Shared-array multiple-output digital-to-analog converter
US8164499B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 11, 2010 |
| Grant date | Apr 24, 2012 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 9, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH03M1/747
- WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
In an exemplary decision-feedback equalizer (DFE) of a serializer/deserializer (SerDes) receiver, a single current mirror array is shared by multiple current digital-to-analog converter (IDAC) functions. The DFE has an initial amplifier stage that applies an initial coefficient COEFF0 to an input data signal and a number of (e.g., five) additional amplifier stages that apply additional coefficients (e.g., COEFF1-COEFF5) to different delayed versions of the recovered output data stream. The outputs of the initial and multiple additional amplifier stages are summed to generate an equalized data signal that is applied to a clock-and-data recovery (CDR) circuit. Due to certain characteristics of the equalizer function, the multiple additional amplifier stages can be implemented using a single shared current mirror array, which save significant amounts of chip area compared to conventional implementations in which each additional amplifier stage has its own dedicated current mirror array.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.