Digital-to-analog conversion by pulse-count modulation methods

Three low-cost digital-to-analog converters (DACs) are described and compared. These designs can easily be implemented in an integrated circuit: the conventional pulse-width modulation (PWM) DAC, the new pulse-count modulation (PCM) DAC and the first-order noise shaping (FONS) DAC. All three methods control the ratio of the sum of all pulse durations to the constant total period. As the pulse durations are integral multiples of a unit pulse, all three can be classified as pulse-count modulation methods. Block diagrams of all three DACs consisting of a simple digital circuit and a low-pass filter are presented. For a constant digital input value the worst case ripple of the filter output is used to calculate the cutoff frequency of the low-pass filter. Approximations for the 3 dB cutoff frequency of first-order, second-order and fourth-order Butterworth low-pass filters are given. The dynamic properties are analyzed in the time domain (settling time) and in the frequency domain (unfiltered output spectrum of a full-scale sine wave input). The main influences on the static accuracy are analyzed. A case study demonstrates the abilities of PCM and FONS     

A Technique for Synthesizing Digital Filters

In designing digital systems, one often faces the task of replacing a given analog filter by an equivalent digital filter. This paper proposes a method for synthesizing such digital filters in the time domain. It is assumed that the pulsed transfer function of the digital filter is a ratio of two rational polynomials. The coefficients are then determined by least-square fitting the digital filter to the analog filter's sampled input and output data. The resulting equations for computing the coefficients are linear. It is shown that the digital filter is essentially related to the analog filter, the sampling time, and the power spectrum of the signal being processed. If the signal is band-limited and the sampling frequency is sufficiently high, the digital filter can then be simply approximated by the Z transform of the analog filter multiplied by the sampling period.     

The new design of AGC circuit for the sinusoidal oscillator with wide oscillation frequency range

The typical automatic gain control (AGC) schemes are not suitable for the sinusoidal oscillator with wide oscillation frequency range. To solve this problem, the up-down counter, multiplying digital-to-analog converter, and high-speed comparators are employed to achieve the proposed AGC circuit, which corrects the complex roots of the overall system automatically to the imaginary axis of the complex frequency plane. The negative feedback technique with digital hardware is applied on the loop gain control. No low-pass filter is needed to detect the oscillation amplitude. Thus, this technique is suitable for the sinusoidal oscillator with wide oscillation frequency range. The oscillation frequencies ranging from 7 Hz to 1 MHz are tested with the proposed AGC circuit. The experimental results demonstrate the static characteristics and dynamic responses of the overall system.     

The use of linear programming for the design of SAW filters andfilterbanks

A linear programming algorithm is proposed for designing surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters or filterbanks with arbitrary amplitude and phase responses. A modified sampling theorem representation is employed for the transducer frequency responses which allows the number of independent variables to be minimized without degrading the filter characteristics. The method can also be used as part of an iterative procedure to generate optimal corrections for second order effects such as diffraction and circuit loading. A simplified algorithm for this procedure is given, and the method is illustrated with theoretical and experimental data from a three channel contiguous SAW filterbank design. Although the method given in this paper is formulated primarily for SAW filters, it is equally applicable to FIR digital filter design     

Fiducial markers for increasing the versatility of optical correlation in the measurement of faults on integrated-circuit wafers

A microscope-coherent optical processor is used for the measurement of the registration errors on integrated-circuit wafers. The measurements are obtained from the optical correlation of wafers with reference wafer patterns by use of matched spatial filters. Previously, the intricate pattern of the active circuit area of wafers has been used in the correlation process, and a new matched spatial filter had to be created for each different integrated circuit. Here, the results of using comparatively plain fiducial markers on a wafer for the registration-error measurement are presented, and these show that the measurements can be made independent of the design of the integrated circuit while maintaining the advantages and accuracy of the optical correlation technique.     

基于SoC的动态参数记录仪微型化研究

存储测试的主要特点是测试仪器置于被测对象内部或被测环境中实时地获取动态参数,为了减小测试仪器对被测对象的影响,需要减小测试仪器的体积,实现测试仪器的微型化.针对存储测试仪器的微型化需求,提出利用SoC系统集成、模块化结构等技术,将数字电路的ADC模块、控制模块、存储模块、接口模块等集成在专用SoC芯片中,同时,将测试电路分为模拟电路、SoC数字电路、电池等模块,立体封装在机械壳体里,设计并实现了微型化的动态参数记录仪.基于SoC的微型化动态参数记录仪体积约10 cm³,可以嵌入被测体内或者置入被测环境中,实时获取相关动态参数.试验表明,基于SoC的微型动态参数记录仪可以用于应变、侵彻加速度、火炮膛内压力等动态参数的测试.     

Quasioptimal linear digital filtering for discrete observation of an analog mixture of a desired random signal with additive noise

A structure is proposed for a quasioptimal digital filter inserted into an analog transducer circuit. The noise immunity of quasioptimal digital filters is compared with that obtained using optimal discrete and analog transducers.Translated from Izmeritel'naya Tekhnika, No. 11, pp. 9–11, November, 1995.     

