Passive phase noise cancellation scheme.

We introduce a new method for reducing phase noise in oscillators, thereby improving their frequency precision. The noise reduction is realized by a passive device consisting of a pair of coupled nonlinear resonating elements that are driven parametrically by the output of a conventional oscillator at a frequency close to the sum of the linear mode frequencies. Above the threshold for parametric instability, the coupled resonators exhibit self-oscillations which arise as a response to the parametric driving, rather than by application of active feedback. We find operating points of the device for which this periodic signal is immune to frequency noise in the driving oscillator, providing a way to clean its phase noise. We present results for the effect of thermal noise to advance a broader understanding of the overall noise sensitivity and the fundamental operating limits.

A nanoscale parametric feedback oscillator.

We describe and demonstrate a new oscillator topology, the parametric feedback oscillator (PFO). The PFO paradigm is applicable to a wide variety of nanoscale devices and opens the possibility of new classes of oscillators employing innovative frequency-determining elements, such as nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS), facilitating integration with circuitry and system-size reduction. We show that the PFO topology can also improve nanoscale oscillator performance by circumventing detrimental effects that are otherwise imposed by the strong device nonlinearity in this size regime.

Pattern selection in parametrically driven arrays of nonlinear resonators.

We study the problem of pattern selection in an array of parametrically driven nonlinear resonators with application to microelectromechanical and nanoelectromechanical systems, using an amplitude equation recently derived by Bromberg, Cross, and Lifshitz [Phys. Rev. E 73, 016214 (2006)]. We describe the transitions between standing-wave patterns of different wave numbers as the drive amplitude is varied either quasistatically, abruptly, or as a linear ramp in time. We find interesting hysteretic effects, which are confirmed by numerical integration of the original equations of motion of the interacting nonlinear resonators.

Eliminating 1/f noise in oscillators.

We study 1/f and narrow-bandwidth noise in precision oscillators based on high-quality factor resonators and feedback. The dynamics of such an oscillator are well described by two variables, an amplitude and a phase. In this description we show that low-frequency feedback noise is represented by a single noise vector in phase space. The implication of this is that 1/f and narrow-bandwidth noise can be eliminated by tuning controllable parameters, such as the feedback phase. We present parameter values for which the noise is eliminated and provide specific examples of noise sources for further illustration.

Phase noise of oscillators with unsaturated amplifiers.

We study the role of amplifier saturation in eliminating feedback noise in self-sustained oscillators. We extend previous works that use a saturated amplifier to quench fluctuations in the feedback magnitude, while simultaneously tuning the oscillator to an operating point at which the resonator nonlinearity cancels fluctuations in the feedback phase. We consider a generalized model which features an amplitude-dependent amplifier gain function. This allows us to determine the total oscillator phase noise in realistic configurations due to noise in both quadratures of the feedback, and to show that it is not necessary to drive the resonator to large oscillation amplitudes in order to eliminate noise in the phase of the feedback.

Optimal operating points of oscillators using nonlinear resonators.

We demonstrate an analytical method for calculating the phase sensitivity of a class of oscillators whose phase does not affect the time evolution of the other dynamic variables. We show that such oscillators possess the possibility for complete phase noise elimination. We apply the method to a feedback oscillator which employs a high Q weakly nonlinear resonator and provide explicit parameter values for which the feedback phase noise is completely eliminated and others for which there is no amplitude-phase noise conversion. We then establish an operational mode of the oscillator which optimizes its performance by diminishing the feedback noise in both quadratures, thermal noise, and quality factor fluctuations. We also study the spectrum of the oscillator and provide specific results for the case of 1/f noise sources.

Homoclinic orbits and chaos in a pair of parametrically driven coupled nonlinear resonators.

We study the dynamics of a pair of parametrically driven coupled nonlinear mechanical resonators of the kind that is typically encountered in applications involving microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS). We take advantage of the weak damping that characterizes these systems to perform a multiple-scales analysis and obtain amplitude equations, describing the slow dynamics of the system. This picture allows us to expose the existence of homoclinic orbits in the dynamics of the integrable part of the slow equations of motion. Using a version of the high-dimensional Melnikov approach, developed by G. Kovacic and S. Wiggins [Physica D 57, 185 (1992)], we are able to obtain explicit parameter values for which these orbits persist in the full system, consisting of both Hamiltonian and non-Hamiltonian perturbations, to form so-called Silnikov orbits, indicating a loss of integrability and the existence of chaos. Our analytical calculations of Silnikov orbits are confirmed numerically.

Intrinsic localized modes in parametrically driven arrays of nonlinear resonators.

We study intrinsic localized modes (ILMs), or solitons, in arrays of parametrically driven nonlinear resonators with application to microelectromechanical and nanoelectromechanical systems (MEMS and NEMS). The analysis is performed using an amplitude equation in the form of a nonlinear Schrödinger equation with a term corresponding to nonlinear damping (also known as a forced complex Ginzburg-Landau equation), which is derived directly from the underlying equations of motion of the coupled resonators, using the method of multiple scales. We investigate the creation, stability, and interaction of ILMs, show that they can form bound states, and that under certain conditions one ILM can split into two. Our findings are confirmed by simulations of the underlying equations of motion of the resonators, suggesting possible experimental tests of the theory.