal value, classifying the various co‐variation patterns such as a simultaneous increase/decrease in period and amplitude. Next, the authors repeated the classification using a power norm‐based amplitude metric, to account for the amplitudes of the many biomolecular species that may be part of the oscillations, finding largely similar trends. Finally, the authors calculate ‘scaling laws’ of period–amplitude co‐variation for a subset of these benchmark oscillators finding that as the approximated period increases, the upper bound of the amplitude increases, or reaches a constant value. Based on these results, the authors discuss the effect of different parameters on the type of period–amplitude co‐variation as well as the difficulty in achieving an oscillation with large amplitude and small period.Inspec keywords: molecular biophysics, oscillations, biology computing, circadian rhythmsOther keywords: period‐amplitude co‐variation, biomolecular oscillators, mathematical models, analytical approximations, co‐variation patterns, power norm‐based amplitude metric, scaling laws     

Simulation of the Steady-State Behavior of Crystal-Controlled Oscillators Using the WATAND Computer-Aided Design Program

The WATAND computer-aided design package has been used to successfully simulate the steady-state response of crystal-controlled oscillators. The WATAND program contains a routine that allows the steady-state response of a nonlinear dynamic circuit with slow transients to be found without the lengthy and uneconomical process of integrating in the time from t = 0. Oscillators simulated were the following: an LC oscillator with discrete components; and three crystal-controlled oscillators, one with silicon integrated circuits and two with discrete components, one having an external tank. To simulate some of these oscillator circuits, some of the algorithms in WATAND had to be modified. Suggestions for further improvements in oscillator simulation are also made.     

Robustness of a biomolecular oscillator to pulse perturbations

Biomolecular oscillators can function robustly in the presence of environmental perturbations, which can either be static or dynamic. While the effect of different circuit parameters and mechanisms on the robustness to steady perturbations has been investigated, the scenario for dynamic perturbations is relatively unclear. To address this, the authors use a benchmark three protein oscillator design – the repressilator – and investigate its robustness to pulse perturbations, computationally as well as use analytical tools of Floquet theory. They found that the metric provided by direct computations of the time it takes for the oscillator to settle after pulse perturbation is applied, correlates well with the metric provided by Floquet theory. They investigated the parametric dependence of the Floquet metric, finding that the parameters that increase the effective delay enhance robustness to pulse perturbation. They found that the structural changes such as increasing the number of proteins in a ring oscillator as well as adding positive feedback, both of which increase effective delay, facilitates such robustness. These results highlight such design principles, especially the role of delay, for designing an oscillator that is robust to pulse perturbation.Inspec keywords: proteins, oscillators, biomolecular electronics, biotechnologyOther keywords: biomolecular oscillator, environmental perturbations, circuit parameters, steady perturbations, dynamic perturbations, benchmark three protein oscillator design, Floquet theory, pulse perturbation, Floquet metric, ring oscillator, effective delay, repressilator, analytical tools, parametric dependence, positive feedback     

Injection locking techniques for a 1-GHz digital receiver using acoustic-wave devices

The use of surface-transverse-wave (STW) resonator-based oscillators as amplifiers and as carrier recovery elements is discussed. It is demonstrated that these oscillators can amplify phase-shift-keyed signals with very little added noise, while providing a constant output power. Their performance in carrier recovery amplifications is analyzed. Experimental results showing the amplification with more than 80 dB of dynamic range of a 2 Mb/s BPSK signal and the carrier recovery of an 8 Mb/s signal with a 1-GHz STW oscillator are shown.     

Long-term frequency aging for unpowered space-class oscillators

Very little data exists regarding the long-term aging performance of space-rated oscillators in the non-operating mode. This paper provides empirical evidence that may be used to estimate the performance of unpowered oscillators for long-term space missions, as well as an aid in validating the worst-case analyses that are routinely performed on these oscillators. The proper operation of any space vehicle is dependent on the performance of the onboard master oscillator. For maximum reliability, the onboard clock is often provided as a dualor triple-redundant ensemble, with one active oscillator. The backup oscillator(s) are usually powered off and may be off for a significant percentage of the mission. A significant parameter of importance for oscillator performance is the aging rate. Papers have been presented on the aging performance of active oscillators in space, but very little data exists regarding the long-term aging performance of oscillators in the nonoperating mode. The aging rate data are extremely important for predicting the expected performance of these backup oscillators after 10 or 15 years in of non-operation in space. This paper presents performance data derived from temperature controlled crystal oscillators and oven controlled crystal oscillators that have been dormant for decades.     

Extremely low phase noise UHF oscillators utilizing high-overtone, bulk-acoustic resonators

High-overtone, bulk acoustic resonators (HBAR) have been designed that exhibit 9-dB insertion loss and loaded Q values of 80000 at 640 MHz with out-of-phase resonances occurring every 2.5 MHz. These resonators have been used as ovenized frequency-control elements in very low phase noise oscillators. The oscillator sustaining stage circuitry incorporates low-1/f noise modular RF amplifiers, Schottky-diode ALC, and a miniature 2-pole helical filter for suppression of HBAR adjacent resonant responses. Measurement of oscillator output signal flicker-of-frequency noise confirms that state-of-the-art levels of short-term frequency stability have been obtained. Sustaining stage circuit contribution to resulting oscillator flicker-of-frequency noise is 7-10 dB below that due to the resonators themselves. At 16-dBm resonator drive, an oscillator output signal white phase noise floor level of -175 dBc/Hz is achieved.     

