Analog Devices,inc.

Analog Devices Global

Analog Devices International Unlimited Company

Analog Devices Global Unlimited Company

John Anthony Cleary

Javier Alejandro Salcedo

Patrick Martin McGuinness

David J Clarke

David Aherne

Alan J O'Donnell

Albert C O'Grady

Eoin Edward English

Elizabeth A Lillis

Thomas F Roche

Colin Gerard Lyden

Patrick Joseph Pratt

Javier Calpe Maravilla

Santiago Iriarte

Evaldo M Miranda, Jr

David Thomson

Gary Casey

John Blake

Christian Steffen Birk

Evaldo M Miranda

Christian Jimenez

Alan Patrick Cahill

Jan Crols

David Sayago Montilla

Paul Sheridan

Padraig O'Connor

Alan J O′Donnell

Kathleen Embrechts

Sanjay Tumati

Wim Rens

Vinayak Agrawal

Albert C O′Grady

David Sayago

Enrique Company Bosch

Ken Feen

Laurent Coquerel

Richardson Jeyapaul

Michelle Mahony

Aspects of this disclosure relate to detecting and recording information associated with electrical overstress (EOS) events, such as electrostatic discharge (ESD) events. For example, in one embodiment, an apparatus includes an electrical overstress protection device, a detection circuit configured to detect an occurrence of the EOS event, and a memory configured to store information indicative of the EOS event.

Systems and methods for charge storage and providing power

Charge storage with electrical overstress protection

Storing charge associated with electrical overstress

Various transimpedance amplifier (TIA) arrangements for ultrasonic front-end receivers used in ultrasonic sensing applications are disclosed. An example TIA includes three common-source gain stages in a feedback loop with a common-gate stage. In some aspects, the TIA may include a level shifter configured to maintain the voltage at the gate of a transistor used to implement the first common-source gain stage of the feedback loop shifted by a certain amount with respect to the voltage at an input port to the TIA. In some aspects, at least portions of the TIA may be biased using bias currents that are configured to be process-, supply voltage-, and/or temperature-dependent. Various embodiments of the TIAs disclosed herein may benefit from one or more of the following advantages: reduced noise, reduced input impedance, reduced temperature coefficient of input impedance, and stability for a wide range of sensor frequencies.

Transimpedance amplifiers for ultrasonic sensing applications

The present disclosure provides a pulse generator which generates a pulse train by mixing pulses of a first clock having a first frequency, with pulses of a second clock having a second frequency. Over a predefined time period, the combination of pulses results in a pulse train having an effective frequency which is between the first and second frequencies. A multiplexer is used to select which of the first and second clocks should be provided to the output. Depending on the desired target frequency, the multiplexer is controlled to mix differing amounts of pulses from the first and second clocks. A multiplexer is controlled by a control signal, which is generated using combinatorial logic using the first clock as an input. The pulse generator may be used, for example, as a clock for a charge pump.

Method and apparatus for pulse generation

Electrical overstress reporting

Embodiments of the present invention may provide a method of measuring an unknown capacitance of a device. The method may comprise the steps of driving a test signal to a circuit system that includes a current divider formed by the device with unknown capacitance and a reference capacitor; mirroring a current developed in the reference capacitor to a second circuit system that includes a measurement impedance; measuring a voltage within the second circuit system; and deriving a capacitance of the unknown capacitance based on the measured voltage with reference to a capacitance of the reference capacitor and the measurement impedance.

Capacitance measurement

Electrical overstress recording and/or harvesting

A power supply monitoring circuit for monitoring a voltage at a power supply node compared to a reference node, the power supply monitoring circuit comprising a first field effect transistor and first and second voltage dropping components arranged in current flow communication between the power supply node and the reference node and each having first and second nodes, and wherein a first node of the first voltage dropping component is connected to one of the first and second nodes of the field effect transistor, and a gate of the field effect transistor is connected to the second node of the first voltage dropping component, and an output signal is taken from a connection made with the first field effect transistor.

Power monitoring circuit, and a power up reset generator

A method and apparatus for automatic resonance detection is disclosed for a motor-driven mechanical system such as a voice coil motor (VCM) in which a resonance detector and driver are provided. The automatic resonance detector is implemented on the same integrated circuit as the driver, and dynamically determines the natural resonant frequency of the VCM driven by the driver. The resonant frequency is determined by measuring the back electromotive force (BEMF) of the VCM, detecting the slope of the BEMF signal, and determining the resonant frequency from the slope of the BEMF signal.

