text:
Electronic circuitry for generating and distributing standing wave clock signals. The electronic circuitry includes one or more two-conductor transmission line segments that are interconnected with an odd number of voltage-reversing connections to form a closed loop. A regeneration device is connected between the conductors of the transmission line segments and operates to establish and maintain a standing wave on the loop. At any location on a segment there is a pair of oppositely phase oscillations.
1. Electronic circuitry for generating and distributing standing wave clocking signals, the circuitry comprising:
one or more transmission line segments, each segment being a length of two-conductor transmission line, wherein each conductor is electrically continuous;
an odd number of passive means for connecting the transmission line segments to form a closed loop of segments and passive connection means; and
at least one regeneration device connected between the first and second conductors of a segment, wherein the regeneration device is operative to establish and maintain a standing wave on the loop, the wave including a voltage wave between the first and second conductors, and wherein each of the passive connection means causes the voltage wave between the first and second conductors to reverse polarity, so that, at any location on a segment, except at any null points, there is a pair of oppositely phased oscillations.
2. Electronic circuitry as recited in
wherein a single lap of the closed loop defines a propagation time indicative of an electrical length of the loop; and
wherein the regeneration device spans about 5 degrees of the electrical length of the loop.
3. Electronic circuitry as recited in
4. Electronic circuitry as recited in
5. Electronic circuitry as recited in
6. Electronic circuitry as recited in
7. Electronic circuitry as recited in
wherein the transmission line segments and the connection means are interconnected to form two closed loops; and
wherein a position on a transmission line segment of the second loop is connected, via passive elements, to a position of a transmission line segment of the first loop.
8. Electronic circuitry as recited in
9. Electronic circuitry as recited in
10. Electronic circuitry as recited in
11. Electronic circuitry as recited in
wherein the transmission line segments and the connection means are interconnected to form two closed loops; and
wherein a position on a transmission line segment of the second loop is connected, via active elements, to a position of a transmission line segment of the first loop.
12. Electronic circuitry as recited in
13. Electronic circuitry as recited in
wherein the transmission line segments and the connection means are interconnected to form two closed loops; and
wherein each closed loop has shares a portion of a segment between two junctions.
14. Electronic circuitry as recited in
15. Electronic circuitry as recited in
16. Electronic circuitry for generating and distributing standing wave clocking signals, the circuitry comprising:
a plurality of means for propagating a signal;
an odd number of energy-continuous means for interconnecting the plurality of propagating means to form a closed loop of propagating means and interconnecting means and for reversing the polarity of the signal;
means for initiating and maintaining the propagated signals on the closed loop so as to form a standing wave on the loop, such that at any point, except at any null point, on the propagating means there is a pair of oppositely phased signals.
17. Electronic circuitry as recited in
18. Electronic circuitry as recited in
19. Electronic circuitry as recited in
20. Electronic circuitry as recited in
wherein a single lap of the closed loop defines a propagation time indicative of an electrical length of the loop; and
wherein the one or more regeneration devices span about 5 degrees of the electrical length of the loop.
21. Electronic circuitry as recited in
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/331,748, filed on Dec. 30, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,816,020, and titled �Electronic Circuitry,� the latter application being a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/529,076, filed on Apr. 6, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,556,089, titled �Electronic Circuitry,� which application is a U.S. national stage filing of a PCT Application PCT/GB00/00175, filed on Jan. 24, 2000, and titled �Electronic Circuitry,� which application claims priority to: GB9902001.8, filed Jan. 30, 1999, GB9901618.0, filed Jan. 25, 1999, and GB9901359.1, filed Jan. 22, 1999.
The invention relates to electronic circuitry concerning timing signals and their production and distribution; oscillators as sources of such as timing signals; and communications according to timing signals.
Digital electronic data processing circuitry and systems require timing signals to synchronize data processing activities. Customarily, such timing signals include a master timing signal from which other timing signals can be derived. Such a master timing signal is commonly referred to as a �clock� signal. It is often desirable to have a clock signal that is available in more than one phase.
An example of a two-phase clock signal is where available clock signals have a phase difference of 180-degrees as often used for dynamic logic and shift register circuitry. An example of a four-phase clock signal is where available clock signals have successive phase differences of 90-degrees. Semiconductor integrated circuits (ICs or chips) are typical host environments, often very large scale (VLSI) chips as for microprocessors or memories.
Historically, modest operating clock frequencies up to about 50 MHz were satisfied by use as off-chip quartz crystal clock oscillator with simple point-to-point on-chip clock signal distribution. Nowadays, at much higher operating frequencies, typically aiming for 300 MHz to 1 GHz, inherent on-chip distribution problems associated with clock signal reflection and skew have become highly significant as binary signal widths/durations are no longer so much shorter than clock signal pulses. Natural progression of IC designs is for chips to become physically bigger and functionally more complex, which compounds these problems.
Clock signal generation is presently typically by frequency multiplication from off-chip crystal clock oscillators using on-chip phase locked loop (PLL) control circuitry which occupies valuable chip area, consumes considerable power, and experiences problems with signal reflections, capacitive loading and power dissipation that effectively limit maximum operating frequency. Related clock signal distribution usually involves tree-like arrangement of operational circuitry with chains of clock signal boosting buffers at intervals. Even so, variability of semiconductor process parameters, including in the buffers, leads to undesirable and unpredictable phase delays (skew) at different positions on the chip, thus can adversely affect reliable synchronous operation and communication even for neighboring areas of a chip. As a result, ICs often have to be rated and run at lower than maximum designed-for clock rates. Indeed, IC manufacturers are even reversing long-standing trends by use of smaller chip sizes for latest ICs.
The development of ever more comprehensive �systems-on-silicon� chips is being hampered by lack of viable provisions for reliably clocking large area high-density chips. It is noteworthy that clock rates tend to be limited to less than about 1 Gigahertz despite such as MOSFET IC transistor features being capable of switching at 25 Gigahertz or more.
This invention arises basically from looking for some alternative approach that at least reduces area and/or power demands of on-chip PLL provisions, if possible further addresses and to some useful extent resolves clock signal distribution problems.
One broad view or aspect of this invention resides in the concept and realization of method and means for effectively integrating or synergistically combining distribution of repeating pulse or cyclic signals with active means for producing and maintaining those signals. A composite electromagnetic/semiconductor structure is facilitated that simultaneously generates and distributes timing signals, including a master clock. A suitable said signal path exhibits endless electromagnetic continuity affording signal phase inversion of an electromagnetic wave type signal, conveniently with path-associated regenerative means.
A successful inventive rationale aspect hereof has been evolved in which time constant for repeating pulse or cyclic signals is related to and effectively defined by electrical length of said signal path in the signal distribution means. A traveling electromagnetic wave recirculating endlessly electromagnetically continuous said signal path is preferred, when its traverse time of the signal path determines said time constant.
Interestingly and quite surprisingly, this has been found to be conducive to particular inventive direct production of pulse-like cyclic signals inherently having fast rise and fall characteristics, i.e., already �square� as produced, rather than requiring resort to �squaring� action on a basic inherently substantially sinusoidal signal as hitherto conventional. Indeed, such inventive electrical length/signal traverse time-constant-defining rationale hereof leads conveniently and advantageously to said electrical length or one said signal traverse effectively first defining one unipolar half-cycle signal excursion and next, or at next said signal traverse, effectively completing definition of a full bipolar cycle comprising two opposite half-cycle excursions. Said electrical length thus corresponds to 180-degrees for each of two successive pulse excursions for such full bipolar cycle.
Specific inventive aspects hereof to achieve such rationale are viewed as involving signals of a traveling wave nature with the signal distribution path involved having a suitably propagating nature therefor, typically of endless transmission-line form, further with transposing effect and inverting action associated with re-circulations of desired signals.
In one specific inventive aspect hereof, desired repeating cyclic signals involve re-circulatory traveling wave propagation means effectively affording rotation thereabout by a desired traveling wave and setting duration of each signal excursion, with active regenerative means that can be of switching and amplifying nature, conveniently bidirectional inverting amplifier, supplying energy requirements and setting relatively short rise and fall at ends of each signal excursion.
