Abstract: The invention relates to a method and an arrangement in a transposed digital FIR filter for multiplying a binary input signal by tap coefficients, and to a method for designing such a filter. The invention comprises a shift register (51, 52) shifting in the direction of the least significant bit and copying the most significant bit or filling in zero values. The register receives the binary input signal of the filter and has outputs for outputting the content of the desired bit positions. A plurality of bit-serial subtractor and adder elements (53-57) multiply the binary input signal by N+1 different tap coefficients by combining output bits of the shift register (51, 52). The subtractor and/or adder elements form a network wherein at least one element participates in the multiplying operation of at least two different tap coefficients.

Abstract: A method and system for designing a two-stage operational amplifier having low total harmonic distortion. The method begins with estimating a gain level of a second stage of the operational amplifier. Then a transconductance of the second stage is calculated. A unity gain frequency level for the first stage is calculated and from that the one kilohertz gain level of the first stage. The gain level at one kilohertz is then calculated and from this, the unity gain frequency for the operational amplifier is then calculated. A value of the compensation capacitor for said operational amplifier is calculated followed by calculating a transconductance of a first stage of the operational amplifier. The overall D.C. gain level and the output resistance of the first stage of the operational amplifier is then determined.

Abstract: Speech is synthesized by optimizing frame data containing an excitation signal and impulse response filter coefficients, and convolving the excitation signal and impulse response filter coefficients more efficiently and with fewer multiplications and additions. The method to convolve begins by determining a number of non-zero pulses within said excitation signal. The pulse locations are sorted for the zero and non-zero pulses. The non-zero pulses are then ranked in order of time. The codebook contributions for the synthesized output signal having an index value less than a lowest rank non-zero pulse are set to a zero value. Each remaining codebook contribution for the synthesized signal is determined by convolving each non-zero pulse within said excitation signal with each impulse response function.

Abstract: This invention describes a method and apparatus for filtering noise from a measurement of the X and Y coordinates of a resistive digitizer. The method applies to both four and five wire resistive digitizers biased with a DC voltage. The same filtering and measurement apparatus can be used on both types of digitizers with inclusion of an extra signal pin to accommodate the sense lead of the five wire digitizer. This approach involves connecting the signal to be read to a filter, reading the filtered voltage, and disconnecting the signal from the filter before disconnecting bias voltage from the planes of the digitizer. A separate filter is used for the X and Y coordinate signals and each filter voltage can be read at any time before the next measurement. A reset voltage is available to an established reference on the filter capacitor when a “pen up” status is detected.

Abstract: A method and circuits are disclosed for an operational amplifier operating from a single cell 1.5 Volt supply which consumes very little power, and which can handle rail-to-rail input common mode and output signal swings. Low voltage and low power operation are made possible by biasing the CMOS transistors of the entire operational amplifier in the so called “sub-threshold” or “weak inversion” region of operation. This lowers VGSN and VGSP below VTN and VTP, and also lowers VDsat so that the operational amplifier can operate down to 0.9 Volt. The Class AB control circuit part of the operational amplifier can be applied to any conventional (normal biasing—other than weak inversion) low voltage Class AB output stage. The output stage of the operational amplifier is designed to source and sink more than 60 microAmperes of current into a 10 Kohm load while consuming only 4 micoramperes of current in the quiescent state.

Abstract: This invention describes an improved design of CMOS. digital input circuits. This improvement reduces the switching level uncertainty range and thus increases the noise margin, compensating for manufacturing process variations. This improvement is achieved by providing resistive compensation devices in series with the P-type and the N-type CMOS transistors in the first stage of a multistage digital input circuit. These resistive devices can be implemented by means of resistors or by means of MOSFET devices which provide the required resistive function. These compensation devices modify the input-output voltage transfer characteristics of the first stage so as to reduce the switching level variation at the input to the circuit. The resulting digital input circuit has a greater tolerance to input noise levels. The improvement provided by this invention is particularly important as integrated circuits design trend is to operate with lower supply voltages.

