H03M1/1215

ANALOG TO DIGITAL CONVERTER DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CALIBRATING CLOCK SKEW
20220321135 · 2022-10-06 ·

An analog to digital converter (ADC) device includes ADC circuits, a calibration circuit and a skew adjusting circuit. The ADC circuits convert an input signal according to clock signals, to generate first quantized outputs. The calibration circuit calibrates the first quantized outputs to generate second quantized outputs. The skew adjusting circuit includes an estimating circuit and a feedback circuit. The estimating circuit analyzes the second quantized outputs to generate detection signals, wherein the detection signals are related to time difference information of the clock signals. The skew adjusting circuit outputs the detection signals as adjustment signals, wherein the adjustment signals are configured to reduce a clock skew of the ADC circuits. The feedback circuit analyzes the detection signals generated by the estimating circuit, to generate a feedback signal to the estimating circuit, wherein the estimating circuit is configured to adjust the detection signals according to the feedback signal.

Analog-to-digital converter system using reference analog-to-digital converter with sampling point shifting and associated calibration method
11621718 · 2023-04-04 · ·

An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) system includes a main ADC, a reference ADC, a sampling control circuit, and a calibration circuit. The main ADC obtains a first sampled input voltage by sampling an analog input according to a first sampling clock, and performs analog-to-digital conversion upon the first sampled voltage to generate a first sample value. The reference ADC obtains a second sampled voltage by sampling the analog input according to a second sampling clock, and performs analog-to-digital conversion upon the second sampled voltage to generate a second sample value. The sampling control circuit controls the second sampling clock to ensure that the second sampling clock and the first sampling clock have a same frequency but different phases, and adjusts the second sample value to generate a reference sample value. The calibration circuit applies calibration to the main ADC according to the first sample value and the reference sample value.

Time-interleaved analog to digital converter having randomization and signal conversion method

A time-interleaved analog to digital converter includes capacitor array circuits, at least one successive approximation register circuitry, and at least one noise shaping circuitry. The capacitor array circuits are configured to alternately sample an input signal, in order to generate a sampled input signal. The at least one successive approximation register circuitry is configured to perform an analog to digital conversion according to the sampled input signal and a residue signal, in order to generate at least one digital output. The at least one noise shaping circuitry is configured to utilize at least one first circuit in switched-capacitor circuits to transfer the residue signal from a first capacitor array circuit in the capacitor array circuits, and randomly select at least one second circuit from the switched-capacitor circuits to cooperate with a second capacitor array circuit in the capacitor array circuits to sample the input signal.

TIME INTERLEAVED ANALOG TO DIGITAL CONVERTER
20230143824 · 2023-05-11 ·

A time-interleaved analog to digital converter includes coarse converter circuitries, a control logic circuit, first and second transfer circuits, a fine converter circuitry, and an encoder circuit. The coarse converter circuitries sequentially sample an input signal and perform coarse conversions to generate decision signals. The control logic circuit generates coarse digital codes according to the decision signals. The first and second transfer circuits respectively transfer first and second residue signals. The fine converter circuitry performs a fine conversion according to a corresponding first residue signal and a corresponding second residue signal to generate a fine digital code. A sampling interval for sampling the input signal and a coarse conversion interval for performing the coarse conversion are determined based on a fine conversion interval for performing the fine conversion. The encoder circuit generates a digital output according to a corresponding coarse digital code and the fine digital code.

FRONT-END SAMPLING CIRCUIT AND METHOD FOR SAMPLING SIGNAL
20230140965 · 2023-05-11 ·

A front-end sampling circuit includes a global switch, a local switch, and an auxiliary switch. The global switch is configured to be selectively turned on according to a first control signal, in order to transmit an input signal. The local switch is configured to be selectively turned on according to a second control signal, in order to transmit the input signal from the global switch to a node, wherein a storage circuit is coupled to the node to store the input signal. The auxiliary switch is configured to be selectively turned on according to a third control signal, in order to transmit the input signal to the node, in which a turn-off time point of the auxiliary switch is set to be the same or earlier than a turn-off time point of the global switch.