Suitable traveling wave propagation means with desired transposing effect relative to active inverting means is exemplified, as seen by the traversing traveling wave, by physical width twisted along its length to connect opposite sides to input and output of the inverting means, say as though a Moebius band or ribbon. Indeed, an integrated circuit made on a flexible substrate could be of elongate form with said path following its length and its ends interconnected as a Moebius band or ribbon, even with functional circuitry blocks to either or both sides of or straddling its traveling wave propagation feature. At least then, integration of inverting and traveling wave propagating features of cyclic signal means hereof could be to the extent of up to all its length being of continuous semiconductor inverter nature, at least using CMOS technology.
However, for planar implementation of traveling wave propagation means, a typical transmission-line form uses spaced path-following conducting features, aforesaid Moebius twist effect being afforded by way of no more than a mutually insulated cross-over of those spaced conducting features. An alternative would be use of a transmission-line inverting transformer in or associated with otherwise transmission-line form of the traveling propagation means.
An inventive aspect of exemplary implementation hereof uses spaced conductive features as trace formations each having substantially the same length and being transposed on the way between output and input of at least one inverter feature connected to, preferably between, those conductive traces. In practice, at least where the inverter feature is of extent less than about 1% along the conductive features, there will preferably be plural inverter features spaced along the conductive features or traces�unless this invention is adapted to operation as a standing wave oscillator.
Preferred inverter means is of bidirectional nature, such as a pair of opposite inverters side-by-side or back-to-back; and such provision facilitates direct simultaneous production of similar or substantially identical anti-phase cyclic signal components.
Particularly interesting and advantageous results available from this invention include timing signal provision with extremely low power consumption that can effectively be limited to transmission-line and inverter action losses, i.e., to near-negligible topping-up via the inverter provision(s), and take-off to operational circuitry is readily made, e.g. by way of light bidirectional connection paths of passive resistive and/or capacitive and/or inductive or transmission-line nature, or unidirectional say using diodes or inverters, etc as will be described in more detail.
Another such available result is that, at least in principle and absent fabrication imperfections, cyclic signal provision hereof has no innate preference for either direction or rotation of traveling wave propagation, though either may be predisposed or imposed by such as prescribed spacings or other differences between or within inverter means.
Inventive proposals and aspects hereof as to pulse generators and oscillators as such include transmission-line structures using conductive metal and insulating dielectric layers in a manner compatible with IC production generally and particularly together with regenerative circuitry associated with the transmission-line as such, typically and conveniently formed below and connected by vias; required insulated cross-overs or spaced transmission-line transformer parts are likewise readily formed including such as via jump connections for the cross-overs; and resulting advantageously DC unstable interconnection of terminals of such as bidirectional inverters as the regenerative means; synchronous detection and bridge rectifier action of preferred bidirectional inverters; reinforcing sequential action of such bidirectional inverters including recycling electrical energy relative to supplies; etc.
Moreover, there are inventive aspects in interconnection/intercoupling of timing signal generating and distribution circuitry hereof, whether by direct connection or by sharing magnetic and/or electrical fields; and doing so on a self-synchronizing basis with extension to different frequencies particularly in odd-harmonic relationship. Intercoupling and coordinating between ICs as such and further with transferring data also have important innovative and inventive merit.
One embodiment of the present invention is electronic circuitry for generating and distributing standing wave clocking signals. The embodiment includes one or more transmission line segments, an odd number of passive connection means, and at least one regeneration device. Each transmission line segment is a length of two-conductor transmission line, with each conductor being electrically continuous. The passive connection means connect the transmission line segments to form a closed loop of segments and passive connection means. The regeneration device is connected between the first and second conductors of a segment and is operative to establish and maintain a standing wave on the loop, where the wave includes a voltage wave between the first and second conductors. Each of the passive connection means causes the voltage wave between the first and second conductors to reverse polarity, so that, at any location on a segment, except at any null point, there is a pair of oppositely phased oscillations.
Another embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of propagating means, an odd number of energy-continuous interconnecting means, and means for initiating and maintaining the propagated signals. The plurality of propagating means is operative to propagate a signal. The energy-continuous interconnecting means is operative to interconnect the plurality of propagating means to form a closed loop of propagating means and interconnecting means and to reverse the polarity of the signal. The means for initiating and maintaining the propagated signals on the closed loop is operative to form a standing wave on the loop, such that at any point, except at any null point, on the propagating means there is a pair of oppositely phased signals.
Other aspects and features of the present invention arise later in this Description, and/or are as set out in independent and dependent claims wording of which is to be taken as incorporated here too.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:
Specific exemplary implementation for the invention is now described and shown by reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which
Known transmission-lines broadly fall into two categories in that they are either open-ended or specifically terminated either partially or fully. Transmission-lines as proposed herein are different in being neither terminated nor open-ended. They are not even unterminated as such term might be understood hitherto; and, as unterminated herein, are seen as constituting a structural aspect of invention, including by reason of affording a signal path exhibiting endless electromagnetic continuity.
This structure of the transmission-line 15 has a planar equivalence to a Moebius strip, see
Inverters 23 a, 23 b of each switching amplifier 21 will have the usual operative connections to relatively positive and negative supply rails, usually V+ and GND, respectively. Respective input/output terminals of each circuit 21 are shown connected to the transmission-line 15 between the loops 15 a, 15 b at substantially maximum spacing apart along the effectively single conductor 17, thus each at substantially halfway around the transmission-line 15 relative to the other.
The rectangular and circular shapes shown for the transmission-line 15 are for convenience of illustration. They can be any shape, including geometrically irregular, so long as they have a length appropriate to the desired operating frequency, i.e., so that a signal leaving an amplifier 21 arrives back inverted after a full �lap� of the transmission-line 15, i.e., effectively the spacing between the loops 15 a,b plus the crossover 19, traversed in a time Tp effectively defining a pulse width or half-cycle oscillation time of the operating frequency.
Advantages of evenly distributing the amplifiers 21 along the transmission-line 15 are twofold. Firstly, spreading stray capacitance effectively lumped at associated amplifiers 21 for better and easier absorbing into the transmission-line characteristic impedance Zo thus reducing and signal reflection effects and improving poor waveshape definition. Secondly, the signal amplitude determined by the supply voltages V+ and GND will be more substantially constant over the entire transmission-line 15 better to compensate for losses associated with the transmission-lines dielectric and conductor materials. A continuous closed-loop transmission-line 15 with regenerative switching means 21 substantially evenly distributed and connected can closely resemble a substantially uniform structure that appears the same at any point.
A good rule is for elementary capacitance and inductance (Ce and Le) associated with each regenerative switching means and forming a resonant shunt tank LC circuit to have a resonant frequency of 1/(2π√{square root over (LeCe)}) that is greater than the self-sustaining oscillating frequency F (F3, F5 etc.) of the transmission-line 15.
During a �start-up� phase, i.e., after power is first applied to the amplifiers 21, oscillation will get initiated from amplification of inherent noise within the amplifiers 21, thus begin substantially chaotically though it will quickly settle to oscillation at a fundamental frequency F, typically within nanoseconds. For each amplifier 21, respective signals from its inverters 23 a and 23 b arrive back inverted after experiencing a propagation delay Tp around the transmission-line 15. This propagation delay Tp is a function of the inductive and capacitive parameters of the transmission-line 15; which, as expressed in henrys per meter (L) and in farads per meter (C) to include all capacitive loading of the transmission-line, lead to a characteristic impedance Zo=SQR (L/C) and a line traverse or propagation or phase velocity Pv=1/SQRT(L/C). Reinforcement, i.e., selective amplification, of those frequencies for which the delay Tp is an integer sub-divisor of a half-cycle time gives rise to the dominant lowest frequency, i.e., the fundamental frequency F=1/(2.multidot.Tp), for which the sub-divisor condition is satisfied. All other integer multiples of this frequency also satisfy this sub-divisor condition, but gain of the amplifiers 21 �falls off�, i.e., decreases, for higher frequencies, so the transmission-line 15 will quickly settle to fundamental oscillation at the frequency F.
The transmission-line 15 has endless electromagnetic continuity, which, along with fast switching times of preferred transistors in the inverters 23 a and 23 b, leads to a strongly square wave-form containing odd harmonics of the fundamental frequency F in effectively reinforced oscillation. At the fundamental oscillating frequency F, including the odd harmonic frequencies, the terminals of the amplifiers 21 appear substantially unloaded, due to the transmission-line 15 being �closed-loop� without any form of termination, which results very desirably in low power dissipation and low drive requirements. The inductance and capacitance per unit length of the transmission-line 15 can be altered independently, as can also be desirable and advantageous.
