Other

Iq-analog Corporation

Adam Vishinsky

A sample-and-hold circuit is presented that is current driven at the input and current sensed at the output, using two capacitors&#x2014;one at the input to the ground and second past a pair of complementary CMOS switches at the output to the ground. These capacitors in connection with an input current drive form a highpass noise transfer function that substantially reduces the 1/f noise of the switches and then rolls the transfer function off, further reducing the noise. The overall noise level is significantly lower as compared to a conventional voltage-driven and voltage-sensed sample-and-hold circuit that has a lowpass transfer function which, after integration, demonstrates a noise limit of kT/C. Depending on the circuit parameters the present sample-and-hold circuit shows an integrated noise improvement of between 5 and 10 dB over kT/C limit.

Sample-and-hold circuit with enhanced noise limit

An automatically tuned on-chip active continuous-time real bandpass filter operates on a differential signal while simultaneously being tuned using a common-mode (CM) reference signal, which results in a superior accuracy of its center frequency and bandwidth. The filter consists of two or more pairs of g-C or other types active resonators that can be single-ended or differential. The two identical filters are tuned with CM reference that is rejected at the output of each pair of resonators. For each pair of resonators, the present frequency-tuning finds the resonant frequency, for which the bandpass (BP) and lowpass magnitude values are equal. For each pair of resonators, the present Q-tuning scheme adjusts BP magnitude at the resonant frequency and its Q to the appropriate value. The present tuning method allows building a reasonably flat passband BP filter using two or more pairs of resonators. Additionally, since both present tuning schemes rely on the amplitude detection the CM reference signal can be made small, which prevents the build-up of the intermodulation distortion in the filter.

Self-tuned active bandpass filters

Direct incorporation of transmission zeros into a continuous-time active complex BP filter transfer function yields a filter having much sharper roll-off than that of an all-pole filter. The ladder filter is constructed using transconductors and capacitors only. The filter center frequency, its bandwidth and positions of transmission zeros can be electronically varied using tunable transconductors. The positions of zeros are changed by modifying cross-coupled differential transconductors connected between capacitors in parallel with the series inductors. Since all transconductors used in the filter are electronically tunable an automatic tuning system conveniently adjusts the filter center-frequency and its Q-factor.

Active polyphase ladder filters with transmission zeros and their synthesis method

An automatic tuning scheme for two active band-pass filters where both filters operate on the signal while simultaneously being tuned using a reference signal. To allow that the amplitude of a reference signal is made small and since both filters demonstrate a good linearity the build-up of the inter-modulation distortion does not occur. The first band-pass filter is tuned with the reference falling into its pass-band. The second band-pass filter is also tuned with the reference placed into its pass-band. The reference is practically eliminated by the virtue of the complexity of the second band-pass filter. Assuming the filter passes the signal for positive frequencies if the reference is made a negative frequency by appropriate 90 degrees phase shifting it will be attenuated by at least 55 dB, which is a sufficient signal-to-reference ratio.

Growing community of inventors

Little Elm, TX, United States of America

Adam Vishinsky