High speed analog-to-digital converter
US5049882A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 20, 1990 |
| Grant date | Sep 17, 1991 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 20, 2010 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH03M1/365
- WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
High speed conversion of an analog input signal to a digital output signal is performed by applying the analog input to an input of a unity gain amplifier. During a first pass, an output signal produced by the amplifier is applied to inputs of each of a plurality of comparators. A first group of successively larger reference voltages are applied to reference inputs of the comparators, respectively. A plurality of the comparators switch in response thereto to produce output signals indicative of a range within which the output of the amplifier lies. The outputs of the comparators are encoded to effectuate conversion thereof to an analog representation of the amplifier output. The analog representation is compared to the analog input signal and the difference therebetween is applied to the input of the amplifier. During another pass another group of reference voltages, each substantially lower than corresponding values thereof during the previous pass, are applied to the reference inputs of the comparators. Binary representations of the outputs of the comparators during each of the passes are combined into a binary word accurately representing the analog input signal.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.