Oscillator Sensor Circuit Noise Reduction via Periodic Disabling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Sensor circuits in computer systems face accuracy limitations due to device noise, which is difficult to reduce or eliminate, affecting the measurement of oscillator signal frequency and subsequent determination of operating conditions like temperature and voltage.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a sensor circuit design where the oscillator circuit is enabled for active time periods and disabled between them, allowing for multiple cycle measurements to reduce device noise correlation and improve accuracy through statistical processing of uncorrelated samples.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the oscillator circuit operates continuously to provide measurement data, then the productivity of measurements is improved, but device noise accumulates and degrades measurement precision
Solution Approach 1:
The oscillator circuit is enabled only during specific active time periods and disabled during inactive time periods, creating periodic operation cycles. This allows multiple measurements to be taken over time while resetting device noise between measurements, thereby maintaining measurement precision while achieving productive throughput through repeated measurement cycles.
2Measurement precision
If multiple measurements are taken to reduce noise through statistical processing, then measurement precision is improved, but the time required for measurements increases
Solution Approach 1:
The oscillator circuit is enabled in advance for active time periods before measurements are taken, allowing the circuit to stabilize and prepare for measurement. This preliminary activation ensures that when measurements occur, the oscillator is already operating, reducing the total time needed to acquire multiple measurements for statistical noise reduction.
Data Source
AI summary
A sensor circuit in a computer system measures a frequency of an oscillator circuit and uses the measured frequency to determine an operating condition of the computer system. The accuracy of the operating condition is limited by various sources of noise, including device noise, that introduce error into frequency measurements, limiting the accuracy to which the frequency of the oscillator signal may be measured. To improve the accuracy of the frequency measurement of the oscillator signal, the sensor circuit disables the oscillator between successive measurements, in order to reduce the correlation of error between the successive measurements. The sensor circuit combines the multiple measurement results to determine the frequency of the oscillator signal to a higher degree of accuracy, thereby improving the accuracy to which the operating condition is determined.