Multi-channel interleaved analog-to-digital converter (ADC) using overlapping multi-phase clocks with SAR-searched input-clock delay adjustments and background offset and gain correction
11646747 · 2023-05-09 · ·

An N-channel interleaved Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) has a variable delay added to each ADC's input sampling clock. The variable delays are each programmed by a Successive-Approximation-Register (SAR) during calibration to minimize timing skews between channels. Each channel receives a sampling clock with a different phase delay. The sampling clocks are overlapping multi-phase clocks rather than non-overlapping. Overlapping the multi-phase clocks allows the sampling pulse width to be enlarged, providing more time for the sampling switch to remain open and allow analog voltages to equalize through the sampling switch. Higher sampling-clock frequencies are possible than when non-overlapping clocks are used. The sampling clock is boosted in voltage by a bootstrap driver to increase the gate voltage on the sampling switch, reducing the ON resistance. Sampling clock and component timing skews are reduced to one LSB among all N channels.

Matrix processor generating SAR-searched input delay adjustments to calibrate timing skews in a multi-channel interleaved analog-to-digital converter (ADC)
11641210 · 2023-05-02 · ·

An N-channel interleaved Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) has a variable delay added to each ADC's input sampling clock. The variable delays are each programmed by a Successive-Approximation-Register (SAR) during calibration to minimize timing skews between channels. In each channel the ADC output is filtered, and a product derivative correlator generates a product derivative factor for correlation to two adjacent ADC channels. A matrix processor arranges the product derivative factors from the product derivative correlators into a matrix that is multiplied by a correlation matrix. The correlation matrix is a constant generated from an N×N shift matrix. The matrix processor outputs a sign-bit vector. Each bit in the sign-bit vector determines when tested SAR bits are set or cleared to adjust a channel's variable delay. Sampling clock and component timing skews are reduced to one LSB among all N channels.

SAMPLING CLOCK GENERATING CIRCUIT AND ANALOG TO DIGITAL CONVERTER
20170373701 · 2017-12-28 ·

A sampling clock generating circuit and an analog to digital converter includes a resistance variable circuit, a NOT-gate type circuit, and a capacitor, where an input end of the NOT-gate type circuit receives a pulse signal whose period is T; an output end of the NOT-gate type circuit is connected to one end of the capacitor; the other end of the capacitor is grounded; a power supply terminal of the NOT-gate type circuit is connected to a power supply; a ground terminal of the NOT-gate type circuit is connected to one end of the resistance variable circuit; and the other end of the resistance variable circuit is grounded; the NOT-gate type circuit is configured to: when the pulse signal is a high level, output a low level; and when the pulse signal is a low level, output a high level.

System and method for calibrating a time-interleaved digital-to-analog converter
20230208429 · 2023-06-29 ·

A system and method for calibrating a time-interleaved digital-to-analog converter (DAC). A calibration signal generator generates calibration data, and a time-interleaved DAC converts the calibration data to an analog calibration signal. An observation analog-to-digital converter (ADC) samples, and quantizes, the analog calibration signal filtered by an anti-alias filter. A mismatch estimation block estimates a frequency response mismatch between the sub-DACs and generates a sub-DAC mismatch correction factor based on an output of the observation ADC. The calibration signal generator applies the sub-DAC mismatch correction factor to the calibration data. The mismatch estimation block may estimate a DC offset mismatch between the sub-DACs based on the output of the observation ADC and generates a DC offset correction factor, and the calibration signal generator applies the DC offset correction factor to the calibration data.

Methods and apparatus for a multi-cycle time-based ADC

Various embodiments of the present technology may comprise methods and apparatus for a multi-cycle time-based ADC configured to convert an analog signal to a digital value. Methods and apparatus a multi-cycle time-based ADC according to various aspects of the present invention may comprise a plurality of VTCs configured to perform multiple voltage-to-time conversions out-of-phase from each other. The integration times for each VTC may be summed to provide a total integration time, which may then be converted to the digital value.