Patent classifications
H03M1/365
Conversion and folding circuit for delay-based analog-to-digital converter system
A conversion and folding circuit includes a voltage-to-delay converter block, including preamplifiers, for converting a voltage signal into delay signals, and a folding block, including logic gates coupled to the preamplifiers, for selecting earlier-arriving and later-arriving ones of the delay signals. If desired, the logic gates may include odd and even chains for outputting delay signals to first and second analog-to-digital converters. If desired, the conversion and folding circuit may include first and second chains, and a chain selection circuit for selectively outputting a delay signal from a desired one of the first and second chains.
Digital current mode control for multi-phase voltage regulator circuits
A voltage regulator circuit included in a computer system may include multiple phase circuits each coupled to a regulated power supply node via a corresponding inductor. The phase circuits may modify a voltage level of the regulated power supply node using respective control signals generated by a digital control circuit that processes multiple data bits. An analog-to-digital converter circuit may compare the voltage level of the regulated power supply node to multiple reference voltage levels and sample the resultant comparisons to generate the multiple data bits.
POLYSILICON RESISTORS, METHODS FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME, AND SUCCESSIVE APPROXIMATION REGISTER ANALOG-TO-DIGITAL CONVERTER
The present disclosure provides a polysilicon resistor, a method for manufacturing the same, and a successive approximation register analog-to-digital converter. A polysilicon resistor includes a first silicon substrate; a first silicon oxide layer disposed on the first silicon substrate; a second silicon substrate disposed on the first silicon oxide layer, wherein an insulating isolation structure extends through the second silicon substrate and divides the second silicon substrate into a plurality of substrate isolation areas separated from each other; a second silicon oxide layer disposed on the second silicon substrate; and a polysilicon resistor layer disposed on the second silicon oxide layer, wherein the polysilicon resistor layer includes a plurality of polysilicon resistor blocks separated from each other, the plurality of polysilicon resistor blocks is arranged in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of substrate isolation areas, and the plurality of polysilicon resistor blocks are connected in series.
DELTA-SIGMA MODULATOR, DELTA-SIGMA MODULATION TYPE A/D CONVERTER AND INCREMENTAL DELTA-SIGMA MODULATION TYPE A/D CONVERTER
A modulator includes an input circuit having a sampling capacitor, an integration circuit, a quantizer and a D/A converter having a DAC capacitor. The input circuit takes in an analog input voltage in the sampling capacitor in a sampling period, and transfers a charge to the integration circuit in a holding period. The D/A converter takes in an analog potential, to which selection switches are connected in the sampling period based on a digital output of the quantizer, in the DAC capacitor, and subtracts a charge from the integration circuit in the holding period. At this time, since the input circuit and the D/A converter are set so that the holding periods do not overlap with each other, an error caused by the lowering of a feedback factor is suppressed.
Digital-to-Analog Converter Transfer Function Modification
The present disclosure relates to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) which includes a resistor string and a transfer function modification circuit. The transfer function modification circuit may be a calibration circuit for calibrating the DAC, The calibration circuit may include a plurality of current sources, which may be current DACs. Each of the current DACS inject current into, or drain current from, a respective node of the resistor string, in order to correct for voltage errors. The injected currents may be positive or negative, depending on the voltage error. The current DACs are controlled by trim codes, which are set dependent on the measured or simulated voltage errors for a given resistor string.
Mixed-mode multipliers for artificial intelligence
Multipliers are fundamental building blocks in signal processing, including in emerging applications such as machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) that predominantly utilize digital-mode multipliers. Generally, digital multipliers can operate at high speed with high precision, and synchronously. As the precision and speed of digital multipliers increase, generally the dynamic power consumption and chip size of digital implementations increases substantially that makes solutions unsuitable for some ML and AI segments, including in portable, mobile, or near edge and near sensor applications. The present invention discloses embodiments of multipliers that arrange data-converters to perform the multiplication function, operating in mixed-mode (both digital and analog), and capable of low power consumptions and asynchronous operations, which makes them suitable for low power ML and AI applications.
Radio frequency flash ADC circuits
A system and method for sampling an RF signal uses a plurality of capacitors, a plurality of resistors, and a sampling circuit. A first port of each capacitor of the plurality of capacitors is coupled to the RF signal. A first port of each resistor of the plurality of resistors is coupled to one of a plurality of reference levels. A second port of each resistor of the plurality of resistors is coupled to a second port of a corresponding capacitor of the plurality of capacitors. The sampling circuit produces a plurality of digital outputs by sampling the second port of each resistor of the plurality of resistors.
Digital-to-analog converter transfer function modification
The present disclosure relates to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) which includes a resistor string and a transfer function modification circuit. The transfer function modification circuit may be a calibration circuit for calibrating the DAC, The calibration circuit may include a plurality of current sources, which may be current DACs. Each of the current DACS inject current into, or drain current from, a respective node of the resistor string, in order to correct for voltage errors. The injected currents may be positive or negative, depending on the voltage error. The current DACs are controlled by trim codes, which are set dependent on the measured or simulated voltage errors for a given resistor string.
Pixel array with internal coarse digitization
A pixel of a pixel array is provided. The pixel includes a low frequency path configured to receive an input signal from a corresponding photodetector. The low frequency path includes a passive imaging circuit provided along the low frequency path, the passive imaging circuit configured to output an analog imaging signal and a flash analog to digital converter (ADC) that receives the analog imaging signal and processes the analog imaging signal to output a coarse digitized signal.
COMPARATOR OFFSET VOLTAGE SELF-CORRECTION CIRCUIT
A comparator offset voltage self-correction circuit is disclosed. A comparator offset voltage which is caused by the semiconductor process parameter randomness also has randomness. Due to the randomness of the comparator offset voltage, a reference voltage of a parallel comparator in a parallel-conversion-type analog-to-digital converter is uncertain. If the comparator offset voltage is large, the parallel-conversion-type analog-to-digital converter may even have a functional error. The comparator offset voltage self-correction circuit provided in the present invention can correct a random offset voltage of a comparator to meet requirements. Therefore, by means of the circuit and a method provided in the present invention, adverse influence of the random offset of the comparator on the function and the performance of the parallel-conversion-type analog-to-digital converter is eliminated, thereby greatly improving the speed and the performance of the analog-to-digital converter, in particular the parallel-conversion-type analog-to-digital converter.