The bistability phenomenon in single and coupled oscillators based on VO<Subscript>2</Subscript> switches

New operation regimes of single and coupled oscillators in circuits based on planar VO₂ switches have been studied. The phenomenon of bistability is discovered, which consists in controlled switching of self-sustained oscillations by external pulses, which is a promising basis for the creation of oscillatory memory cells and implementation of pulse coupling regimes in artificial neural networks (ANNs). The duration of switch-on and switch-off pulses is no less that ~20 μs and 30 ms, respectively. It is established that the region of threshold voltages for bistable switching in coupled oscillators is much wider than in a single oscillator and the hysteresis width in the former case can reach 2 V. A regime of initiation of switching packets has been observed that models the ANN packet activity.     

High-frequency overtone TCXO based on mixing of dual crystal oscillators

To implement a high-stability and high-frequency overtone temperature-compensated crystal oscillator (TCXO) conveniently, an improved design of the novel overtone TCXO is described in this paper. A 120-MHz TCXO based on mixing of dual crystal oscillators is implemented. It utilizes a 100-MHz AT-cut 5th-overtone crystal oscillator mixed with a 20-MHz AT-cut voltage-controlled crystal oscillator (VCXO). The 120-MHz mixed product is filtered to produce the output signal. The total frequency deviation of 20-MHz and 100-MHz crystal oscillators is compensated by adjusting the output frequency of the 20-MHz oscillator to produce the stable 120-MHz output frequency. In this work, verifying experimental results of the compensation are presented. The stability of the experimental 120-MHz overtone TCXO with microprocessor temperature compensation achieves +/-2 X 10(-7) over the temperature range from -30 degrees C to +70 degrees C. A phase noise level of -133 dBc/Hz at 1 kHz offset has been initially measured for the prototype TCXO. The experimental result demonstrates this approach can conveniently implement the high-frequency overtone temperature compensation with a relatively high stability, and it is available for a wider frequency range as well.     

New CFOA-Based Single-Element-Controlled Sinusoidal Oscillators

New single-element-controlled sinusoidal oscillator (SECO) circuits using only two current-feedback operational amplifiers (CFOAs) and only five passive elements [two/three grounded capacitors (GC) and three/two resistors] are presented, which not only enlarge the previously known class of two-CFOA-GC SECOs but also provide new configurations that possess properties not available in the previously known circuits. The new oscillators are useful from the viewpoint of applications in several instrumentation and measurement situations such as oscillator-based capacitance measurement schemes, realization of very low frequency oscillators, and the design of voltage-controlled oscillators. Experimental results based upon commercially available AD844-type CFOAs are included, which confirm the practical workability of the new oscillator configurations     

Environmental sensitivities of quartz oscillators

The frequency, amplitude, and noise of the output signal of a quartz oscillator are affected by a large number of environmental effects. The physical basis for the sensitivity of precision oscillators to temperature, humidity, pressure, acceleration and vibration, magnetic field, electric field, load, and radiation is examined. The sensitivity of quartz oscillators to radiation is a very complex topic and poorly understood. Therefore, only a few general results are mentioned. The sensitivity to most external influences often varies significantly both from one oscillator type to another and from one unit of a given type to another. For a given unit, the sensitivity to one parameter often depends on the value of other parameters and on history. Representative sensitivity to the above parameters is given.     

Coupling of cell fate selection model enhances DNA damage response and may underlie BE phenomenon

Double‐strand break‐induced (DSB) cells send signal that induces DSBs in neighbour cells, resulting in the interaction among cells sharing the same medium. Since p53 network gives oscillatory response to DSBs, such interaction among cells could be modelled as an excitatory coupling of p53 network oscillators. This study proposes a plausible coupling model of three‐mode two‐dimensional oscillators, which models the p53‐mediated cell fate selection in globally coupled DSB‐induced cells. The coupled model consists of ATM and Wip1 proteins as variables. The coupling mechanism is realised through ATM variable via a mean‐field modelling the bystander signal in the intercellular medium. Investigation of the model reveals that the coupling generates more sensitive DNA damage response by affecting cell fate selection. Additionally, the authors search for the cause‐effect relationship between coupled p53 network oscillators and bystander effect (BE) endpoints. For this, they search for the possible values of uncertain parameters that may replicate BE experiments’ results. At certain parametric regions, there is a correlation between the outcomes of cell fate and endpoints of BE, suggesting that the intercellular coupling of p53 network may manifest itself as the form of observed BEs.Inspec keywords: biological effects of ionising particles, molecular biophysics, biochemistry, DNA, cellular biophysics, physiological models, biomolecular effects of radiation, cellular effects of radiation, biological effects of X‐rays, oscillations, proteinsOther keywords: three‐mode two‐dimensional oscillators, p53‐mediated cell fate selection, globally coupled DSB‐induced cells, coupled model consists, coupling mechanism, ATM variable, bystander signal, intercellular medium, sensitive DNA damage response, coupled p53 network oscillators, intercellular coupling, cell fate selection model, double‐strand break‐induced cells, DSBs, neighbour cells, oscillatory response, excitatory coupling, plausible coupling model     

