Analog Delay Line Using Phase-Offset Clocks for Wide-Band Readout
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional analog delay lines face limitations such as bulkiness, high signal loss, nonlinearity, and inability to support wide-band applications, while mixed signal delay lines suffer from high power consumption and excessive latency.
Innovation Solution
An analog delay line comprising a clock generator, analog sampling circuit, bank of analog memory cells, memory controller, analog readout circuit, and multiplexer, which generates transmission clock signals offset in accumulated phase relative to reception clock signals to achieve variable delay without analog/digital conversion, reducing latency and power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If passive analog electrical delay lines are used, then signal delay is achieved, but the device becomes bulky with high signal loss and limited range
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional passive analog electrical delay lines with a mixed-signal architecture that uses digital delay elements controlled by phase-locked loops. This substitution allows achieving the same time delay function with significantly reduced signal loss and smaller form factor, as the digital domain operations preserve signal integrity better than passive analog components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operating parameters by using variable delay settings through digital control mechanisms. The phase-locked loops and digital delay elements allow dynamic adjustment of delay time without changing the physical structure, enabling programmable delay ranges that overcome the limited range of passive analog lines while maintaining low loss through active signal regeneration.
2Adaptability or versatility
If active analog electrical delay lines are used, then variable delay is achieved, but the device becomes nonlinear and tuned for narrow frequency bands
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes active analog delay circuits with a hybrid architecture combining digital delay elements and phase-locked loops. This replacement maintains the variable delay capability through digital control while ensuring linearity and wide frequency response characteristics inherent to digital systems, eliminating the narrowband tuning limitations of active analog implementations.
3Adaptability or versatility
If mixed signal delay line architectures are used, then wide-band applications are supported, but the device complexity results in high power consumption and excessive latency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the delay function into multiple parallel digital delay elements, each handling a portion of the overall delay requirement. This segmentation allows wide-band support through parallel processing while reducing the complexity burden on any single element, thereby lowering power consumption and minimizing latency compared to a monolithic mixed-signal approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs phase-locked loops that operate periodically to synchronize and control the digital delay elements. This periodic control mechanism enables wide-band frequency support while maintaining efficient power consumption through synchronized operation, and reduces latency by eliminating the need for complex continuous-time analog control circuits.
Data Source
AI summary
An analog delay line includes a clock generator, an analog sampling circuit, a bank of analog memory cells, a memory controller, an analog readout circuit, and an analog multiplexer. The clock generator is configured to output plural reception clock signals of different frequencies and plural transmission clock signals of different frequencies, the transmission clock signals offset in accumulated phase relative to the reception clock signals. The analog sampling circuit is controlled by at least one of the reception clock signals, and is configured to output a sequence of sampled voltages of an analog input signal. The memory controller is configured to control a write operation at a write frequency of at least one of the reception clock signals and a read operation at a read frequency of at least one of the transmission clock signals. The write operation is for sequentially storing the sampled voltages received from the analog sampling circuit in the bank of analog memory cells, and the read operation is for sequentially reading the sampled voltages from the bank of analog memory cells. The analog readout circuit is configured to buffer the sampled voltages read from the bank of analog memory cells. The analog multiplexer is controlled by at least one of the transmission clock signals, and is configured to multiplex the sampled voltages buffered by the readout circuit to generate an analog output signal. A sampling rate of the analog input signal is within a factor of 2 of a sampling rate of the analog output signal.