Time-to-digital converter
US7884751B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 6, 2009 |
| Grant date | Feb 8, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 25, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG04F10/06
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A TDC circuit having a small scale circuit and high resolution is disclosed, which is a time-to-digital converter that detects a phase with respect to a reference clock of a signal to be measured, comprising a first delay line in which a plurality of first delay elements with a first delay amount is connected in series, a second delay line group that is connected to a plurality of connection nodes of the first delay line or an input node in the first stage and in which at least one or more second delay elements with a second delay amount different from the first delay amount are connected in series, a plurality of judgment circuits that judge whether the changing edge of the signal to be measured is advanced or delayed with respect to the changing edges of a delayed clock output from the first delay element and the second delay element, and an operation circuit that calculates a phase with respect to the reference clock of the changing edge of the signal to be measured from the judgment results, wherein a difference between the first delay amount and the second delay amount is smaller than the first delay amount and the second delay amount.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.