Direct memory access methods applied to chaotic behaviorexperiments

This paper deals with the implementation of a PC-controlled benchmark specially suited to real-time experimental investigation of oscillators driven by impulsive parametric pulses. The benchmark performs both the acquisition of the output signal and the generation of the parametric pulses. It also allows the introduction of a programmable delay to investigate its influence on the dynamics of the oscillator. The time required for the building of each pulse has been reduced from 10 ms (typical setting time of a standard programmable generator) to 15 μs, employing the standard PC's direct memory access (DMA) transfer and pulse generation capabilities, allowing the investigation of oscillators with relevant frequency content up to 30 kHz     

Toward resonator anharmonic sensors for precision crystal oscillators: a Gaussian model

This paper addresses the statistical properties of eigenfrequency modes (anharmonics, for instance) of BAW crystal resonators in oscillators excited by noise or intended modulation and considered to be sensors of environmental impact. The modulated noisy model of a closed loop oscillator is studied for its amplitude-frequency and phase-frequency modulation characteristics caused by anharmonic influence. Pursuing the aim, we consider in detail amplitude, phase, and the time derivatives of an anharmonic sensor signal and present corresponding probability distributions for the different signal-to-noise ratios (SNR). Both statistical effects caused by noise and intended modulation are considered. Experimental results are also given.     

An analytical approach to bistable biological circuit discrimination using real algebraic geometry

Biomolecular circuits with two distinct and stable steady states have been identified as essential components in a wide range of biological networks, with a variety of mechanisms and topologies giving rise to their important bistable property. Understanding the differences between circuit implementations is an important question, particularly for the synthetic biologist faced with determining which bistable circuit design out of many is best for their specific application. In this work we explore the applicability of Sturm''s theorem—a tool from nineteenth-century real algebraic geometry—to comparing ‘functionally equivalent’ bistable circuits without the need for numerical simulation. We first consider two genetic toggle variants and two different positive feedback circuits, and show how specific topological properties present in each type of circuit can serve to increase the size of the regions of parameter space in which they function as switches. We then demonstrate that a single competitive monomeric activator added to a purely monomeric (and otherwise monostable) mutual repressor circuit is sufficient for bistability. Finally, we compare our approach with the Routh–Hurwitz method and derive consistent, yet more powerful, parametric conditions. The predictive power and ease of use of Sturm''s theorem demonstrated in this work suggest that algebraic geometric techniques may be underused in biomolecular circuit analysis.     

A novel microcomputer temperature-compensating method for an overtone crystal oscillator

In this paper, a novel microcomputer temperature-compensating method for an overtone crystal oscillator (MCOXO) is presented. In this method, a ceramic oscillator is chosen, and its output frequency is mixed with the output frequency of an overtone crystal oscillator. A crystal filter is used to suppress the spurious mixing products. A microcomputer is used to control the switch capacitance array that is connected to the ceramic oscillator circuit. The frequency deviation of the crystal oscillator is directly compensated by the output frequency of the ceramic oscillator. As a result, the method is able to overcome the disadvantages of frequency stability degradation and phase noise deterioration that are provoked by adding inductance or frequency multiplication in traditional compensating approaches. At the same time, this method is able to compensate a quite wide frequency range and many types of oscillators, not just crystal oscillators. The experimental compensating results show that, using this method, the frequency-temperature stability of a 100 MHz 5th overtone temperature-compensated crystal oscillator can achieve /spl les/ /spl plusmn/2/spl times/10/sup -6/ for 0-70/spl deg/C.     

Two-Stage Self-Limiting Series Mode Type Quartz-Crystal Oscillator Exhibiting Improved Short-Term Frequency Stability

A simplified model of the transistor sustaining stage employed in common quartz-crystal oscillators is presented. Examination of the model, including associated noise sources, provides an explanation for general differences observed in the output-frequency spectra of several types of widely used self-limiting crystal oscillator circuits. A self-limiting quartz-crystal oscillator circuit configuration is described that has been specifically designed to exhibit simultaneously each of the three important circuit characteristics necessary for improved oscillator short-term frequency/phase stability: large value of oscillator resonator loaded Q, adequate suppression of 1/f flicker-of-phase type noise, and improvement in oscillator ultimate signal-to-noise ratio. Several models of the oscillator circuit have been constructed employing high quality third overtone 5-MHz AT- and BT-cut quartz resonators. Measurement of oscillator short-term frequency stability using conventional phase lock and sampling techniques confirm attainment of substantial improvement in oscillator short-term frequency stability when compared to conventional self-limiting oscillator circuits.