A circuit comprising: an input terminal configured to receive an input-signal; an output terminal configured to provide an output-signal; a reference circuit comprising: a first output terminal configured to provide a first-reference-signal; a second output terminal configured to provide a second-reference-signal; and a third output terminal configured to provide a third-reference-signal. A comparator-block configured to compare a comparator-input-voltage-signal representative of signalling received at the input terminal with: (i) the first-reference-signal, (ii) the second-reference-signal and (iii) the third-reference-signal in order to generate a comparison-signal. A control-block configured to set the output-signal as one of at least two voltage levels based on the comparison-signal; and an input-control-circuit configured to apply a feedback-control-signal to the input-terminal based on the comparison-signal.

The disclosed embodiments include an audio amplifier system configured to provide a total harmonic distortion (THD) controlled clip detector and an automatic gain limiter (AGL) solution for a closed-loop amplifier. The audio amplifier system is capable of maintaining high power output without hard distortion (i.e., hard clipping) for providing better acoustics, while preventing damage to the system.

An apparatus for controlling the gain and phase of an input signal input to a power amplifier comprises a gain control loop configured to control the gain of the input signal based on power levels of the input signal and an amplified signal output by the power amplifier, to obtain a predetermined gain of the amplified signal, and a phase control loop configured to obtain an error signal related to a phase difference between a first signal derived from the input and a second signal derived from the amplified signal, and control the phase based on the error signal, to obtain a predetermined phase of the amplified signal. The phase control loop delays the first signal such that the delayed first signal and the second signal used to obtain the error signal correspond to the same part of the input signal. The apparatus may be included in a satellite.

A power amplifier includes an input amplifier, a comparator, a switching circuit, an output filter and a feedback filter. The input amplifier receives an input signal of the power amplifier at a positive input of the input amplifier and an output signal of the feedback filter at a negative input of the input amplifier. The input amplifier has a capacitive feedback from an output of the input amplifier to the negative input of the input amplifier. The comparator receives the output signal of the input amplifier at a positive input of the comparator and the output signal of the feedback filter at a negative input of the comparator. The comparator provides a control signal based on a comparison between signal levels of the signals at the positive and the negative inputs of the comparator. The switching circuit includes power switches and receives the control signal and controls the power switches that connect an output of the switching circuit to either a positive supply voltage or a negative supply voltage based on the control signal. The output filter receives an output signal provided at the output of the switching circuit and provides a filtered signal thereof to an output of the power amplifier. The feedback filter receives the output of the power amplifier and provides a filtered feedback signal to the negative input of the comparator and towards the negative input of the input amplifier.

A system and method for operating a high dynamic range analog front-end receiver for long range LIDAR with a transimpedance amplifier (TIA) include a clipping circuit to prevent saturation of the TIA. The output of the clipping circuit is connected via a diode or transistor to the input of the TIA and regulated such that the input voltage of the TIA remains close to or is only slightly above the saturation threshold voltage of the TIA. The regulation of the input voltage of the TIA can be improved by connecting a limiting resistor in series with the diode or transistor. A second clipping circuit capable of dissipating higher input currents and thus higher voltages may be connected in parallel with the first clipping circuit. A resistive element may be placed between the first and second clipping circuits to further limit the input current to the TIA.

The disclosed embodiments include an audio amplifier system configured to provide a total harmonic distortion (THD) controlled clip detector and an automatic gain limiter (AGL) solution for a closed-loop amplifier. The audio amplifier system is capable of maintaining high power output without hard distortion (i.e., hard clipping) for providing better acoustics, while preventing damage to the system.

A trans-impedance amplifier (TIA) includes a first circuit, a second circuit, and a third circuit. Both the first circuit and the second circuit are coupled to a current source, an operational amplifier, and the third circuit. The first circuit is configured to receive a first current, provide a third voltage to the third circuit, perform shape filtering on the first current, and convert the shape filtered first current to a first voltage for output. The second circuit is configured to receive a second current, provide a fourth voltage to the third circuit, perform shape filtering on the second current, and convert the shape filtered second current to a second voltage for output. The third circuit is configured to cooperate with the first circuit and the second circuit in performing shape filtering. The operational amplifier is configured to provide a small-signal virtual ground point to the first circuit.

A class-D amplifier of an embodiment includes: a PWM modulator configured to output a PWM pulse based on an input signal; a first output transistor group, in which a connection point of complementarily operated two first output transistors is an output end; a second output transistor group, in which a connection point of complementarily operated two second output transistors is connected to the connection point of the first transistors; a driver circuit capable of driving the first output transistors and the second output transistors of the first and second output transistor groups, based on the PWM pulse from the PWM modulator; and a control circuit configured to generate a control signal for operating at least one of the first output transistor group and the second output transistor group.

The integrated circuit comprises a current source configured to generate a control current whose intensity is modulated by an input signal. The current source includes a first stage configured to autonomously generate a constant component of the control current, and a second stage configured to autonomously generate a control current component that is modulated by the input signal.

The disclosed embodiments include an audio amplifier system configured to provide a total harmonic distortion (THD) controlled clip detector and an automatic gain limiter (AGL) solution for a closed-loop amplifier. The audio amplifier system is capable of maintaining high power output without hard distortion (i.e., hard clipping) for providing better acoustics, while preventing damage to the system.