Patent · US Active

Circuit with a successive approximation analog to digital converter

US7973693B2 · kind B2 · utility

2Cited by
2References
9Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 27, 2008
Grant dateJul 5, 2011
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 27, 2028

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH03M1/144
  • WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

During successive approximation analog to digital conversion a series of successive digital reference values is selected that converges towards a digital representation of an analog input signal. An analog reference signal is generated dependent on the successive digital reference values and compared to the analog input signal. The digital reference values are selected dependent on comparison results. In the selection of the digital reference values successive steps between digital reference values are each selected dependent on values of the comparator result from a plurality of preceding recursion cycles. The comparison results define a series of successively narrower ranges of digital values that contain a digital representation of the analog input signal. Use of a plurality of comparator results for selecting the steps in the digital reference values makes it possible to reduce uncertainty about whether the comparison result has settled. This in turn makes it possible to reduce the sizes of the successive ranges, which speeds up convergence.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.