Electrically and optically symmetrical analog-to-digital converter for digital pixel sensors
US6788237B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 15, 2003 |
| Grant date | Sep 7, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 15, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH03M1/56
- WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A circuit includes an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter for multiplexing between a number of analog input signals and converting the selected analog input signals to a digital code representation. The A/D converter includes a comparator having a first input terminal coupled to receive a first reference signal having a number of levels, a second input terminal coupled to receive a multiple number of analog input signals, and a third input terminal for receiving a multiple number of input select signals. The comparator includes a multiplexor coupling the multiple number of analog input signals to a multiple number of corresponding differential pairs. The multiplexor selects one of the multiple number of differential pairs based on the multiple number of input select signals. In one embodiment, the A/D converter is applied in a digital image sensor for performing pixel-level analog-to-digital conversion using a multi-channel bit serial ADC technique.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.