For the transmission-line 15, it is convenient to consider complete laps as traversed by a traveling wave, and also total length S of the originating conductive trace 17, both in terms of �electrical length�.
By way of example, an electrical length of 1800 corresponding to one lap and � wavelength at 1 GHz could be formed from a 45 mm transmission-line having a phase velocity (Pv) that is 30% that of the speed of light (c), i.e., Pv=0.3*c, or 4.5 mm where Pv=0.03*c, or 166 mm in free space, i.e., where Pv=1*c.
The phases of the waveforms .PHI.1 and .PHI.2 can, for a transmission-line 15 hereof, be accurately determined from any arbitrary reference point on the transmission-line 15, thus have strong coherence and stability of phasing.
Suitable (indeed preferred in relation to present IC manufacturing technology and practice) switching amplifiers 21 for bidirectional operation are based on back-to-back MOSFET inverters 23 a,b, for which up to well over 1,000 switching inverting amplifier pairs could be provided along typical lengths of transmission-line structures hereof.
The bidirectional inverting action of the switching amplifiers 21 is of synchronous rectification nature. The rise and fall times of the waveforms .PHI.1 and .PHI.2 are very fast indeed compared with hitherto conventional timing signals, being based on electron-transit-time of preferred MOSFET transistors of the inverters 23 a,b. Moreover, reinforcement is related to the transmission-line 15 having lower impedance than any �on� transistor in inverters of preferred bidirectional switching amplifiers 21, though total paralleled is usefully of the same order. Switching of such inverters means that each amplifier 21 contributes to the resulting wave polarity by way of a small energy pulse which, by symmetry, must propagate in both directions, the forwardly directed EM wave pulse thus contributing as desired. The reverse EM wave pulse that travels back to the previously switched amplifier 21 is of the same polarity as already exists there, thus reinforces the pre-existing switched state. Ohmic paths between power supply rails and the transmission line 15 through �on� transistors of the preferred inverters of amplifiers 21 ensure that energy of such reverse EM wave pulses is absorbed into those power supply rails V+,GND, i.e., there is useful power conservation.
It should be appreciated that implementation could be by other than CMOS, e.g. by using N-channel pull-ups, P-channel pull-downs, bipolar transistors, negative resistance devices such as Gunn diodes, MESFET, etc.
Regarding the transmission-lines 15 as such, a suitable medium readily applicable to ICs and PCBs and interconnects generally is as commonly referred to as microstrip or coplanar waveguide or stripline, and well known to be formable lithographically, i.e., by patterning of resists and etching. Practical dielectrics for an on-IC transmission-line include silicon dioxide (SiO2) often referred to as field oxide, inter-metal dielectrics, and substrate dielectrics (which can be used at least for semi-insulating structures, e.g. of silicon-on-insulator type).
Inter-metal dielectric layers on a typical IC CMOS process are thin, typically about 0.7 um, so microstrip transmission-line features with low signal losses must have a low characteristic impedance Zo (as hitherto for unterminated, partially terminated or series terminated lines acting to reduce signal reflections to a manageable level). Self-sustaining, non-terminated, closed-loop transmission-lines 15 hereof inherently have very low power consumption for maintained traveling EM wave oscillation as the dielectric and conductor losses to be overcome are typically low. From
A crossover 19 can be implemented on an IC using �vias� between the metal layers, preferably with each via only a small fraction of total length S of the transmission-line 15.
A variant is available where a transmission-line 15 hereof has only one amplifier 21 connected to the transmission-line, and the EM wave no longer travels around the transmission-line 15 so that a standing wave oscillation results, see
It follows that traveling wave operation will be available using a few spaced or just one lengthy CMOS bidirectional inverter formation, though plural small inverters will produce smoother faster results. Offsetting formations of the amplifiers 21, even just its input/output terminals, can predispose a traveling EM wave to one direction of transmission-line traversal, as could specific starter circuit such as based on forcing first and slightly later second pulses onto the transmission-line at different positions, or incorporation of some known microwave directional coupler.
Inverting transmission-line transformers can be used instead of the crossovers (19) and still yield a transmission line having endless electromagnetic continuity, see
For clarity
Capacitance loading due to gate, drain, source and substrate junction capacitances are preferably distributed as mentioned previously.
An advantage of having a differential- and common-mode, transmission-line, is that �parasitic� capacitances inherent within MOSFET transistors can be absorbed into the transmission-line impedance Zo, as illustrated in
By way of a non-restrictive example, on a 0.35 micron CMOS process, a usable 5 GHz non-overlapping clock signal should result with transmission-line loop length (S/2) of 9 mm for a phase velocity of 30% of speed-of-light, as determined by capacitive shunt loading distribution and dielectric constants, the total length (S), of the conductor 17 thus being 18 mm.
The substrate junction capacitances (Cdb) of the NMOS and PMOS transistor could be dramatically reduced by using semi-insulating or silicon-on-insulator type process technologies.
There is a continuous DC path that directly connects the terminals of each of the amplifiers 21, i.e., the respective input/output terminals of each and all of the inverters 23 a, 23 b, but this path is characterized by having no stable DC operating point. This DC instability is advantageous in relation to the regenerative action of each of the respective amplifiers 21 1�21 4 and their positive feedback action.
Transmission-lines 15 hereof can be routed around functional logic blocks as closed-loops that are �tapped into� to get �local� clock signals. CMOS inverters can be used as �tap amplifiers� in a capacitive �stub� to the transmission-line 15, which can be �resonated out� by removing an equivalent amount of �local� capacitance from the transmission-lines, say by local thinning of conductor traces (15 a/15 b) as above. Capacitive �clock taps� can be spread substantially evenly along a transmission-line 15 hereof having due regard as a matter of design to their spacings, which, if less than the wavelength of the oscillating signal, will tend to slow the propagation of the EM wave and lower the characteristic impedance Zo of the transmission-line (15), but will still result in good signal transmission characteristics.
Within functional logic blocks that are small relative to clock signal wavelength, unterminated interconnects work adequately for local clocking with phase coherence, see
Plural oscillators and transmission-lines 15 can readily be operatively connected or coupled together in an also inventive manner, including synchronizing with each other both in terms of phase and frequency provided that any nominal frequency mismatch is not too great. Resistive, capacitive, inductive or correct length direct transmission-line connections/couplings, or any combinations thereof, can make good bidirectional signal interconnections. Signal connection or coupling between transmission-lines can also be achieved using known coupling techniques as used for microwave micro-strip circuits, generally involving sharing of magnetic and/or electrical flux between adjacent transmission lines. Unidirectional connections can also be advantageous. Connectors and couplings hereof are capable of maintaining synchronicity and coherency of plural transmission-line oscillators throughout a large system, whether within ICs or between IC's say on printed circuit boards (PCBs).
Connection/coupling of two or more transmission-lines and cross-connection rules are similar to Kirchoff's current law but based on the energy going into a junction, i.e., a connection or coupling, of any number of the transmission-lines being equal to the energy coming out of the same junction, i.e., there is no energy accumulation at the junction. When the supply voltage V+is constant, the rule is, of course, precisely Kirchoff's current law. By way of a practical example, if there is a junction common to three transmission-lines, the simplest, but not the only, solution is that one of the transmission-lines has half the characteristic impedance of the other two transmission-lines. Where there are any even number of coupled transmission-lines, their respective characteristic impedances can all be equal. However, there are an infinite number of combinations of impedances which will satisfy Kirchoff's current law. The cross-connection rule, within a transmission-line, is the same as the rules for coupling two or more transmission-lines described above.
There will be high quality differential signal waveforms Φ1 and Φ2, in terms of phase and amplitude, at all points around a transmission-line network 15 when the following criteria are met:
(i) the transmission-lines have substantially matching electrical lengths
(ii) above Kirchoff-like power rules are satisfied
(iii) there is phase inversion.
There are, of course, an infinite number of coupled network designs and supply voltages that will fulfill the above three criteria, such as for example: short sections of slow, low impedance transmission-lines that are coupled to long fast, high impedance transmission-lines; and one- and/or three-dimensional structures etc. However, for the best wave-shapes and lowest parasitic power losses, the phase velocities of the common-mode and the differential-mode, i.e., even and odd modes, should be substantially the same. The same, or substantially the same, phase velocities can be designed into a system by varying the capacitances of the transmission-lines.
