USA as Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Robert W Caulfield

William H McKnight

Frederick J Harris

A series of sigma-delta modulators are connected in a cascaded architecture. Each sigma-delta modulator has a noise transfer function that defines a unique set of quantization noise transmission zeros. A circuit is coupled to the cascaded architecture and has a signal transfer function that is an approximation of the noise transfer function of a first sigma-delta modulator in the series of sigma-delta modulators.

Distributed quantization noise transmission zeros in cascaded

A digital mixing to baseband decimation filter includes a mixer section and a low-pass filter section. The mixer section generates in-phase and quadrature signal components at baseband from low-resolution, high-rate digital data lying within a signal passband offset from baseband. The low-pass filter section transforms an incoming data stream to high-resolution, low-rate digital data. The mixer section can precede or follow the filter section.

Digital mixing to baseband decimation filter

A band-pass sigma-delta modulator includes a translator for tuning to a selected signal passband within the tuning range of the modulator. In a network implementation, the translator is integral with each integrator associated with the sigma-delta modulator(s). The translator can comprise a network having a transfer function defined in the Z-domain as (Z.alpha.-1)/(Z-.alpha.), where -1.ltoreq..alpha..ltoreq.1 defines the tuning. The value of .alpha. is defined as .alpha..tbd.cos(2.pi.f.sub.gm /f.sub.s), where f.sub.gm is the geometric mean frequency of the passband and f.sub.s is the input sample frequency of the sigma-delta modulator(s). The invention can benefit many signal processing applications such as, for example, A/D, D/A and D/D converters; and digital communication systems including digital radio and digital TV. In digital communications (e.g., radio, TV, etc.), the invention can be used where it is desirable to digitize the full tuning range or bandwidth of a receiver at an intermediate frequency early in the processing chain, thus allowing digital tuning or mixing of the desired signal. Such digital mixing or tuning overcomes the limitations of analog mixers/receivers, for example limited linearity in dynamic range as well as the problems associated with aliasing, artifacts, ghosts, harmonics, distortion, gain and phase mismatch, etc. The sigma-delta modulator of the invention also provides variable bandwidth, is operationally stable and is easily and inexpensively realized.

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San Diego, CA, United States of America

Robert W Caulfield