Control techniques for motor driven systems utilizing back-EMF measurement techniques

A switch can be implemented by a switch circuit, which can include a pair of NMOS transistors connected in series as pass-through transistors to transmit an input signal at an input terminal to produce an output signal at output terminal in response to an active state of a switching signal, and a pair of PMOS transistors connected in series as pass-through transistors to transmit the input signal at the input terminal to produce the output signal at output terminal in response to the active state of the switching signal. The switch circuit can also include a switch network connecting, in response to the active state of the switching signal, sources to bodies of the pairs of NMOS and PMOS transistors, and connecting, in response to an inactive state of the switching signal, the bodies of the pair of NMOS transistors to a first reference voltage, the bodies of the pair of PMOS transistors to a second reference voltage, and the sources of the pairs of NMOS and PMOS transistors to a third reference voltage. A capacitance-to-voltage converter can include one or more of the switch circuits.

Switch circuits

Improved capacitive sensor operation is achieved with improved discrimination between environmental drift and apparent drift attributable to human proximity to the sensor. A proximity algorithm detects conditions interpreted as indicating a user is close to, but not touching, a sensor. When such proximity is detected, ambient value calibration is halted, thereby avoiding treating the human's proximity as environmental drift requiring compensation and preventing miscalculation of calibration. The proximity algorithm employs two moving-average filters (implemented in hardware or software) to monitor the CDC output values over time and to make appropriate adjustments to a signal representing the ambient, while distinguishing environmental drift from proximity-induced pseudo-drift. Accurate ambient values allow for improved proximity detection by providing this environmentally compensated average value to an adaptive threshold algorithm which features a fast attack, slow decay peak detection to automatically track and compensate for different response characteristics (typically finger sizes).

Automatic environmental compensation of capacitance based proximity sensors

A switched current temperature sensing circuit () comprises a measuring transistor (Q) which is located remotely of a measuring circuit () which applies three excitation currents (I,I,I) of different values to the measuring transistor (Q) in a predetermined current sequence along lines (). Resulting base/emitter voltages from the measuring transistor (Q) are applied to the measuring circuit () along the same two lines () as the excitation currents are applied to the measuring transistor (Q). Voltage differences &#x394;Vof successive base/emitter voltages resulting from the excitation currents are integrated in an integrating circuit () of the measuring circuit () to provide an output voltage indicative of the temperature of the measuring transistor (Q). By virtue of the fact that the measuring transistor (Q) is excited by excitation currents of three different values, the effect of current path series resistance in the lines () on the output voltage indicative of temperature is eliminated. The predetermined current sequence in which the excitation currents are applied to the measuring transistor (Q) is selected to minimize the voltages in the integrating circuit () during integration of the voltage differences &#x394;V.

Method and a measuring circuit for determining temperature from a PN junction temperature sensor, and a temperature sensing circuit comprising the measuring circuit and a PN junction

A programmable non-volatile data storage calibration circuit stores a calibration code for a temperature sensor circuit of an IC, comprising a programmable array of addressable bi-state, bi-stable first circuit elements each comprising a fusible resistor. A power supply controlled by a data input signal addresses the first circuit elements to be switched from a first to a second state in the fusible resistor state, the supply, and a clock signal applied to an I/O terminal clocks the data input signal to the interpreter circuit. The interpreter circuit sequentially selects and addresses the first circuit elements and enables switching of the first circuit elements when the supply voltage is at its maximum, blowing a selected fusible resistor. A second, similar circuit element is switched to its second state after programming the calibration circuit to prevent its further programming.

Programmable non-volatile data storage circuit and a method for programming a non-volatile data storage circuit

The present invention is connected across a sense resistor which carries a current of interest. A first pair of cross-coupled switches are connected between the sense resistor and respective input capacitors, and a second pair of cross-coupled switches are connected between the input capacitors and the inputs of an amplifier having differential inputs and outputs. Feedback capacitors are connected between each of the amplifier's outputs and inputs. A control circuit operates the cross-coupled switches in accordance with a switching cycle, during which the connections between the sense resistor and the input capacitors are interchanged, after which the connections between the input capacitors and the differential amplifier are interchanged. When so arranged, the sensed voltage is sampled on the input capacitors and transferred to the feedback capacitors to produce a differential output voltage V from the differential amplifier which is proportional to the current of interest.

Current measurement circuit

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Kilmallock, Ireland

John Anthony Cleary