CONTINUOUS-TIME SAMPLER CIRCUITS

• Main Authors: Devarajan, Siddharth, Shibata, Hajime, Holford, Brian, Caldwell, Trevor Clifford
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 15.08.2019
• Subjects: BASIC ELECTRONIC CIRCUITRY; CODE CONVERSION IN GENERAL; CODING; DECODING; ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE; ELECTRICITY; TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHICCOMMUNICATION

A continuous-time sampler has series-connected delay lines with intermediate output taps between the delay lines. Signal from an output tap can be buffered by an optional voltage buffer for performance. A corresponding controlled switch is provided with each output tap to connect the output tap to an output of the continuous-time sampler. The delay lines store a continuous-time input signal waveform within the propagation delays. Controlling the switches corresponding to the output taps with pulses that match the propagation delays can yield a same input signal value at the output. The continuous-time sampler effectively "holds" or provides the input signal value at the output for further processing without requiring switched-capacitor circuits that sample the input signal value onto some capacitor. In some cases, the continuous-time sampler can be a recursively-connected delay line. The continuous-time sampler can be used as the front end sampler in a variety of analog-to-digital converters.