Patent ID: 7844241

Claim:
A frequency converter, comprising: a pulse generator configured to receive a balanced local oscillator signal pair having a reference frequency, and to generate a balanced rectangular pulse signal pair having the reference frequency; and a mixer configured to mix an input signal having an input frequency with the balanced rectangular pulse signal pair to generate an output signal having an output frequency; wherein the pulse generator comprises: a rectangular wave generator configured to receive the balanced local oscillator signal pair, and to generate a balanced rectangular wave signal pair having the reference frequency; and a reflector configured to delay and reflect the balanced rectangular wave signal pair to provide an inverted rectangular wave signal pair, wherein the balanced rectangular pulse signal pair is formed by a sum of the balanced rectangular wave signal pair and the inverted rectangular wave signal pair, and wherein a width of the balanced rectangular pulse signal pair is determined by a length of the delay, wherein the input frequency is different from the output frequency, and wherein the pulse generator and the mixer are formed on a single integrated circuit.