System and Method for High Input Capacitive Signal Amplifier
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- determining an amplitude of an input signal provided by a capacitive signal source;
compressing the input signal in an analog domain to form a compressed analog signal based on the determined amplitude;
converting the compressed analog signal to a compressed digital signal; and
decompressing the digital signal in a digital domain to form a decompressed digital signal, wherein the steps of determining, compressing, converting and decompressing comprises using one or more electronic circuits.
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Abstract
In accordance with an embodiment, a method includes determining an amplitude of an input signal provided by a capacitive signal source, compressing the input signal in an analog domain to form a compressed analog signal based on the determined amplitude, converting the compressed analog signal to a compressed digital signal, and decompressing the digital signal in a digital domain to form a decompressed digital signal. In an embodiment, compressing the analog signal includes adjusting a first gain of an amplifier coupled to the capacitive signal source, and decompressing the digital signal comprises adjusting a second gain of a digital processing block.
60 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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determining an amplitude of an input signal provided by a capacitive signal source; compressing the input signal in an analog domain to form a compressed analog signal based on the determined amplitude; converting the compressed analog signal to a compressed digital signal; and decompressing the digital signal in a digital domain to form a decompressed digital signal, wherein the steps of determining, compressing, converting and decompressing comprises using one or more electronic circuits. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system for amplifying a signal provided by a capacitive signal source, the system comprising:
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a variable gain amplifier comprising an input node configured to be coupled to the capacitive signal source; an analog to digital converter coupled to an output of the variable gain amplifier; a digital gain block coupled to an output of the analog to digital converter; and a gain control circuit configured to measure an amplitude of an analog signal coupled to the variable gain amplifier, adjust a first gain of the variable gain amplifier according to a first gain function, and adjust a second gain of the digital gain block according to a second gain function. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An integrated circuit for amplifying a signal provided by a capacitive signal source, the integrated circuit comprising:
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a signal amplifier comprising an input node configured to be coupled to the capacitive signal source; a peak detector coupled to an output of the signal amplifier; a gain controller coupled to an output of the peak detector; a controllable attenuation circuit coupled to the input node of the signal amplifier and to a first gain control signal of the gain controller; an analog to digital converter coupled to an output of the signal amplifier; a digital filter coupled to an output of the analog to digital converter; and a gain coefficient control block coupled to the digital filter and to a second gain control signal of the gain controller, wherein the gain controller is configured to increase an attenuation of the controllable attenuation circuit or decrease a gain of the signal amplifier in response to an increased amplitude of the capacitive signal source and increase a gain of the digital filter in response to the increased amplitude of the capacitive signal source. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification