Abstract: Techniques for improving noise performance while processing signals received from an electrochemical sensor are provided. In an example, an interface circuit can include a first amplifier configured to provide a voltage to a counter electrode of an electrochemical sensor, a second amplifier configured to receive sensor information from a working electrode of the electrochemical sensor and to provide concentration information using the sensor information. In certain examples, an input of the first amplifier can be directly coupled to an input of the second amplifier to attenuate noise, of either the first amplifier or the second amplifier, within the concentration information provided by the second amplifier.

Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure relate to correcting for a phase shift between signals associated with an angle sensor and a multi-turn sensor that includes magnetoresistive elements. A processing circuit can determine a phase shift correction and generate position information based on at least the phase shift correction and a signal associated with the multi-turn sensor.

Abstract: In certain configurations, an input/output (IO) interface of a semiconductor chip includes a pin, an interface switch connected to the pin, and an overstress detection and active control circuit that controls a resistance of the interface switch with active feedback. The overstress detection and active control circuit increases a resistance of the interface switch in response to detection of a transient overstress event between a first node and a second node. Accordingly, the overstress detection and active control circuit provides separate detection and logic control to selectively modify the resistance of the interface switch such that the interface switch operates with low resistance during normal operating conditions and with high resistance during overstress conditions.

Abstract: Hardware architectures for ultrasonic front-end receivers used in ultrasonic sensing applications are disclosed. An example ultrasonic receiver may include a plurality of ultrasonic sensor elements. A given ultrasonic sensor element may be configured to detect an ultrasonic signal/wave that has interacted with an object being analyzed, such as a finger, if determining a fingerprint is the target of the ultrasonic sensing. The ultrasonic sensor element is further configured to generate an electrical signal indicative of the ultrasonic signal that has been detected. In contrast to conventional implementations, the electrical signal is integrated in an analog domain, prior to being converted to digital domain for further processing. Various embodiments of the ultrasonic receivers disclosed herein may benefit from one or more of reduced power consumption, reduced die area requirements, and reduced cost due to the use of a more efficient architecture.

Abstract: There is disclosed herein a contactor for production testing of an electrical product, where the contactor includes an integrated circuit with memory. The integrated circuit may store information related to the contactor in the memory that may be useful for the production testing. For example, the memory may store information that that can be used for identifying the contactor and/or determining whether maintenance of the contactor should be performed to achieve proper results of the production testing.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems and techniques for adaptive use of multiple power supplies in a communication system. For example, in some embodiments, a slave device may include: an upstream transceiver to couple to an upstream link of a bus of a communication system; and circuitry to couple to the upstream link of the bus and to a local power supply, wherein the circuitry is to switch from providing the local power supply to power the slave device to providing bus power supplied by the upstream link of the bus to power the slave device.

Abstract: A system and method for operating a high dynamic range analog front-end receiver for long range LIDAR with a transimpedance amplifier (TIA) include a clipping circuit to prevent saturation of the TIA. The output of the clipping circuit is connected via a diode or transistor to the input of the TIA and regulated such that the input voltage of the TIA remains close to or is only slightly above the saturation threshold voltage of the TIA. The regulation of the input voltage of the TIA can be improved by connecting a limiting resistor in series with the diode or transistor. A second clipping circuit capable of dissipating higher input currents and thus higher voltages may be connected in parallel with the first clipping circuit. A resistive element may be placed between the first and second clipping circuits to further limit the input current to the TIA.

Abstract: Improved track and hold (T/H) circuits can help analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) achieve higher performance and lower power consumption. The improved T/H circuits can drive high speed and interleaved ADCs, and the design of the circuits enable additive and multiplicative pseudo-random dither signals to be injected in the T/H circuits. The dither signals can be used to calibrate (e.g., linearize) the T/H circuits and the ADC(s). In addition, the dither signal can be used to dither any remaining non-linearity, and to calibrate offset/gain mismatches in interleaved ADCs. The T/H circuit design also can integrate an amplifier in the T/H circuit, which can be used to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the ADC or to act as a variable gain amplifier (VGA) in front of the ADC.

Abstract: A method of and apparatus for protecting a MEMS switch is provided. The method and apparatus improve the integrity of MEMS switches by reducing their vulnerability to current flow through them during switching of the MEMS switch between on and off or vice versa. The protection circuit provides for a parallel path, known as a shunt, around the MEMS component. However, components within the shunt circuit can themselves be removed from the shunt when they are not required. This improves the electrical performance of the shunt when the switch is supposed to be in an off state.

Abstract: A fault detection scheme can include use of a relatively high injection impedance between an input port for analog measurements from a sensor and a stimulus generation circuit controlled in coordination with analog measurement. The stimulus generation circuit can provide a stimulus signal through the injection impedance. A magnitude of the injection impedance can be specified relative to a source impedance associated with a source (e.g., a sensor or other device) coupled to the input port. For example, a magnitude of the injection impedance can be specified to be larger than the source impedance or the injection impedance magnitude can be specified to be a multiple of the source impedance.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems and methods for performing SAG effect compensation on a video signal received over an AC-coupled video link. In one aspect, a method for performing SAF effect compensation includes applying a filter to the received video signal to generate a corrected video signal, where a transfer function of the filter is dependent on a transmission parameter that is based on a plurality of parameters of the AC-coupled link. The method further includes extracting predefined content from the corrected video signal, and adjusting the transmission parameter based on a comparison of the extracted predefined content with certain expected content, so that adjusted transmission parameter can be used for one or more subsequent applications of the filter, thereby realizing an adaptive filter.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems and techniques for auxiliary master and/or auxiliary call support functionality. For example, in some embodiments, a communication system with auxiliary master functionality may include a master node coupled to a plurality of downstream slave nodes, wherein at least one of the slave nodes may perform master node functions when the master node is disconnected from the system.

Abstract: A method for detecting frequency mismatch in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) gyroscopes is described. Detection of the frequency mismatch between a drive signal and a sense signal may be performed by generating an output signal whose spectrum reflects the physical characteristics of the gyroscope, and using the output signal to determine the frequency fC of the sense signal. The output signal may be generated by cross-correlating a random or pseudo-random noise signal with a response signal, where the response signal can be obtained by allowing the noise signal to pass through a system designed to have a noise transfer function that mimics the frequency response of the gyroscope. Since the noise signal is random or pseudo-random, cross-correlating the noise signal with the response signal reveals spectral characteristics of the gyroscope. To improve computational efficiency, the cross-correlation can be performed on demodulated versions of the noise signal and the response signal.

Abstract: A state of one or more fuses can be determined using a common-gate FET device to read reference information and test information from a fuse bank. In an example, the FET device can be selectively diode-connected using a first switch that responds to a control signal, and a signal-storing capacitor can be connected to the gate terminal of the FET device. The capacitor can store information about a reference signal when the first switch is closed and a first input signal is applied at a source node of the FET device. When the first switch is open, a second input signal can be applied at the source node of the FET device, and an output signal at the drain node of the FET device can indicate a magnitude relationship between the first input signal and the reference signal. In an example, the second input signal can indicate a state of a fuse.

Abstract: VCO ADCs consume relatively little power and require less area than other ADC architectures. However, when a VCO ADC is implemented by itself, the VCO ADC can have limited bandwidth and performance. To address these issues, the VCO ADC is implemented as a back end stage in a VCO-based continuous-time (CT) pipelined ADC, where the VCO-based CT pipelined ADC has a CT residue generation front end. Optionally, the VCO ADC back end has phase interpolation to improve its bandwidth. The pipelined architecture dramatically improves the performance of the VCO ADC back end, and the overall VCO-based CT pipelined ADC is simpler than a traditional continuous-time pipelined ADC.

Abstract: Techniques for a sinking and sourcing power stage are provided. In an example, a power stage circuit can include a first power transistor configured to couple to a first input power rail, a second power transistor configured to couple to a second input power rail, an output node configured to couple to a load and to couple the first power transistor in series with the second power transistor between the first and second input power rails, and a controller configured to operate the first and second power transistors in a first mode to source current to the load and to operate the first and second power transistors in a second mode to sink current from the load.

Abstract: A voltage-to-current converter can be configured to generate a current based on an input voltage and for part of the time use the generated current as the output current of the voltage-to-current converter, and for part of the time use the generated current as a current source for the operation of the voltage-to-current converter. This arrangement can reduce the need for high performance current mirror circuits within the voltage-to-current converter, thereby reducing the cost and complexity of the voltage-to-current converter and improving precision and accuracy.

Abstract: A dynamic error introduced by track-and-hold circuits can be reduced by using an input signal derivative to perform linear extrapolation during the hold period, allowing the output of the track-and-hold circuit to provide improved performance in reconstructing an undistorted input waveform, or to perform other applications such as demultiplexing. As described herein, a track-and-hold circuit and related techniques can include use of a first-order (e.g., linear) extrapolation. A first-order extrapolation can better approximate or reconstruct a signal during a specified hold duration, as compared to a zeroth-order technique. Use of analog circuits to implement the first-order extrapolation can one or more of reduce complexity of a circuit implementation or improve performance, such as by not requiring digital signal processing circuitry in performing the extrapolation.

Abstract: A power amplifier circuit for broadband data communication over a path in a communication network can reduce or avoid gain compression, provide low distortion amplification performance, and can accommodate a wider input signal amplitude range. A dynamic variable bias current circuit can be coupled to a differential pair of transistors to provide a dynamic variable bias current thereto as a function of input signal amplitude. Bias current is increased when input signal amplitude exceeds a threshold voltage established by an offset or level-shifting circuit. The frequency response of the bias current circuit can track the full frequency content of the input signal, rather than its envelope. Gain degeneration can be modulated in concert with the bias current modulation to stabilize amplifier gain.

Abstract: Various transimpedance amplifier (TIA) arrangements for ultrasonic front-end receivers used in ultrasonic sensing applications are disclosed. An example TIA includes three common-source gain stages in a feedback loop with a common-gate stage. In some aspects, the TIA may include a level shifter configured to maintain the voltage at the gate of a transistor used to implement the first common-source gain stage of the feedback loop shifted by a certain amount with respect to the voltage at an input port to the TIA. In some aspects, at least portions of the TIA may be biased using bias currents that are configured to be process-, supply voltage-, and/or temperature-dependent. Various embodiments of the TIAs disclosed herein may benefit from one or more of the following advantages: reduced noise, reduced input impedance, reduced temperature coefficient of input impedance, and stability for a wide range of sensor frequencies.