Interleaved ADC Clock Skew Calibration Above Nyquist Frequency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing analog-to-digital converter (ADC) technologies face challenges in efficiently calibrating clock skew, leading to increased power consumption and calibration periods due to the need for complex circuits and off-chip calibration methods.
Innovation Solution
An ADC device with multiple ADC circuits, a calibration circuit, and a skew adjusting circuit that performs calibration computations to generate quantized outputs, determines calculating signals, and adjusts clock skew by averaging and comparing signals to reduce power consumption and calibration time, especially when the input signal frequency exceeds the Nyquist frequency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If complex circuits (such as additional reference ADC circuits, auxiliary ADC circuits) or off-chip calibration are used to perform calibration, then clock skew calibration can be achieved, but power consumption and calibration period increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the clock skew calibration function from complex external calibration systems and implements it within the ADC device itself using a simplified internal calibration circuit. This internal circuit directly measures and adjusts clock skew without requiring additional reference ADC circuits or off-chip calibration equipment, thereby reducing power consumption while maintaining calibration accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The ADC device performs self-calibration of clock skew using its own internal resources. The calibration circuit is integrated within the ADC device and uses the device's own quantized outputs and computing resources to detect and correct clock skew, eliminating the need for external calibration equipment and reducing overall power consumption.
2Measurement precision
If complex circuits (such as additional reference ADC circuits, auxiliary ADC circuits) or off-chip calibration are used to perform calibration, then clock skew calibration can be achieved, but calibration period becomes longer
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the clock skew calibration function from complex external calibration systems and implements it within the ADC device itself using a simplified internal calibration circuit. This internal circuit directly measures and adjusts clock skew without requiring additional reference ADC circuits or off-chip calibration equipment, thereby reducing power consumption while maintaining calibration accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The calibration circuit continuously monitors and prepares calibration data in the background during normal ADC operation. By pre-computing calibration values and maintaining readiness, the actual clock skew adjustment can be performed quickly when needed, reducing the overall calibration period without sacrificing accuracy.
3Use of energy by moving object
If simple computation is used to obtain clock skew information, then power consumption and calibration period can be reduced, but the ability to handle high frequency signals (above Nyquist frequency) may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic calibration approach where the calibration circuit adapts its operation based on the input signal frequency. When high-frequency signals above the Nyquist frequency are detected, the system dynamically adjusts the calibration parameters and signal processing steps to maintain accuracy. This dynamic adaptation allows simple computation to remain effective across a wide frequency range, preserving both low power consumption and high-frequency handling capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The calibration system changes its operating parameters based on signal frequency characteristics. For high-frequency signals, the system adjusts timing parameters, sampling intervals, and computation algorithms to accurately measure clock skew even with simplified computation. This parameter adaptation enables the simple calibration circuit to maintain effectiveness across different frequency ranges without increasing power consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
An analog to digital converter (ADC) device includes ADC circuits, a calibration circuit, and a skew adjusting circuit. The ADC circuits convert an input signal according to interleaved clock signals, in order to generate first quantized outputs. The calibration circuit performs at least one calibration computation according to the first quantized outputs to generate second quantized outputs. The skew adjusting circuit determines calculating signals, to which the second quantized outputs correspond in a predetermined interval, and averages the calculating signals to generate a reference signal, and compares the reference signal with each of the calculating signals to generate detecting signals, and determines whether the detecting signals are adjusted or not according to a signal frequency to generate adjusting signals, in order to reduce a clock skew in the ADC circuits.