Loop filter initialization technique

• US 10,511,323 B1
• Filed: 09/26/2018
• Issued: 12/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Mai, Tao, Gambini, Simone
• Primary Examiner(s): Jeanglaude, Jean B
• Application Number:
  US16/143,447
• Time in Patent Office: 447 Days
• Field of Search: 341118, 341155, 341143
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 3/368 of noise other than the quantisation noise already being shaped inherently by delta-sigma modulators
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 3/376 Prevention or reduction of switching transients, e.g. glitches
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 3/422 having one quantiser only
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 3/436 characterised by the order of the loop filter, e.g. error feedback type
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 3/438 the modulator having a higher order loop filter in the feedforward path
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 3/458 Analogue/digital converters using delta-sigma modulation as an intermediate step
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 3/462 Details relating to the decimation process decimation filters in general H03H17/0416, H03H17/0621

Abstract

An Nth-order loop filter includes N integrators (where N is an integer value). The loop filter includes an initialization path coupled between an input to the loop filter and an input of at least one of the integrators. A control circuit is coupled to the Nth order filter. During a reset phase, the control circuit causes an initialization voltage to be sampled into a capacitance of the initialization path. During an initialization phase immediately following the reset phase, the control circuit causes the initialization voltage to be conveyed to the input(s) of the at least one integrator.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

an Nth-order loop filter having N integrators and an initialization path coupled between an input to the loop filter and an input to at least one of the N integrators; and

a control circuit configured to;

during a reset phase, cause an initialization voltage to be sampled into a capacitance of the initialization path; and

during an initialization phase immediately following the reset phase, cause the initialization voltage to be conveyed to the input of the at least one of the N integrators.

2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the control circuit is configured to:

during the reset phase, close each a first plurality of switches, the first plurality of switches including a first subset in the initialization path; and

during the initialization phase, close each of a second plurality of switches and open each of the first plurality of switches.

3. The apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein the first plurality of switches includes a second subset of switches, wherein each of the second subset of switches is coupled between an output of an associated integrator and an input of the associated integrator, wherein, when closed, each of the second subset of switches short circuits an output of its associated integrator and a corresponding input of its associated integrator.

4. The apparatus as recited claim 2, further comprising third and fourth pluralities of switches, wherein the control circuit is configured to, during an integration phase, control the third and fourth pluralities of switches such that each of the third plurality of switches are closed and each of the fourth plurality of switches are open when a clock signal is high, and wherein each of the third plurality of switches are open and each of the fourth plurality of switches when a clock signal is low.

5. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the control circuit is configured to periodically cause the loop filter to enter the loop filter to enter the reset phase and the initialization phase.

6. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the initialization voltage is based on steady state values of state variables of the Nth-order loop filter.

7. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising a successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter (ADC) coupled to receive an output signal from the Nth order loop filter.

8. The apparatus as recited in claim 7, further comprising a summing circuit coupled to an input of the loop filter, wherein the summing circuit is configured to generate a signal that is a sum of an input signal and a feedback signal, the feedback signal being based on an output from the SAR ADC.

12. The method as recited in claim 8, further comprising:

closing each of a first plurality of switches during the reset phase, the first plurality of switches including a first subset of switches in the initialization path; and

closing each of a second plurality of switches during the initialization phase, wherein each of the second plurality of switches is implemented in the initialization path;

wherein each of the second plurality of switches are open during the reset phase, and wherein each of the first plurality of switches are open during the initialization phase.

13. The method as recited in claim 12, further comprising:

closing each of a third plurality of switches during the integration phase when a clock signal is high; and

closing each of a fourth plurality of switches during the integration phase when the clock signal is low;

wherein switches of only one of the first, second, third, and fourth pluralities of switches is closed at any given time.

14. The method as recited in claim 12, further comprising closing switches of a second subset of the first plurality of switches during the reset phase, wherein closing switches of the second subset comprises creating a short circuit between a respective output and a respective input of each of the N integrators.

9. A method comprising:

during a reset phase, resetting each of N integrators in an Nth order loop filer;

sampling an initialization voltage into an initialization path of the Nth order loop filter during the reset phase;

providing, during an initialization phase immediately following the reset phase, the initialization voltage to inputs of at least one of the N integrators the Nth order loop filter; and

operating the loop filter in an integration phase subsequent to completion of the initialization phase.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein providing the initialization voltage comprises initializing Nth order loop filter state variables with their respective steady state values.

11. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein sampling the initialization voltage comprises charging capacitors in the initialization path, and wherein providing the initialization voltage to inputs of at least one of the N integrators comprises conveying the initialization voltage from the capacitors in the initialization path.

15. The method as recited in claim 9, further comprising:

providing an output signal from the Nth order loop filter to an successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter (ADC); and

outputting a digital value from SAR ADC.

16. The method as recited in claim 9, further comprising periodically performing the reset phase and the initialization phase.

17. A system comprising:

a control circuit; and

a sigma-delta analog-to-digital converter (ADC), the sigma-delta ADC including;

a summing circuit configured to output a sum signal, the sum signal being a sum of an input signal and a feedback signal;

a loop filter configured to output a filtered version of the sum signal, the loop filter including N integrators and an initialization path; and

a quantizer configured to generate a binary code based on the filtered version of the sum signal;

wherein the control circuit is configured to, during an initialization phase, cause state variables of the loop filter to be initialized with their respective steady state values, wherein initializing the loop filter includes providing an initialization voltage to an Nth integrator via the initialization path.

18. The system as recited in claim 17, wherein the control circuit is configured to:

during the reset phase, close each a first plurality of switches, the first plurality of switches including a first subset in the initialization path; and

during the initialization phase, close each of a second plurality of switches and open each of the first plurality of switches;

wherein the first plurality of switches includes a second subset of switches, wherein each of the second subset of switches is coupled between an output of an associated integrator and an input of the associated integrator, wherein, when closed, each of the second subset of switches short circuits an output of its associated integrator and a corresponding input of its associated integrator.

19. The system as recited in claim 17, wherein the control circuit is configured to periodically reset the loop filter by initiating the reset phase and further configured to follow each instance of the reset phase with an instance of the initialization phase.

20. The system as recited in claim 17, wherein the sigma-delta ADC further includes:

a successive approximation register (SAR) ADC coupled to receive an output signal from the loop filter and configured to generate a corresponding digital value;

a decimation filter coupled to receive the digital value from the SAR ADC and configured to reduce a sampling rate of the digital value;

a decoder coupled to receive the digital value from the SAR ADC and configured to generate a thermometer code based thereon;

a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) configured to convert the thermometer code into a feedback analog signal; and

a summing circuit coupled to generate a sum analog signal based on the feedback analog signal and an input analog signal and coupled to provide the sum analog signal to an input of the Nth order loop filter.