High resolution time-to-digital converter
US7978111B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 3, 2008 |
| Grant date | Jul 12, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 1, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG04F10/005
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A time-to-digital converter (TDC) can have a resolution that is finer than the propagation delay of an inverter. In one example, a fractional-delay element circuit receives a TDC input signal and generates therefrom a second signal that is a time-shifted facsimile of a first signal. The first signal is supplied to a first delay line timestamp circuit (DLTC) and the second signal is supplied to a second DLTC. The first DLTC generates a first timestamp indicative of a time between an edge of a reference input signal to the TDC and an edge of the first signal. The second DLTC generates a second timestamp indicative of a time between the edge of the reference input signal and an edge of the second signal. The first and second timestamps are combined and together constitute a high-resolution overall TDC timestamp that has a finer resolution than either the first or second timestamps.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.