Analog-to-digital converter with level converter and level recognition unit and correction memory

US6195031A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Siemens Aktiengesellschaft · DE

Inventors

• Peter Feld · Nuremberg, DE
• Horst Kroeckel · Bamberg, DE
• Markus Vester · Koblenzer Straße, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Dec 28, 1998
• Grant date: Feb 27, 2001
• Expiry date: Dec 28, 2018

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H03M1/188
• WIPO field: Basic communication processes
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

An analog-to-digital converter circuit for digitalizing a high-frequency signal with large dynamics has a first analog-to-digital converter and a second analog-to-digital converter connected in parallel, a level converter connected to one of the two analog-to-digital converters, a level recognition element for determining a level range in which the high-frequency signal lies and for generating a control signal dependent on the level range, and a correction memory that is connected to the level recognition element, the correction memory having address inputs connected to outputs of the analog-to-digital converters. The control signal is used as a selection criterion which identifies which analog-to-digital converter address data are taken from for producing a digital output signal, the digital output signal being linearized according to a characteristic of the selected analog-to-digital converter in order to correct for distortion arising in the selected converter. The overall analog-to-digital converter circuit thus has an overall linear characteristic, even as the input signal varies between low and high amplitudes.