The supply voltage V+does not have to be constant throughout a system, provided that above Kirchoff-like power/impedance relationships are maintained and result in an inherent voltage transformation system that, when combined with the inherent synchronous rectification of the inverters 23 a and 23 b, allows different parts of the system to operate at different supply voltages, and power to be passed bi-directionally between such different parts of the system.
An alternative is shown in
Further alternatives include use of a dielectric material (not illustrated) that spans over and/or under the portions of the conductive traces to be electromagnetically coupled.
It is feasible and practical to synchronize transmission-line oscillators operating at different frequencies. In
Preferred coupling between transmission-lines of oscillators operating at such different odd harmonic related frequencies, is unidirectional so that the naturally lower frequency line (15 1) is not encouraged to try to synchronize to the naturally higher frequency line (15 2). Any number of transmission-line oscillators of different odd-harmonically related frequencies can be coupled together and synchronized as for
Re-circulatory transmission-line oscillators hereof can be used in and for the generation and distribution of reference, i.e., clock, timing signal(s) in and of a semiconductor integrated circuit (IC); and is also applicable to a printed-circuit-board (PCB), e.g. as serving to mount and interconnect circuitry that may include plural ICs, or indeed, any other suitable apparatus/system where timing reference signal(s) is/are required.
For ICs as such, simulations using the industry standard SPICE techniques show potential for supplying clock signals of very high frequencies indeed, up to several tens of GHz, depending upon the IC manufacturing process employed and projections for their development. Generation and distribution can effectively be at, and service, all parts of an IC with predictable phases at and phase relationships between such parts, including as multiple clock signals that ay have the same or different frequencies. Moreover, principles of operation of transmission-line oscillators hereof and their self-synchronizing inter-coupling extend or lead readily not only to reliable service of timing signals to operational circuitry within any particular IC and between ICs, but further and it is believed also importantly and inventively to data transfer between ICs etc.
The entire transmission-line 15 structure and network involving regenerative circuits 21 oscillates. The transmission-line 15 operates unterminated, i.e., the transmission-line forms a closed-loop. The characteristic impedance Zo of the transmission-line is low and only �top-up� energy is required to maintain oscillation.
Impedance between the two conductor traces 15 a, 15 b is preferably evenly distributed, thus well balanced, which helps achieve well defined, differential signal waveforms (Φ1, Φ2). Coherent oscillation occurs when the signals Φ1, Φ1 on the transmission-line 15 meet this 180�, or substantially a 180�, phase shift requirement for all inverting amplifiers 21 connected to the transmission-line 15, i.e., when all the amplifiers 21 operate in a coordinated manner with known phase relationship between all points along the transmission-line 15. Signal energy is transmitted into the transmission-line 15 both inductively and capacitively, i.e., magnetically and electrically, between the signal conductors 15 a, 15 b for the differential-mode, also between each signal conductor and the ground reference for the two individual common-mode (not present if the upper and lower �ground� planes are absent, nor for connections via unshielded twisted-pair cables).
CMOS inverters as non-linear, operative switching and amplifying circuit elements have low losses from cross-conduction current as normally lossy transistor gate �input� and drain �output� capacitances are absorbed into the characteristic impedance Zo of the transmission-line 15, along with the transistor substrate capacitances, so power consumption is not subject to the usual 1/2CV2f formula.
It is quite often assumed that the power dissipation due to capacitive charging and discharging of MOS transistor gates, for example, is unavoidable. However, the self sustaining oscillating nature of the transmission-line 15 is able to �drive� the transistor gate terminals with low power loss. This is due to the fact that the required �drive� energy is alternating between the electrostatic field, i.e., the capacitive field of the MOS gate capacitances, and the magnetic field, i.e., the inductive field elements of the transmission-line 15. Therefore, the energy contained within the transmission-line 15 is not being completely dissipated, it is in fact being recycled. Energy saving applies to all operatively connected transistor gates of the transmission-line 15.
It is envisaged that low loss efficiency of transmission-line oscillator hereof could well be used to �clock� ICs for many previously popular logic systems that have since been overshadowed or abandoned as non-viable options for reasons attributed to problems associated with clock skew, clock distribution, power consumption etc. Non-exhaustive examples of such logic arrangements include poly-phase logic and charge recovery or adiabatic switching logic, such logic arrangements being known to those skilled in the art.
The transmission-line (15) of the loop 13L is elongated with a long side close to the edge (i.e., scribe line) of the IC 68, so that it is possible to couple to another similarly set up separate monolithic IC for inter-coupling by such as flip-chip technology for frequency and phase locking by such as magnetic coupling, as described above. Phase and frequency locking of separate monolithic IC's can be very useful in such as hybrid systems.
ICs hereof can be designed to have whatever may be desired up to total frequency and phase locking, also phase coherence, including for and between two or more self-sustaining transmission-line oscillators greatly to facilitate synchronous control and operation of data processing activities at and between all the various logic and processing blocks associated with such IC.
(i) act as a single multi-filament transmission-line;
(ii) have smaller conductive traces (15 a, 15 b);
(iii) cover a larger clocking area;
(iv) produce lower skin effect losses; and
(v) produce lower crosstalk and coupling.
Passive transmission-line connections with no particular requirement for impedance matching can be used to connect oscillating transmission-lines of the same, or substantially the same, frequency together, at least provided that enough inter-connections are established between two systems, at connection positions with the same relative phases in the inter-connected networks. Such connections can assist in synchronizing high speed digital signals between IC's and systems because non-clock signals (i.e., the IC/system data lines) will have similar delay characteristics if they are incorporated into the same routing (e.g. ribbon cable, twisted pair, transmission-line) as the clock connections, thus making data and clocking coherent between different systems.
A single pair of inter-IC connections (E, F or G, H) will result in frequency and phase �locking�. More than one pair of inter-IC connections (E, F and G, H as shown) will result further in clock wave direction or rotation locking.
Also shown in
Impedance of the pairs of connections E, F and G, H and connections 82, 83 can have any value since, in normal operation and once these connections are energized, there will be no net power flow therein for correct phasing thereof. It is, however, preferred that the impedance of these connections E, F and G, H and 82, 83 is greater than that of oscillator transmission-lines 15 to which they are connected. These connections will support a standing EM wave rather than a traveling EM wave.
Digitally selectable shunt capacitors illustrated in
The MOSFETS M1, M3, M5 and M7 have their drain and source terminals connected to the �inner� transmission-line conductor 15 a, for example, and the MOSFETs M2, M4, M6 and M8 have their drain and source terminals connected to the �outer� transmission-line conductor 15 b. The substrate terminals of MOSFETs M1, M2, M5 and M6 are connected to the positive supply rail V+ and the substrate terminals of MOSFETs M3, M4, M7 and M8 are connected to the negative supply rail GND.
The gate terminals of MOSFETs M1 and M2 are connected together and controlled by a control signal CS0 and the gate terminals of MOSFETs M3 and M4 are connected together and controlled by the inverse of control signal CS0. Likewise, the gate terminals of MOSFETs M5 and M6 are connected together and controlled by a control signal CS1 and the gate terminals of MOSFETs M7 and M8 are connected together and controlled by the inverse of control signal CS1.
The following truth table illustrates which MOSFET shunt capacitors (M1�M8) contribute capacitance, i.e., �MOSFETs On�, to the transmission-line 15.
It is preferred that the respective sizes and numbers of shunt capacitors connected to the �inner� and �outer� transmission-line conductive traces 15 a, 15 b are the same, i.e., balanced. Whilst eight MOSFET shunt capacitors M1�M8 are shown, any number of MOSFET shunt capacitors having suitable sizes, and hence capacitances, can be used, provided that the transmission-line 15 is balanced, as per
There are other configurations for producing digitally controllable shunt capacitors that, may or may not be formed using MOSFET transistors. One known example, again using MOSFETs, could be the use of binary weighted MOSFET capacitors for example. Alternatives to MOS capacitors affording variable capacitance include varactors and P/N diodes for example.
It can be advantageous for the �capacitor arrays� to be replicated at regular intervals around the transmission-line(s) so as to distribute the impedance.
