公开(公告)号：US11956341B2

公开(公告)日：2024-04-09

申请号：US17830087

申请日：2022-06-01

Applicant: Apple Inc.

Inventor： Zdravko Boos ,  Alfredo Bismuto ,  Bertram R Gunzelmann

IPC: H04B10/00 ,  H04B10/11 ,  H04L7/00

CPC classification number: H04L7/0075 ,  H04B10/11

Abstract: An electronic device may include wireless circuitry clocked using an electro-optical phase-locked loop (OPLL) having primary and secondary lasers. A frequency-locked loop (FLL) path and a phase-locked loop (PLL) path may couple an output of the secondary laser to its input. A photodiode may generate a photodiode signal based on the laser output. A digital-to-time converter (DTC) may generate a reference signal. The FLL path may coarsely tune the secondary laser based on the photodiode signal until the secondary laser is frequency locked. Then, the PLL path may finely tune the secondary laser based on the reference signal and the photodiode signal until the phase of the secondary laser is locked to the primary laser. The photodiode signal may be subsampled on the PLL path. This may allow the OPLL to generate optical local oscillator signals with minimal jitter and phase noise.

公开(公告)号：US20240089005A1

公开(公告)日：2024-03-14

申请号：US17944726

申请日：2022-09-14

Applicant: Apple Inc.

Inventor： Bertram R Gunzelmann ,  Nedim Muharemovic ,  Zdravko Boos ,  Ramin Khayatzadeh

IPC: H04B10/50 ,  H01Q3/26

CPC classification number: H04B10/505 ,  H01Q3/2676 ,  G02F1/212

Abstract: An electronic device may include a receiver having a light source that provides an optical signal to an optical splitter. An optical combiner may be coupled to the optical splitter over a set of parallel optical paths. A phased antenna array may have a set of antennas disposed on the optical paths. Each antenna may include an optical modulator disposed on a respective one of the optical paths and an antenna resonating element coupled to the modulator. Incident radio-frequency signals may produce electrical signals on the antenna resonating elements. Optical phase shifters may provide optical phase shifts to the optical signal. The modulators may modulate the optical local oscillator signal using the electrical signals. The optical combiner may generate a combined signal by combining modulated optical signals from the optical paths. A demodulator may recover wireless data from the radio-frequency signals using the combined signal.

公开(公告)号：US11923901B2

公开(公告)日：2024-03-05

申请号：US17834695

申请日：2022-06-07

Applicant: Apple Inc.

Inventor： Zdravko Boos ,  Bertram R Gunzelmann

IPC: H04B10/112 ,  H04B10/50 ,  H04B10/54

CPC classification number: H04B10/112 ,  H04B10/501 ,  H04B10/541

Abstract: An electronic device may include an antenna that conveys wireless signals at frequencies greater than 100 GHz. The antenna may include a radiating element coupled to a uni-travelling-carrier photodiode (UTC PD). An optical path may illuminate the UTC PD using a first optical local oscillator (LO) signal and a second optical LO signal. An optical phase shift may be applied to the first optical LO signal. A Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM) may be interposed on the optical path. During signal transmission, the MZM may modulate wireless data onto the second optical LO signal while control circuitry applies a first bias voltage to the UTC PD. During signal reception, the control circuitry may apply a second bias voltage to the UTC PD that configures the UTC PD to convert received wireless signals into intermediate frequency signals and/or optical signals.

公开(公告)号：US20230421346A1

公开(公告)日：2023-12-28

申请号：US18320540

申请日：2023-05-19

Applicant: Apple Inc.

Inventor： Ramin Khayatzadeh ,  Nedim Muharemovic ,  Bertram R. Gunzelmann ,  Zdravko Boos

IPC: H04L7/00 ,  H04B10/516

CPC classification number: H04L7/0075 ,  H04B2210/006 ,  H04B10/5165

Abstract: An electronic device may include wireless circuitry that conveys radio-frequency signals at frequencies greater than or equal to 100 GHz using first and second optical local oscillator (LO) signals generated by clocking circuitry. The clocking circuitry may include a first laser that generates the first optical LO signal and a second laser that generates the second optical LO signal. First and second self-injection locking loop paths may be coupled around the first and second lasers respectively. The first loop path may include a first mixer, an optical reference, and a second mixer. The second loop path may include a photodiode, the first mixer, and the optical reference. The photodiode may provide a radio-frequency signal to the mixers. The optical reference may include an optical delay line or resonator and may reduce phase noise of optical signals used to self-injection lock the first and second lasers.

公开(公告)号：US20230327690A1

公开(公告)日：2023-10-12

申请号：US18184555

申请日：2023-03-15

Applicant: Apple Inc.

Inventor： Zdravko Boos ,  Bertram R Gunzelmann ,  Nedim Muharemovic ,  Ramin Khayatzadeh

IPC: H04B1/04 ,  H04B1/18 ,  H03F3/195 ,  H03F1/56

CPC classification number: H04B1/0458 ,  H04B1/18 ,  H03F2200/451 ,  H03F1/565 ,  H03F3/195

Abstract: An electronic device may include wireless circuitry with light sources, a set of photodiodes, a resonating element, and a common gate amplifier (CGA). In a transmit mode, the photodiodes may use optical local oscillators to generate equal portions of an antenna current amplified by the CGA for transmission by the resonating element. In a receive mode, the resonating element may generate an antenna current which is amplified by the amplifier and passed to the photodiodes. Including multiple photodiodes coupled to the amplifier in a current sharing configuration may serve to boost power. The amplifier may exhibit a wide bandwidth, may perform impedance matching between the resonating element and the photodiodes, and may isolate the photodiodes from antenna mismatch. The antenna may be integrated into a phased antenna array to further boost power.

公开(公告)号：US20230057449A1

公开(公告)日：2023-02-23

申请号：US17834695

申请日：2022-06-07

Applicant: Apple Inc.

Inventor： Zdravko Boos ,  Bertram R. Gunzelmann

IPC: H04B10/112 ,  H04B10/50 ,  H04B10/54

Abstract: An electronic device may include an antenna that conveys wireless signals at frequencies greater than 100 GHz. The antenna may include a radiating element coupled to a uni-travelling-carrier photodiode (UTC PD). An optical path may illuminate the UTC PD using a first optical local oscillator (LO) signal and a second optical LO signal. An optical phase shift may be applied to the first optical LO signal. A Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM) may be interposed on the optical path. During signal transmission, the MZM may modulate wireless data onto the second optical LO signal while control circuitry applies a first bias voltage to the UTC PD. During signal reception, the control circuitry may apply a second bias voltage to the UTC PD that configures the UTC PD to convert received wireless signals into intermediate frequency signals and/or optical signals.