Abstract: Disclosed is a fully differential switched-capacitor integrator which accepts a single-ended or unbalanced input signal and compensates the offset and finite gain of the operational amplifier without an extra converter circuit. The proposed circuit utilizes a special input structure which adds special capacitors to store the offset and the low frequency noise of the operational amplifier. One preferred embodiment implements the switching means as transmission gates using CMOS transistors. Clock feedthrough is prevented by providing two non-overlapping clock phases with a delayed clock each, thus avoiding clock feed-through. The invention provides a good alternative for applications such as low noise filters and sigma delta modulators.

Abstract: In the present invention is described a forward feed sigma delta modulator of higher order having automatic saturation detection and recovery. The modulator is separated into two parts which are connected together when there is no saturation, and disconnected when saturation is detected and recovery takes place. The first part contains an integrator and input output circuitry to allow continuous operation of the modulator. The second part contains additional integrators to provider for a higher order modulator and the saturation detector. The modulator can be constructed of single ended or differential switched capacitor technology, and there is a digital saturation detection scheme.

Abstract: Methods and circuits are disclosed for low voltage (1.5 Volt and below) CMOS circuits, offering good transconductance and current driving capabilities. These goals are achieved by biasing CMOS transistors in the weak inversion region, by utilizing multiple unit-sized transistors with a fixed gate width to gate length ratio, and by maintaining a uniform threshold voltage of each unit-sized transistor. The required transistor size is obtained by parallel connection of several unit-sized transistors, such that `n` unit sized transistors carry the required current of `n` units. The methods and circuits disclosed eliminate deviation of the output current of current mirrors caused by threshold voltage mismatch. Disclosed are a current mirror and two typical amplifiers as examples of weak inversion design.

Abstract: An oscillator circuit, whose output signal has minimum fluctuation with changes in temperature, has an amplifier. Within the amplifier, a compensation resistor is connected to compensate for changes in amplitude and frequency of the output signal with temperature. A first impedance is connected between an output and a first input of the amplifier, a second impedance is connected between the first input and a second input, and a third impedance is connected between the output and the second input. A method for designing the oscillator begins by choosing an inductor with a high quality factor and a low temperature coefficient. The interconnections are designed to minimize temperature effects of parasitic impedances. A degenerative resistor is connected between the emitter of the bipolar transistor and the emitter resistor. The degenerative resistor varies in resistance with a change in temperature opposite that of an input resistance of the bipolar junction transistor.

Abstract: A stacked capacitor that has a large capacitance per unit area (Co), very low voltage coefficient (Kv), and an acceptable parasitic capacitance factor (Kp) is described that uses only one polysilicon layer. The stacked capacitor is formed at the surface of a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type. The stacked capacitor has a bottom plate that is formed by a lightly doped well diffused into the surface of the semiconductor substrate. The bottom plate also has a first plurality of interconnected conductive layers of a first conductive material disposed above and aligned with the well, whereby a first conductive layer of the first plurality of conductive layers is connected to the well by multiple contacts distributed over an area of the well.

Abstract: A circuit and a method are disclosed which offer a solution for integrating a power-on-reset circuit that is realizable in a small space, consumes very little power, and works for practically any rate of rise of the power supply. These goals have been achieved by detecting, in a first section of the circuit, when the supply voltage reaches the threshold voltage V.sub.TP of a p-channel transistor, and activates power-on-reset by forcing that signal to logical zero (active). This first section detects next when the supply voltage reaches 2V.sub.TP and signals to a second section of the circuit to start charging a capacitor. The charging rate of the capacitor is controlled in such a way that its voltage lags behind the supply voltage, so that if the rise of the supply voltage is very fast, the duration T.sub.D of power-on-reset is long enough to insure complete resetting of the circuits it serves, such as digital memory elements, digital registers etc.

Abstract: A single integrated-circuit color camera chip is color sensitive by grouping closely-adjoining light-detecting cells in a photodiode array into triplets. Each pixel of the sensor includes both a read transistor and a write transistor. Each cells in the triplet is similar, but each cell is associated with a color filter of a different color, with red, green or blue cells in an R-G-B system. The proximity and small size of the cells in a triplet allows accurate color differentiation each pixel. Color information is adjusted on-chip for color, brightness and contrast before being sent to an external read device or display device. The color filter is a series of passive layers formed on the integrated circuit surface permitting the selective transmission of light or electromagnetic radiation of certain frequency ranges. The filter may be coated onto a semiconductor wafer after the latter has undergone conventional MOS process steps.