The bi-directional switches (21) using inverters 23 a, 23 b inherently act as synchronous rectifiers of the clock frequency as can be deduced by the ohmic path from these inverters most negative supply rail to GND and their most positive supply rail to V+. Therefore, the NMOS and PMOS transistors that constitute the back-to-back inverters 23 a and 23 b (see
This power recycling is particularly appropriate to IC process technologies where the gate length is less than approximately 0.1 microns when the parallel �on-resistance� will be comparable to the series DC resistance of the supply connections. Such synchronous rectification can act as the basis of power distribution in the absence or impossibility of power supply routing to certain area's of an IC, particularly can be used for �charge pump� circuitry, i.e., DC-to-DC power conversion. There is also inherent capability for converting DC-to AC power conversion and visa versa. Alternatively, of course, known �on-chip� transformers could be employed.
The possibility is envisaged of achieving highest possible operating frequencies consistent with disconnectable switching of logic circuitry, including as semiconductor fabrication technology is bound to develop.
Indeed, transmission-line formations themselves should scale with IC process technology, thus smaller and faster transistor formations lead naturally to shorter and faster transmission-line oscillators for yet higher clock frequencies.
Other possibilities include maintaining low power consumption; regardless of applications, which could be as to any resonating of capacitive and inductive connections to a transmission-line, and specifically use relative to such as shift registers or �precharge�/�evaluate� logic.
Whilst there is evident advantage in not having to use external timing reference such as a quartz crystal, nor PLL techniques, there may be situations and applications where this invention is applied in conjunction with such external timing crystals etc.
Whilst detailing herein has been within the context of currently dominant CMOS technology for ICs, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that principles are involved that are also applicable to other semiconductor technologies, e.g. Silicon-Germanium (Si�Ge), Gallium-Arsenide (Ga�As) etc.
Finally, highly beneficial particular utility in overcoming the problems associated with high frequency clocking, e.g. where F>1 GHz, no other applicability of combined timing sign generation and distribution is to be excluded from intended scope hereof, say for systems and apparatus to operate at frequencies less than 1 GHz.
Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions thereof, other versions are possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred versions contained herein.
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Jason and Cheyenne were the ideal hosts. We stayed at their Triumph Street address and it was perfect for us. They went out of their way to ensure we had a good time during our stay with them.
The apartment is clean, private and spacious, with all the amenities we required for our stay. A short bus journey will bring to the heart of Downtown Vancouver and a couple of minutes walk will take you to the colourful Commercial Drive area (great independent places to eat and shop).
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Had a great stay at Jason's place, he was a great host and went out of his way to help me sort out everything I needed for my 6 month stay in Canada.
The flat is pretty basic but clean and had everything I needed including very fast internet! Great location for exploring the city by foot or bike, the rough elements of E . Hastings street are easily avoided but def worth seeing when visiting Vancouver. Don't miss having dinner at Dunlevy Snackbar up the street, cool bar with great food!
Although Lower East Hastings St has a notorious reputation in Vancouver, we felt unaffected by this due to Jason's apartment backing onto the extremely friendly and family orientated neighbourhood of Strathcona. Jason was extremely hospitable and accommodating for our needs, letting us extend our stay at short notice. We were able to use his bikes to travel around the city and he had a kick ass VHS collection. His apartment was a great base for exploring the city and surrounding areas with great ease, which provided us with a stress free and enjoyable experience overall.
It is a really nice room and Jason is a great host. We didn't meet him but he gave us tips about the city and we also used his bikes. The neighbourhood is a bit scary though, but actually nothing happend to us and the plus is it is very close to downtown! thanks for everything! we would always come back!
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It was great to stay at Jason's place. I have not met him personally, but he organized my stay perfectly and sent me a lot of information prior to my stay. It is easy to get to the apartment from the airport. His roommates were very friendly and open, so I felt welcomed and well supported. For, me apartment in a very good location to explore the city by walking which I enjoyed very much. I miss the sound of the sea gulls in the morning.
Jason made sure we realized that the neighborhood was 'colorful', so we were somewhat prepared, but still didn't expect to see homeless all along the streets. The room was nice sized, pretty clean; but very noisy as it was on this busy street and there were a lot of people yelling down below a couple of times during the night. It was hard to sleep because of this even with earplugs and window closed.
The bed we were to sleep in looked as if someone had just crawled out of it. the bedding was completely bunched up and did not smell fresh. So we bought a new inexpensive set in town. When we told the host (Jason was away since we were staying in his room) and he offered to change the sheets. He didn't have any others so he put on the ones we bought. The bed was the 2nd most uncomfortable bed I have ever tried to sleep in as the mattress was completely worn out and collapsed in the middle.
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We had a hard time getting our luggage up the narrow stairway and through the two locked gates. I would not stay again, but that isn't to say it wouldn't work for some people.
Great location, great hosts, would highly recommend!
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Jeason and Cheyenne are a wonderful couple. We really enjoyed having them with us. They are really interesting people to talk to, very considerate and colleagues as they also rent on airbnb in Canada. Well done guys for having gone out there in the snow to visit Brussels :-) Enjoy the rest of your trip in the EU.

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NXP Strengthens China Team with Appointment of Li Zheng as SVP Sales & Marketing, Greater China and Country Manager, China
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Former President at Renesas Electronics China brings 20 year experience to the role
Eindhoven, Netherlands, March 24th 2014 – NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) today announced the appointment of Li Zheng as Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing, Greater China and Country Manager for China. Zheng, who will be based in Shanghai, will replace Mike Yeh, who is retiring from the company after an impressive 30-year career in semiconductors industry.
Prior to taking up this position, Zheng held the position of SVP, worldwide marketing for SMIC Corp. Here, he was responsible for the product line roadmap, technology readiness management, technology promotion and joint development programs with major customers. Zheng has held a series of high profile management positions including Chairman & CEO of Renesas Electronics China and Hong Kong, and Senior Vice President of NEC Electronics China and Hong Kong region.
NXP is committed to building on its industry leading position in China, with 8,000 of the company's employees currently based in the region. NXP designs and creates solutions that enable secure connections for a smarter world; a vision which supports China's latest five-year plan.
NXP is already the largest supplier of automotive semiconductors in China. Growth in this sector is expected to further accelerate the development of connected cars solutions, from smart mobility to enabling energy efficiency, safer traffic and air pollution reduction.
NXP is also the market leader for other lines of business in China including, banking, mobile transactions, AFC, NFC and infrastructure. Meeting the increasing demands of the Chinese mobile device market, NXP provides mobile and cloud connected devices and system protection semiconductors to the major Chinese mobile brands. In addition, NXP's leading technologies are enabling secure connections and solutions for smart cities. Innovations in energy efficiency, smart lighting, smart buildings, and smart mobility are supporting customers in China for future development in the era of the Internet of Things.
"Li brings to the role in-depth knowledge of the specific demands of the China market," said Rick Clemmer, president and CEO, NXP Semiconductors. "His long tenure in the semiconductor and electronics industries will provide us with valuable experience and underscores our commitment to this important region. We are pleased to welcome Li to the team."
"Li replaces Mike Yeh, who is retiring from this position," Clemmer continued. "I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Mike for his contribution to NXP. Mike's dedication to build our success in Greater China, and his admirable leadership has been crucial in helping driving our leading position in the region."
About NXP Semiconductors
NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) creates solutions that enable secure connections for a smarter world. Building on its expertise in High Performance Mixed Signal electronics, NXP is driving innovation in the automotive, identification and mobile industries, and in application areas including wireless infrastructure, lighting, healthcare, industrial, consumer tech and computing. NXP has operations in more than 25 countries, and posted revenue of $4.82 billion in 2013. Find out more at www.nxp.com.
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Albany, NY -- Individuals who have called the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) toll-free number to report property damage from the April 20 Ausable Forks earthquake in Clinton and Essex counties are being reminded to ask anyone claiming to be an inspector to produce legitimate identification.
"We want to make sure that no one is taken in by an imposter trying to take advantage of the situation," said Federal Coordinating Officer Marianne C. Jackson. "All of our inspectors are ready and willing to produce their official photo identification."
Inspectors from other agencies also may visit damaged property during the recovery process. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) sends loss verifiers to inspect damaged property of those who have submitted loan applications. Local building and safety inspectors check damaged structures to assess their safety and to monitor and review rebuilding efforts.
"People who may have property damage from the earthquake but have not yet called to register should call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) today," Jackson added. "We urge everyone with property damage to register for assistance."


