ADC Channel Calibration with Pseudorandom Threshold Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pipelined analog-to-digital converter (ADC) circuits face challenges in achieving high throughput while minimizing power consumption and area, as they often require higher gain and speed amplifiers to match output resolution, which increases power consumption and area usage.
Innovation Solution
An ADC circuit calibration system that includes multiple ADC channel circuits with pseudorandomly modified comparator thresholds, a postprocessing circuit to identify and adjust ADC coefficients, and iterative coefficient refinement, allowing for lower gain and speed amplifiers to achieve similar resolution with reduced power consumption and area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If higher gain and speed amplifiers are used in pipelined ADC circuits to achieve high throughput and maintain output resolution, then productivity and measurement precision are improved, but use of energy and area increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by pseudorandomly modifying comparator thresholds in ADC channel circuits. This technique alters the operating parameters of the ADC to enable the use of lower gain and speed amplifiers while maintaining output resolution through postprocessing calibration. The calibration process identifies and compensates for errors introduced by the modified thresholds, allowing the system to achieve high throughput without requiring high-power amplifiers.
2Productivity
If higher gain and speed amplifiers are used in ADC circuits to achieve high throughput, then productivity is improved, but area increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses parameter changes by pseudorandomly modifying comparator thresholds to enable the use of smaller, lower-performance amplifiers. This approach reduces the area required for amplifier circuits while maintaining the desired throughput through calibration-based error compensation in the postprocessing stage.
3Use of energy by moving object
If pseudorandom comparator threshold modification is applied to reduce power consumption and area, then use of energy and area are reduced, but measurement precision deteriorates due to introduced errors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback through an iterative calibration process that identifies ADC coefficients by analyzing the relationship between pseudorandom threshold modifications and output errors. The postprocessing circuit uses this feedback to calculate correction coefficients that compensate for the errors introduced by the modified thresholds, thereby restoring measurement precision while maintaining the power and area benefits of the modified thresholds.
4Productivity
If multiple interleaved ADC channel circuits are used to increase throughput, then productivity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the ADC functionality into multiple interleaved channel circuits, each operating at lower complexity with modified comparator thresholds. This segmentation allows parallel processing that increases throughput while keeping individual channel circuits simpler. The postprocessing stage combines the outputs of these segmented channels with calibration-based error correction.
Data Source
AI summary
In various embodiments, at least one analog-to-digital converter (ADC) channel circuit may be used to convert an analog input signal into an output digital signal. A comparator threshold adjustment circuit may pseudorandomly modify at least one comparator threshold. A postprocessing circuit may identify, based on outputs of the ADC channel circuits, an ADC coefficient and may modify an output digital signal based on the ADC coefficient. As a result, the ADC channel circuits may more accurately convert the analog input signal into an output digital signal, as compared to a system that uses ADC channel circuits but does not include a postprocessing circuit. Further, a similar result may be obtained, as compared to a system that uses a higher gain amplifier, a higher speed amplifier, or both, but does not modify the one or more outputs.