On the issues of oscillation test methodology

In recent years, advances in integration fabrication technologies prompted IC designers to move more analog circuitry onto what had been entirely digital chips, making the verification problem for the entire chip more difficult. This paper presents a detailed case study of using the oscillation test methodology to test an active low pass filter. We highlight some of the difficulties and shortcomings of this testing approach     

Implementation of a real-time mobile channel simulator using a DSPchip

The problem of implementing a real-time channel simulator that can be used to test mobile communications equipment in the laboratory is considered. The objective of the design is to replicate the statistical characteristics of the multipath fading environment on a single-chip, fixed-point 16-b digital signal processor (DSP). The simulator design permits the user to select the simulation parameters, including vehicular speed, carrier frequency, ratio between the line-of-sight component and the multipath component, and the variance of average power. The design is based on variable-sampling-rate DSP techniques, and offers a novel solution to suppress the aliasing terms at intermediate stages where access to analog filters is cumbersome and costly     

Band-pass microstripe filters using high-temperature superconducting films

Results are presented of a simulation and experimental investigation of band-pass filters consisting of coupled microstripe resonators fabricated using high-temperature superconducting films. It was shown that by using reliable models of high-temperature superconducting filter elements and careful design, it is possible to synthesize high-temperature superconducting filters as an integrated circuit without using additional tuning elements. Two filter configurations were investigated at a frequency of 1.75 GHz with a 4% pass band. A significant result is that the calculated and experimental characteristics of both filter configurations show very satisfactory agreement. Pis’ma Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 24, 50–54 (December 26, 1998)     

Evaluation of the design requirements for the electrical part oftransmission-type optical smoke detector to improve its thresholdstability to slowly varying influences

The output signal sensitivity to optical component contamination and other slowly varying parasitic influences in the transmission-type smoke detector is analyzed. The analysis carried out the new topology characterized by the selective feedback loop incorporating the optical part of the detector. Depending on the loop gain frequency shaping in the electrical part of the loop, dual-stability enhancement of the input threshold level can be achieved. The stable dc output signal can be preserved by the high dc loop gain value, as an option to the standard serial filter dc rejection. The detector passband gain stability is achieved by the high loop gain selectivity, eliminating feedback at very low or passband frequencies. The proposed topology can be easily adopted to both digital and low-cost analog detector designs. The special case of the threshold sensitivity neutralization through the cancellation of the output dc signal sensitivity and passband gain sensitivity is considered, too, as an option suitable for low-cost detectors. In addition to the described linear settlement, two nonlinear solutions are presented, the first of them based on the foregoing linear circuit analysis. Despite its nonlinear nature, this alternative solution is not troublesome for analog implementation, since the nonlinear function required is realized by the standard variable gain amplifier. Another nonlinear method requires logarithmic function implementation, so that its suitability depends on the particular design requirements     

An integration of memory-based analog signal generation intocurrent DFT architectures

One method for the testing of mixed analog/digital integrated circuits involves the digital encoding of analog signals into an aperiodic pulse-density modulated (PDM) serial bit stream and using it to stimulate a device under test (DUT). This paper describes a method for obtaining a short periodic approximation of the PDM pattern and identifies two methods of integrating this analog test scheme into the current digital test environment: RAM- and scan-based storage. Using such design-for-test logic as the 1149.1-1990 JTAG architecture and a typical RAMBIST controller, these analog signal generation techniques can be added to digital integrated circuits (IC's) with minimal additional hardware overhead     

SAW device applications of longitudinal leaky surface waves on lithium tetraborate

The possibility of high frequency SAW device applications of longitudinal leaky surface waves (LLSW) on lithium tetraborate (Li₂ B₄O₇; LBO) is investigated in this paper. An electrical equivalent circuit model (ECM) is extended in order to consider effects of bulk wave scattering for the LLSWs. The equivalent circuit parameters used in the extended ECM for designing the LLSW devices are directly determined from numerically calculated dispersion curves. For applications of the LLSW, high frequency SAW filters on LBO with the Euler angles (0°, 47.3°, 90°) are demonstrated. As examples of the high frequency devices, 1.5 GHz and 1.2 GHz SAW filters using the mode are designed by using the extended ECM, and fabricated by using conventional patterning processes. One is for the filter of the global positioning system (GPS), another is for the 1.2 GHz band data transmission radio system in Japan. As a result, low loss SAW filters can be obtained easily without submicron fabrication techniques by using the LLSWs on LBO. Furthermore, the frequency response calculated by the extended ECM are in a good agreement with the experiments     

A Simple Method for Design of Adaptive Filters for Sinusoidal Signals

Filtering of input signals in algorithms for measurement of power system electrical parameters is very important. Filters are used to minimize the noise effect and eliminate the presence of higher order harmonics. In addition to that, a number of measurement algorithms apply orthogonal signal components obtained by two orthogonal finite-impulse response filters. The frequency response of the filters must have nulls at the higher order harmonic frequencies that are expected to be present in the signal and must have a unity gain at the main harmonic frequency. In the case of a time-varying frequency, the filter parameters have to be adapted during frequency estimation. In this paper, a simple method for online design of digital filters for sinusoidal signals is proposed. It is based on closed-form solutions for calculating filter coefficients. A simple linear algorithm for frequency estimation was used, and a derived algorithm for online adaptation of the filter coefficients is computationally very efficient. The number of subsections in the cascade and data window lengths can also be changed, depending on the frequency variations during measurement.      