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The Hatewatch blog is managed by the staff of the Intelligence Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, an Alabama-based civil rights organization.
Richard Mack Announces Plan to Take Over Arizona's Navajo County as a "Constitutional" Haven
Richard Mack, the leader of the so-called "Constitutional sheriffs" movement and a longtime figure in the antigovernment "Patriot" movement, made a somewhat startling announcement near the end of his speech Saturday December 13 to the gathering of fellow gun-rights enthusiasts at the "We Will Not Comply" rally in Olympia, Wash.
"I want you to know that there is something that I'm gonna do – and I don't want to do it," he said. "And my wife really doesn't want to do it. But there is a group of people that were looking for answers to what we're doing. And they formed a committee, and they formed a website, and they got together and they said, let's call this the Constitutional County Project. And we're going to try to make at least one county a complete and entire constitutional county."
Mack smiled. "Now imagine that all of you – all of us that similarly live in Utah, Arizona, Colorado, all lived in the same place," he said. "Can you imagine that? And we are the town councils, the county commissioners. And I am moving there to run for sheriff."
This is not the first time that Mack has moved to another locale in an attempt to become sheriff since losing his badge as the sheriff of Graham County, Ariz., in the mid-1990s. In 1998, he ran as a Republican for sheriff in Utah County, Utah, but lost in the primary. He returned to Arizona, where in 2006 he ran as a Libertarian Party candidate in the U.S. Senate race against incumbent Jon Kyl, a Republican, but finished in the general election with only 3% of the vote. Mack, who now has a residence in Texas, ran in the 2012 GOP primary against Republican Rep. Lamar Smith of the state's 21st Congressional District and was similarly trounced, garnering only 15 percent of the vote.
There is indeed a website devoted to a "Constitutional County Project," as well as a Facebook page, and they explain that their mission is to "re-assert the United States Constitution as the supreme law of the land, driven by active citizen engagement within the political process at the County level, to secure and protect the liberties of 'We the People' without compromise."
The website explains that the organizers have set their sights on Navajo County, a sparsely populated and relatively large body in Arizona's northeastern corner, as the county where they hope to establish a large population of fellow "constitutionalists" who share their political views, and to transform the county's politics accordingly.
The project's intentions, according to the website, in Navajo County include "supporting Constitutional candidates, as well as encouraging project participants to run, for all county offices including county sheriff, attorney, board of supervisors, school board, along with all municipal and political party offices," "repealing local and county laws and regulations which are unrelated to protecting individual rights," "establishing and enforcing environmental regulations at the county level," and "using legal and political means to protect the county's residents against any attempt to un-Constitutionally interfere with peaceable living and enterprise."
"The main reasons for our choosing Navajo County include a rural location, mild climate, and an already existing tradition of independence, self-reliance, and liberty among its residents," the website explains.
The site also lists a number of endorsements for the project from around Arizona, including a number of leading Republican Party officials. Among them are Dara Vanesian, the Navajo County GOP Chairman; AJ Lafaro, the Maricopa County GOP Chairman; Pinal County GOP Chairman Seraphim Larsen; and Arizona State Sen. Judy Burges, R-Sun City West, a noted Tea Party figure who once made headlines by introducing a "birther" bill in the Legislature, as well as for a bill to stave off a "one-world order," a response to the right-wing conspiracy theory about Agenda 21.
Local endorsees include Sylvia Allen, a Navajo County Supervisor; former Arizona State Senator Jonathan Paton; Barry Weller, an Apache County Supervisor; and Robert Corbell, a Greenlee County Supervisor. The group's leadership appears to include Barry Hess, a former Libertarian gubernatorial candidate, and Barbara Blewster of the state's chapter of the John Birch Society.
Mack explained to the crowd Saturday how it all came about. "This group got together and came to me, I wasn't part of it," he said. "They told me about this, and I said, 'This is tremendous. This is what I've said for years. If we're going to take back freedom, we have one opportunity to keep it peaceful, and that is the enforcement of state sovereignty by our sheriffs, and by our state and county legislators."
He said he saw it as a dream come true: "We can keep this movement peaceful, my dear friends, we can. You have to have them on board, though. You have to have some of them. And you have to have some sheriffs. And so they said, 'We want all of that to happen – in Navajo County, Arizona, and we want you to come there and run for sheriff.
"And I said yes. My wife said no. This is one time I'm gonna be the boss. We're moving. And it's three hours from where I live now."
He also made a pitch for fellow "Patriots" to join him there. "The election is in 2016," he said. "I want you to carefully, prayerfully consider moving there with me. And I'm serious. You want to live in a free county? You want to live by constitutional law? You want to not worry about the federal government not moving in and ruining your lives and your family and hauling you off at midnight? Come live with us there. We're gonna do this.
"We're gonna make it a constitutional county and show everybody the blueprint for freedom. And there's a lot more people running for other offices than me. I just said I'd run for sheriff. We're going to give this one more try. The election is in 2016. I'm going to be moving there in spring of 2015 so I can start getting ready for this. You have about a year and a half to decide. And I'm dead serious about this. If I can move there, so can you."
There are some immediate problems, however, with the plans of Mack and his cohorts. The most obvious is that of the county's 9,960 square miles, 6,632 of those are federally designated Indian reservation – the third most of any county in the United States.
Nor is it clear that their political plans – involving a predominantly white "Patriot" movement contingent – will go over well with the county's current population, some 45 percent of which in the latest Census was Native American. That is only slightly outnumbered by the county's white population, which comprises 51 percent. However, that white population has grown in recent years; in the 2000 Census, only 46 percent of the county was white, while 48 percent was Native.
Kelly "K.C." Clark, the current Navajo County sheriff – a Democrat who has held the office since 2008 – told Hatewatch that he had heard of the "constitutional county" rumblings a month ago and had been told recently about Mack's plans. "I take everything seriously," he said, "but I just do what I have always done as sheriff.
"You know, I have been serving the citizens of Navajo County for 27 years," he added. "I have taken the oath as a certified police officer, when I became certified, and then twice as an elected official. And we all know what that oath says. I don't take that oath lightly, never have."
But he bridles at the idea that what he and other mainstream sheriffs do is somehow unconstitutional. "I do support the Second Amendment, but I support the whole Constitution, too. I support all 26 amendments. Because I am a constitutional sheriff."
Clark said he welcomed Mack and his fellow constitutionalists. "You know, anybody can run for sheriff," he said. "If he does, then so be it. I heard on that video that he was encouraging other people to move here. And I hope so, because that would be great for our economy."
Federal Judge in North Carolina Upholds Liberty Dollar Founder's Conviction
A federal judge in North Carolina has denied a motion to set aside the 2011 jury conviction of a Bernard von NotHaus, an antigovernment activist who minted and sold his own silver coins in competition with U.S. government.
The protracted and complex legal case attracted widespread interest from gold and coin enthusiasts, as well as antigovernment activists and antigovernment "sovereign citizens" who say the government cannot control them.
The 47-page ruling, filed Nov. 10 by U.S. District Judge Richard Vorhees, came three years after von NotHaus' conviction in Asheville, N.C., and the filing of assorted post-trial motions, including an attempted legal intervention by Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee, Inc. The ruling on those motions, all rejected as baseless by the court, clears the way for von NotHaus' sentencing next month.
After his conviction, the man who described himself as the "architect of the free-money movement" argued that federal laws under which he was charged are unconstitutional and that federal prosecutors didn't present sufficient evidence showing he intended to violate counterfeit laws.
The 70-year-old founder of the so-called "Liberty Dollar Operation" minted his own silver coins that looked very much like U.S. silver dollars, intending them to be used as "private barter currency" for goods and services in direct competition with the Federal Reserve. He sold them to distributors in a Pyramid-style operation, accepting Federal Reserve greenbacks for the purchases, reportedly putting more than $20 million Liberty Dollars into circulation before being arrested by the FBI on federal counterfeiting and conspiracy charges.
The post-conviction motions, the judge said, presented "a question as to the scope and extent" of Congress' exclusive power to coin money.
Von NotHaus argued his conviction "infringes on the public's right to utilize private bartering systems" and that it is not illegal or counterfeiting for a private individual to compete with the Federal Reserve.
The judge said he was not ruling that private barter systems are illegal. He also said that while the Constitution doesn't give Congress the exclusive right to coin money, it does "expressly prohibit" states from doing that.
