Patent ID: 7911235

Claim:
A logarithmic detector, comprising: an amplifier element receiving an input signal, oscillating the input signal, generating a first output signal, and having a current sample signal, the input signal including a signal to be detected and electrical noise; a feedback circuit establishing a frequency at which the amplifier element will oscillate the input signal, the feedback circuit receiving the first output signal and generating a feedback signal coupled to the input signal; a controller receiving and sampling the current sample signal and terminating oscillation of the input signal once a pre-determined threshold of the current sample signal is detected, the controller generating a second output signal that includes a series of voltage spikes resulting from the amplifier element commencing oscillation and the controller terminating oscillation of the input signal at a rate proportional to the log of the power of the input signal; and a frequency to voltage converter receiving the second output signal and generating a third output signal that is a DC signal proportional to the input signal.