Ring Oscillator Time-to-Digital Conversion for Fine Phase Resolution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current time-to-digital converters face increasing challenges in achieving high measurement resolution for applications like radar ranging and time-of-flight, requiring improved accuracy in converting time intervals into digital signals.
Innovation Solution
A time-to-digital converter apparatus comprising a first and second ring oscillator circuit, counter circuits, an arbiter circuit, and a coding circuit, which generates digital codes by counting output signals and arbitration signals to determine phase coincidence between delay stages, enabling high-resolution time measurement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional time-to-digital converter designs are used, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The converter is divided into multiple independent delay stages (first delay stage, second delay stage, third delay stage, etc.), each handling a specific time interval. This segmentation allows precise measurement of different time segments while keeping each stage's circuit relatively simple, thereby improving overall measurement precision without excessive complexity increase.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a temporal dimension by using sequential delay stages with different delay times. Instead of using a single complex circuit, the measurement is extended across multiple time dimensions with each stage contributing to the overall time interval measurement, improving precision through dimensional expansion.
2Measurement precision
If the number of delay stages is increased to improve resolution, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Different delay stages are designed with different delay time characteristics (first delay stage with longer delay, second and third delay stages with shorter delays). This local quality differentiation allows each stage to be optimized for its specific function, improving overall measurement precision while managing complexity through specialized design rather than uniform complexity across all stages.
Data Source
AI summary
A time-to-digital converter apparatus and a converting method thereof are provided. An output signal of a first ring oscillator circuit is counted to generate a first digital code. An output signal of a second ring oscillator circuit is counted to generate a second digital code. A corresponding third digital code is generated according to a time point of phase coincidence between one of outputs of a plurality of first delay stages of the first ring oscillator circuit and one of outputs of a plurality of second delay stages of the second ring oscillator circuit.