Abstract: The invention relates to a direct-type FIR filter, a method for calculating a scalar product in a FIR filter, and a method for designing a direct-type FIR filter. Successive words of a digital input signal are delayed in a delay line having delays (50A-50D) of the duration of one word, and the scalar product between the variously delayed words derived from the delay line and the corresponding constant coefficients is calculated. In accordance with the invention, calculation of the scalar product comprises a) combining the bits of words at the input (X0) and outputs (X1-X4) of the delay line bit by bit in a network of bit-serial subtractor and/or adder elements (51-56) wherein at least one of the bit-serial elements is involved in the multiplication operation of at least two different coefficients, and b) multiplying (49A-K) the multiplication results from the network by powers of two, and summing together (45-48) the results to yield the scalar product.

Abstract: An all-digital frequency synthesizing system that will eliminate spurious frequencies that degrade the overall performance of the generation of a binary waveform. The frequency synthesizing system has a count series retention table that contains a series of count integers that are selected by a count signal that chooses which series of the integers are to be linked to a periodic reference counter. The periodic reference counter will count a number of periods of a periodic reference frequency and when the counter has reached the number of counts that is equal to the number of the count integer, the periodic output signal will be toggled from logic level to another logic level. A new periodic output signal period can be chosen by selecting a new series of count integers in the count retention table. A count compiler will create the series of count integers retained in the count retention table.

Abstract: A variable high frequency voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) which is fully integrated. By controlling, with a control voltage, the collector current flowing through one transistor of the integrated oscillator circuit, the diffusion capacitance (also known as base-charging capacitance) of that transistor is varied. Since, in conjunction with an inductance, this capacitance to a large degree determines the frequency of oscillation of the integrated circuit, a fully integrated VCO is made possible.

Abstract: This invention is an electronic time constant tuning circuit that uses a frequency of a clock to tune the circuit time constant. A first transconductor is used to charge a capacitor to two different voltages, each for a separate portion of a clock period. A second transconductor is used to compare the two voltages and control them to be equal by controlling the transconductance of the first transconductor. When the two voltage are equal, the resulting transconductance and the capacitance of the capacitor form the circuit time constant. The circuit time constant can readily be changed by changing the frequency of the clock. The control signal generated by the second transconductor can be applied to other transconductors in a gm-C filter to adjust the cutoff frequency of the filter when the other transconductors have a similar structure to the first transconductor.

Abstract: A circuit and a method are disclosed for a power start-up reset circuit which is self-timing and which can be fully integrated in a standard CMOS or BiCMOS process along with other digital circuits. The circuit provides a system reset signal which is issued only after all circuit have stabilized by making the issuance of this system reset signal dependent on an oscillator becoming stable and a subsequent count of a fixed number of system clock cycles derived from that oscillator.

Abstract: In this invention a time constant tuning circuit is described in which a reference clock frequency is used to adjust the gm of a transconductor and as a result the time constant of the circuit. This is done by charging a capacitor to a voltage with the current output of a transconductor during a clock period and comparing the voltage charge with another voltage. The error voltage from the comparison is used to control the gm of the transconductor. Changing the clock period changes the gm required to charge the capacitor to a voltage to satisfy the comparison. Thus the filter time constants are directly proportional to the reference clock; and therefore, are independent of process variations. The time constants can be varied by varying the clock frequency and is achieved without the use of a PLL. The output the time constant tuning circuit can be used to tune the time constants of other gm-c filters using similar transconductors and capacitors.

Abstract: A multiple frequency shifting oscillator that will provide a plurality of frequencies dependent upon a contents of an input shifting signal an input shifting signal is disclosed. The multiple frequency shifting oscillator has an amplifier with first input, a second input, which is coupled to a ground reference potential and an output. The multiple frequency shifting oscillator has a first impedance that is coupled between the first input of the amplifier and the ground reference potential, a second impedance that is coupled between the output of the amplifier and the ground reference potential, and a third impedance coupled between the output and the input of the amplifier. The multiple frequency shifting oscillator has a plurality of frequency shifting impedances that when selected will be coupled to the first impedance so as to shift the frequency of the multiple frequency shifting oscillator.