Cascaded Interpolation Filter Circuit for Low-Delay Audio DACs

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing digital interpolation filters suffer from complexity, large register arrays, and increased delay with multiple stages, leading to design challenges and potential operational faults, especially in digital circuits used for audio DACs.

Innovation Solution

A digital interpolation filtering system with a cascaded structure, utilizing an interpolation filtering operation controller, cascaded drive modules, intermediate result cache RAM, and filter coefficient storage ROM, controlled by a master state machine, which performs multiplication and accumulation operations to achieve efficient interpolation filtering.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If parallel logic structure with large register arrays is used, then filtering performance is improved, but device complexity and chip area increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefiltering accuracyVSAvoidcircuit complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The interpolation filter is divided into multiple cascaded stages, where each stage performs a portion of the filtering operation. This segmentation allows the complex filtering task to be distributed across simpler modular units, reducing the complexity of individual stages while maintaining overall filtering performance through the cascaded structure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent employs a sequential processing approach where data flows through multiple stages in a periodic manner, with each stage processing data in sequence rather than simultaneously. This periodic action through cascaded stages reduces the need for large parallel register arrays while maintaining filtering accuracy through repeated processing passes.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #19Periodic action

2Measurement precision

If multiple stages of digital circuit are increased, then filtering accuracy is improved, but delay increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefiltering accuracyVSAvoidsignal delay
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent pre-calculates and stores filter coefficients in ROM memory before the actual filtering operation. This preliminary preparation of coefficients allows the cascaded stages to operate more efficiently without waiting for coefficient computation, thereby reducing the overall delay introduced by multiple processing stages while maintaining filtering accuracy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Productivity

If parallel logic structure is used, then processing speed is improved, but chip area and hardware resources increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprocessing speedVSAvoidchip area
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a dynamic sequential processing architecture where the processing pipeline adapts through cascaded stages. Instead of static parallel processing that requires all resources simultaneously, the dynamic sequential approach through multiple stages allows hardware resources to be reused across different time periods, reducing chip area while maintaining acceptable processing speeds through the cascaded structure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentEP4054077B1Interpolation filter system implemented by digital circuit
Publication Date: 2025.12.31 AMICRO SEMICONDUCTOR CO LTD
  • EP4054077B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4054077B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP4054077B1 patent drawing

AI summary

An interpolation filtering system implemented by a digital circuit, including an interpolation filtering operation controller, a cascaded drive module, an intermediate result cache Random Access Memory (RAM), and a filter coefficient storage Read Only Memory (ROM). The interpolation filtering operation controller includes cascaded filter operation modules and a master state machine. The intermediate result cache RAM is configured to store externally input data of the interpolation filtering system and intermediate results output by the filter operation modules. The filter coefficient storage ROM is configured to store filter coefficients required for calculation by the filter operation modules. The interpolation filtering operation controller is configured to control, under the drive of counting beats output by the cascaded drive module, the master state machine to select data of the intermediate result cache TAM or externally directly input data to be sent to the cascaded filter operation modules for accumulation operation, and to select the filter coefficients of the filter coefficient storage ROM for multiplication operation, thereby achieving the objective of interpolation filtering after the processing by the cascaded filter operation modules is performed.