"It is undisputed that Congress has the ability to enact comprehensive laws concerning the coinage of money, the value of money, and counterfeiting," the judge's ruling said.
Further, the judge ruled that Congress does indeed possess the power to make it illegal for someone like von NotHaus to mint coins—whether they resemble U.S. coins or are of original design—if they are intended for use in monetary transactions.
Vorhees order said the jury that heard the evidence against von NotHaus found that his Liberty Dollars were counterfeit and that he intended to break federal law by minting and selling them.
After earlier interest by the Secret Service, the FBI opened a criminal investigation in 2004 after the Asheville, N.C., police department got a report the State Employees Credit Union that someone had attempt to "pass a coin that looked similar to United States coinage."
The judge said the jury that heard the case "was in a position to evaluate the specific and fine points of the Liberty Dollars" before unanimously concluding they were counterfeit and that von NotHaus intended to break federal law.
"There is a heavy burden to prove that a jury's verdict and findings of facts are wrong," the judge said, denying von NotHaus' motions to set aside his convictions or grant a new trial.
While operating the Royal Hawaiian Mint in the late 1990s, von NotHaus founded "The National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve Act and Internal Revenue Code" or NORFED. To circumvent laws, he also started the Free Marijuana Church of Honolulu, where he called himself the "high priest."
But it was his Liberty Dollar operation that captured national headlines as von NotHaus claimed NORFED would compete with the Federal Reserve System just like FedEx does with the U.S. Postal Service.
He later moved its headquarters to Evansville, Ind., Later, where he teamed with James W. Thomas, publisher of Media Bypass, a now-defunct magazine popular with antigovernment "Patriots," sovereign citizens and extremists with anti-Semitic agendas.
NORFED issued and circulated five coins in one, five, ten, twenty and fifty dollar denominations. The Liberty Dollars, marked as "America's inflation-proof currency," were minted at Sunshine Minting, Inc. in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
While the coins actually contained silver, trial evidence showed von NotHaus and his operation would recall and re-mint the coins if the "average spot price" of that precious metal exceeded the face value of a particular coin.
"We never refer to the American Liberty as a coin," von NotHaus said in an interview in 1999. "The word 'coin' is a government-controlled term. This is currency that is free from government control."
"When the people own the money, they control the government," he said. "When the government owns the money, it controls the people."
Cliven Bundy in Bizarre Video for Black Candidate: 'It's Almost Like Black Folks Think White Folks Owe Them Something'
Cliven Bundy, the defiant "Patriot" Nevada rancher who led an armed confrontation with federal agents in April – and who has still not faced any consequences in its aftermath – continued making the far-right political rounds in Nevada this week by appearing in a video promoting the candidacy of Independent American Party candidate Kamau Bakari.
This is somewhat remarkable, considering that Bakari is African-American. Rather than run away from Bundy's reputation as a racist — well earned, after his widely publicized remarks about race in the immediate aftermath of Bundy's showdown — the two of them went on the offensive, attacking his critics for their "political correctness," which Bakari says is "bad for America."
But none of it is as remarkable as the exchange between the two men, in which Bundy complains that "a man ought to be able to express himself without being called names", and adds: "It's almost like black folks think white folks owe them something."
The ad opens with a clip of U.S. Attorney General Eric holder, commenting in 2009 on the state of race in America: "In things racial, we have always been and I believe continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards."
The ad then segues to Bundy and Bakari in western cowboy garb with their horses at a hitching post, as spaghetti-western music plays in the background.
BUNDY: Did he just call me a coward?
BAKARI: No, he just called all white folks cowards.
BUNDY: He must not know me.
BAKARI: You mean if someone called you a racist, you wouldn't drop your head and be all scared and sad and run around here apologizing like them billionaire ball team owners did a little while ago?
BUNDY: No, I wouldn't, and I'm sick and tired of people that act like that.
BAKARI: Cliven, you know that political correctness, that's bad for America. A man ought to be able to say whatever you want to say.
BUNDY: That's exactly right. I know black folks have had a hard time with slavery and you know, the government was in on it. And the government's in on it again. I worked my whole life without mistreating anybody. A man ought to be able to express himself without being called names.
BAKARI: I hear you, Cliven, I believe you. A brave white man like you might be just what we need to put an end to this political correctness in America today.
BUNDY: Don't sell yourself short. You're taking a chance just being in my company.
BAKARI: I know. I'm as sick as you are. I feel ashamed when I hear black folks whining about "white folks this," "white folks that." Always begging.
BUNDY: It's almost like black folks think white folks owe them something.
BAKARI: I know, I've got an idea. Let's call Eric Holder up.
BUNDY: What do you mean?
BAKARI: Tell him you're a white man that's not scared to talk to him about race. And you know a black man that will stand with you.
BUNDY: I like that idea. Mr. Eric Holder, this is one white man that's not scared to talk about race. I dare you to come to Las Vegas and talk to us.
BAKARI: And don't give us that "you're too busy" stuff. You weren't too busy to go to Ferguson, Missouri.
As the Washington Post notes, Bakari is a fringe candidate who has virtually no change of unseating the incumbent, Rep. Dina Titus, a Democrat, in Nevada's 1st District.
Six Months After Standoff in Nevada, the Federal Government Has Not Yet Responded
It has been six months since the federal government called off its attempt to round up cattle belonging to Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy amid a tense standoff with heavily armed militiamen who trained their weapons on federal agents.
For weeks prior, the antigovernment right had been portraying a federal court order to remove Bundy's herd from public lands as a prime example of federal overreach – even though Bundy had refused to pay more than $1 million in accumulated grazing fees and fines because he said he didn't recognize the government's legitimacy.
Militias from around the country responded to Bundy's plight, hoping that in that tiny corner of the desert they could make a stand against the government they see as the enemy. And when the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) abandoned the operation to avoid a bloody shootout, they declared victory.
Government officials promised accountability for those who broke the law by taking up arms against federal agents. It seems unfathomable, in fact, that the U.S. Department of Justice would allow a mob of antigovernment zealots to get away with using the threat of violence to block the enforcement of the law.
But, as the months have dragged on, there has been no response. Not an arrest. Not an indictment. Nothing.
Cliven Bundy Stumps on Behalf of Nevada Fringe Party Candidate
Though he has been largely exiled from the mainstream media in the wake of his nakedly racist remarks following the armed showdown he led against federal agents, Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy manages to keep popping up on the political scene in Nevada, still spouting his far-right antigovernment "Patriot" views.
Most recently, Bundy made an appearance in Reno on behalf of Nevada Republican congressional candidate Russell Best, who is running for the state's 4th District congressional seat under the banner of the fringe Independent American Party.
The incumbent, first-term Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford – who demanded federal action when Bundy supporters reportedly began stopping residents at roadway checkpoints near the Bundy ranch – is favored to win, according to race handicappers, against GOP candidate Crescent Hardy and Best.
Bundy's speech to the Reno campaign gathering was a fairly boilerplate affair: "Basically, fight for liberty and freedom, and we're fighting against a federal government that's overreached," Bundy told the crowd, estimated at about 50 people, at the Bonanza Casino.
Later, he again told reporters for KRNV-TV that he still wanted to see local sheriffs disarming federal agents in their jurisdictions – and warned that armed revolution would follow if they failed to act.
"I did speak for 'We the People' when we said take away the arms from the federal government," Bundy said. "Later I thought of that and each county sheriff should be taking these arms away from these federal bureaucracy. I did say if we don't do that, if we don't rein back this federal government, then we the people are going to have to fight we the people, and that would be a revolution that I sure don't ever want to see happen."
Bundy admitted to feeling cooped up at his ranch, even as the crowd of his Patriot supporters has dwindled in the wake of an outbreak of infighting.
"I can't say I really enjoy it," he said when asked how felt about being a national figure. "I fight for freedom and yet I feel like I'm sort of locked up in the surroundings and not much freedom for me and my family."
Bundy, his sons, and a number of participants at the ranch standoff remain under investigation by the FBI for their potentially criminal behavior during the standoff.
'Sovereign Citizen' Shoots at Dallas Cops, Arrested After Standoff
A man who called Dallas police to inform them he was part of the antigovernment "sovereign citizens" movement even as he was engaging officers in an armed standoff was eventually arrested after taking shots at officers and locking down an upscale North Dallas neighborhood.