石英陀螺闭环自激驱动电路(英文)

为使石英陀螺满足高性能、小型化和集成化需求,设计石英陀螺专用集成电路接口芯片势在必行.本文通过分析石英陀螺表头的机电特性,得出方波驱动方式是系统性能和复杂程度的折衷.据此设计了一种闭环自激驱动电路.该电路与石英结构形成反馈环路,从而实现陀螺的自激驱动,并通过自动增益控制电路实现幅值稳定.该电路已用0.5μm CMOS工艺实现,测试结果表明该电路可以实现稳幅稳频的驱动,幅值稳定度0.01%.集成该驱动电路的石英陀螺系统达到战术级性能.     

New configuration for realizing universal voltage-mode filter usingtwo current feedback amplifiers

A new universal biquadratic filter configuration using two current-feedback amplifiers (CFAs) is presented. The circuit has three inputs and one low-impedance output and can realize all the standard filter functions, that is, highpass, bandpass, lowpass, notch, and allpass filters, without changing the passive elements. The proposed circuit has no requirements for component matching conditions and uses only four passive components. The center frequency and bandwidth can be orthogonally controllable. Also, the active and passive sensitivities are low     

A reconfigurable high-frequency phase-locked loop

Reconfigurable phase-locked loops (PLLs) present the advantage of fast-frequency acquisition combined with narrow-noise bandwidth, since their parameters can be dynamically adjusted. High-frequency PLLs are generally implemented by means of analog circuits which are not easily reconfigured during operation. However, the five-port technique allows the discrimination of the phase difference between two microwave signals using a mixed circuit. In this paper the design of a PLL comprising a five-port based phase detector is presented. This system benefits from the phase-detector digital circuit to carry out the loop filtering. Simulation results for different conditions of noise and frequency acquisition are shown. We also present measurement results to confirm the simulations.     

Testable design of multiple-stage OTA-C filters

This paper presents a novel design and test methodology to increase the testability of multistage operational transconductance amplifier and grounded capacitor (OTA-C) filters. As assumed herein, a fault can cause the value of a passive circuit component to deviate from its normal value in order to detect such faults. This deviation causes open-circuit and/or short-circuit effects or changes the operating characteristics of the active components. That is, the catastrophic and parameter deviation faults are considered in this paper. The proposed methodology is also effective in detecting single and multiple faults. Simulation results for the faulty and fault-free circuits are compared to verify the feasibility of our design-for-testability (DFT) structure. The physical layout of a third-order Butterworth OTA-C filter is implemented by the TANNER layout tool. The extra hardware overhead to make the OTA-C filters testable is less than 9%, which is quite a reasonable value for analogue circuits     

Design considerations of Miller oscillators for high-sensitivity QCM sensors in damping media

In this paper, a new contribution to the design of quartz crystal oscillators for high-sensitivity microbalance sensors used in liquid media is presented. The oscillation condition for a Miller configuration was studied to work in a wide dynamic range of the resonator losses. The equations relating the values of the active and passive components with the maximum supported damping and mass were obtained. Also, the conditions to obtain a stable frequency according to the resonator damping (R(Q)), the static capacity (Cp) and the filter frequency (f(F)) were found. Under these conditions, the circuit oscillation frequency will be proportional to the resonant series frequency and does not depend on the previous parameters (R(Q), f(F), and Cp). If these conditions cannot be satisfied, the expression of the oscillation frequency is given and the discrimination of these effects is obtained through resonator frequency measurements.     

Improving the signal data acquisition in condition monitoring of electrical machines

The occurrence of a broken bar in induction machines causes an internal magnetic imbalance, which is reflected in the stator current. This effect may be detected by estimating the spectral signature of the stator current, particularly the sidebands around the fundamental frequency. However, the fundamental 60-Hz amplitude is considerably greater than the sideband amplitude, which usually requires an analog 60-Hz notch filter in the data acquisition system. Analog filters are sensitive to temperature variations, which, in this case, may shift the filter resonance frequency and degrade the desired response. It is proposed in this paper that the analog notch filter may be replaced by a digital/analog cancelling technique based on the recursive discrete-time Fourier transform. The technique is shown to attenuate the fundamental 60-Hz amplitude considerably before A/D conversion, leaving only the sidebands in the current signal.