According to the Dallas Police Department blog, the man –– a 60-year-old Corinth resident named Douglas Lee Leguin –– began taking shots at Dallas firefighters on Monday as they arrived near the scene of a reported Dumpster fire in the well-to-do neighborhood. The firefighters were not hit and put out a call for assistance.
In short order, the Dallas SWAT team and a host of police officers descended upon the scene, and the man continued to fire shots. However, no officers were injured in the incident. Eventually, negotiators persuaded the man to surrender.
Leguin was charged with seven counts of aggravated assault. According to the Denton Record-Chronicle, he had placed a number of explosive devices around the property where he engaged police in the standoff. Those devices were defused or detonated. Reportedly, the same man had encountered a babysitter in the neighborhood with an 8-year-old girl and had threatened both of them before starting his rampage.
According to the Dallas Morning News, Leguin had called police during the standoff to tell them that he belonged to the antigovernment "sovereign citizens" movement, which believes that most government institutions are illegitimate, as are the laws they enforce.
Antigovernment Figures Rally Behind Arizona Attorney General Horne
Arizona Attorney General Thomas Horne has been accused by his political opponents of being a "chameleon." But not even they could predict the company he would one day keep.
Horne, once a Democrat, is a featured guest at tonight's "Liberty on Tap" monthly social at a Scottsdale brewing company, where he will share the stage with far-right antigovernment "Patriot" movement luminaries including Richard Mack and Ammon Bundy, the son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy.
Stephen Lemons at Phoenix New Times reports that Horne's campaign team is aware of the presence of the other participants.
Nevada Rancher Says Confrontation With Feds Is 'Spiritual Experience'
Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy says it was a "spiritual experience" –– good versus evil ––when he and his armed militia supporters stood up to federal agents in the celebrated April standoff that many say has buoyed the extremist movement.
Bundy, in one of his first public speeches since the stand-off, spoke last weekend in St. George, Utah, to members of the Independent American Party, described as a political group of ultra-conservatives who mock both the Republican and Democratic parties. ( continue to full post… )
Jerad Miller's Posts at Infowars Included Speculation about Killing Cops
In the wake of Sunday's deadly attacks in North Las Vegas, at the hands of two antigovernment "Patriot" extremists, Infowars host Alex Jones warned his listeners that the media would soon start claiming that there's a connection between his conspiracist media operation and the killers.
As a matter of fact, Jerad Miller – the 31-year-old Indiana man who led the attack, assisted by his 22-year-old wife, Amanda – liked to post on the Infowars member forum. And he constantly promoted Infowars on his Facebook page.
In one of his Infowars posts, Miller even speculated about whether or not he should kill police officers.
"The emerging narrative in the Las Vegas shooting now includes Alex Jones," the Infowars site complained shortly after news of the shootings broke. In short order, Jones began calling the shootings a "false flag operation" secretly staged by nefarious federal government operatives who set it up to look like it was a crime committed by domestic terrorists.
"The incident is custom-made to demonize the patriot movement," the Infowars site claimed. "The Southern Poverty Law Center has consistently attempted to forge a link between white supremacists and members of the patriot and constitutional movements."
Jones became downright imaginative, explaining to his listeners, in one rant, how he would go about setting up the murders if he were a government agent, and then warning that the shootings mean that "civil war is coming". He also began assigning responsibility for the "false flag operation." In one rant, he accused Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of being behind the crimes. In another, it was the work of President Obama and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Jones' wild claims must be intended to distract from the fact that, as Media Matters reported, Miller avidly posted Infowars links on his Facebook page and urged his readers to the website – saying, in one such post, to "get informed or get stupid".
What those claims fail to explain is why, beginning in May 2012, Jerad Miller became an Infowars forum member and began posting long pieces there. In all, he appears to have published five posts, though one of them titled "A Short Story About Protesting" is no longer available. ( continue to full post… )
Las Vegas Shooting Suspect Jerad Miller Threatened Violence in Interview at the Bundy Ranch
Footage shot by a Las Vegas TV news reporter covering the standoff between federal authorities and Cliven Bundy and his antigovernment "Patriot" supporters in mid-April shows Jerad Miller – the Indiana man who with his wife, Amanda, shot and killed two police officers and a bystander on Sunday in North Las Vegas – threatening violence against government officials.
After telling the reporter for KRNV-TV that "Minutemen" were supposedly ringing the scene of the standoff, he said: "So, you know, I feel sorry for any federal agents that want to come in here and try to push us around, or anything like that. I really don't want violence toward them, but if they're gonna come bring violence to us, well, if that's the language they want to speak, we'll learn it."
The reporter was shocked: "Well, that sounds kind of like a menacing statement, I have to tell you," she said.
Miller responded: "You know, the people here, that have come here to support Bundy, we're not afraid," he said. "You know, we know that in the past the government has used force against civilians, like Waco, Ruby Ridge. Alright, we're not afraid of that."
Miller was filmed wearing camouflage gear and a T-shirt promoting Brandon Martines, a conservative candidate for Clark County Sheriff. Martines recently told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Jerad and Amanda Miller had shown up at his campaign events and had offered to work on the campaign, but that when he had checked their background he discovered that Jerad Miller had an extensive criminal history, including DUI, assault, theft and mischief charges. Martines told them, "Look, I appreciate your support but I can't be associated in any way, shape or form with you."
"They were just trying to infiltrate," Martines said. "They obviously had an agenda."
At the Bundy ranch, Miller indulged in the paranoid fantasy-based strategizing that was typical of the "Patriots" on the scene there, who at one point began turning on each other over fears that a federal drone attack was about to strike the camp. ( continue to full post… )


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Cairns Villa and Leisure Park
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TravelPod Member ReviewsCairns Villa and Leisure Park
The park may be an older park, but you can see, what it would have been a few years ago. The ammenities are very clean, and the staff fantastic. The cost was very reasonable for a city park, only $25.00 a day. The swimming pool area has be re-done. We would recommend the park for all travellers.
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The only thing is the price was right. The bathrooms were decent and clean. The kitchen was lacking a cooking surface. Get what you pay for.
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Travel Blogs from Cairns
The Beautiful City of Cairns," a country city."
Leaving the Daintree River Village we travelled further south. The trip was magical, with the flora and sea scenes and mountains, amazing. We did our usual routine and drove until the car signalled we had been on the road two hours, and then stopped for a cuppa and biscuits. We usuall y look for parklands or similiar, all are beautiful in …
Day 96 - Waterfalls and Our Last Full Day!
... was v interesting. We then made our way to lake eacham which is basically an extinct volcanic crater which filled up with water. It was quite warm and apparently 78m deep! We swam from the car park to the jetty which was a fair way, then I swam back and Doug walked back. Brett - our tour guide - had morning tea ready with lots of fresh fruit and cakes. Yummy! After this we went to a place called dinner falls. Firstly though we went to look at a huge crater by ...
Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef
We have both been looking forward to this part of our trip for a long time. I (Rachel) ended up using a company called Peterpans to book the tours, buses and accommodation in one go as it makes our life a lot easier and also cheaper. First stop: Cairns We could not believe our eyes when we landed in Cairns...it was pouring it down with rain! Unfortunately in this part of Australia when it rains there isnt a huge amount to do ...
To the Great Barrier Reef we go...
... the SS Maheno shipwreck, quite an interesting story, it has been there since 1936. Our next stop was the champagne pools, very pretty, although a touch overcrowded, but still nice, we were there for about an hour, headed back and had some lunch. We stopped at pinnacle sands and red canyon to take some pics and then continued to Eli creek. John told us the water was 27 degrees...maybe 20 degrees lower!! Ended up taking the plunge..and floating down the creek, I managed 3 times, ...
The kindness of Canadian strangers
... have them to her house for dinner. Our day would never have been as wonderful as it was without the personal touch. It thrills me that there are still good people out there. But then I think, "would I do the same thing?" Before this trip, I would like to think I would. After this trip, absolutely. So, if anyone is in the Oakville area, look us up. I have learned it takes so little to make someone's day unbelievable, and that is what Kara did for us.


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Four Points by Sheraton College Station
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On the first floor, Century Cafe has something for everyone at breakfast and dinner. With a fun and relaxed atmosphere, it's the perfect place to start your day or enjoy a good meal before turning in for the night.
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