Abstract: A method for screening a semiconductor device for production of excessive random telegraph sequence (RTS) noise includes measuring noise of the semiconductor device at a first temperature, changing the temperature of the semiconductor device to a second temperature different from the first temperature, measuring noise of the semiconductor device at the second temperature, extracting a characteristic of the measured noise at the first and second temperatures (e.g., standard deviation, HMM output, frequency domain spectrum of time domain noise measurement), making a comparison of the extracted first and second noise characteristics, and making a determination whether the semiconductor device produces excessive RTS noise based on whether the comparison is above a predetermined threshold. Two different bias conditions of the device may be employed rather than, or in addition to, the two different temperatures.

Abstract: A signal processing system may include a signal path and a chop management circuit. The signal path may comprise a chopper configured to chop a differential input signal to the signal path at a chopping frequency and a low-pass filter downstream of the chopper and configured to filter out intermodulation products of a direct current offset of the signal path and intermodulation products of an aggressor on the differential input signal in order to generate an output signal. The chop management circuit may be communicatively coupled to the chopper and configured to, based on operational parameters associated with the signal path, dynamically manage energy of one or more clock signals used to define the chopping frequency.

Abstract: A system may include amplifier circuitry configured to drive an electromagnetic load with a driving signal and a processing system communicatively coupled to the electromagnetic load and configured to compensate for current-sensing error of the processing system caused by feedback circuitry of the amplifier circuitry.

Abstract: A digital-to-analog converter may include an integrator, an input network comprising a plurality of parallel taps, each member of the plurality of parallel taps having a signal delay such that at least two of the signal delays of the members of the plurality of parallel taps are different, and wherein each member of the plurality of parallel taps is coupled between an input of the digital-to-analog converter and an input of the integrator, and control circuitry configured to selectively enable and disable particular members of the plurality of parallel taps in order to program an effective input resistance of the input network to control an analog gain of the digital-to-analog converter, such that the control circuitry enables an even number of members at a time, with half of such enabled members in a first group and half of such enabled members in a second group.

Abstract: Pulse width modulation (PWM) driver circuitry comprising: a loop filter configured to receive an analog input signal and to output a digital loop filter output signal based on the analog input signal and an analog feedback signal; and a PWM modulator configured to receive a digital signal based on the digital loop filter output signal and to output a PWM signal, wherein the PWM driver circuitry further comprises a feedback path coupled to an output of the PWM driver circuitry for the analog feedback signal.

Abstract: A feedforward correction block for use in a multi-level output system may include circuitry configured to determine an occurrence of a mode transition between operating modes of the multi-level output system, capture a loop filter output of a signal path of the multi-level output system occurring before and after the occurrence of the mode transition, and based on the transition and a change in the loop filter output responsive to the transition, determine a transition-specific compensation function to apply to a feedforward input signal of the signal path that is combined with the loop filter output.

Abstract: A digital-to-analog converter may include an integrator, an input network comprising a plurality of parallel taps, each member of the plurality of parallel taps comprising a respective input resistance, and control circuitry configured to selectively enable and selectively disable particular members of the plurality of parallel taps in order to program an effective input resistance of the input network to control an analog gain of the digital-to-analog converter.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for detecting a microphone condition of a microphone, the method comprising: applying an electrical stimulus to a microphone; measuring an electrical response to the electrical stimulus at the microphone; comparing the electrical response to an expected response; and determining the microphone condition based on the comparison.

Abstract: Accurate operation of a current monitor is provided by injecting a bias voltage to a maintain de-selected sense amplifier input in an active state. An electronic system includes an output stage to supply a load current and includes two push-pull output drivers having sense resistors supplying a first and a second sense voltage. An included mode control circuit selects between a first and a second operating mode and selects a polarity of the current. An included current monitor receives the sense voltages and has a control input coupled to the mode selection control circuit. The current monitor provides an output that is dependent on both sense voltages in the first operating mode and is indicative of one of the sense voltages selected according to the selected polarity in the second operating mode. The bias voltage is injected into an unselected sense inputs to maintain active operation of the sense amplifier.

Abstract: A howling detector is described that is configured to receive an input signal and to determine measure of the linearity of a logarithmic representation of the energy of the input signal. In some examples, this triggers gain adjustment (e.g. of a noise control unit) and, in some further examples, the amount of the gain adjustment may be based on an estimation of the maximum stable gain of a noise control unit.

Abstract: A system for sensing an electrical quantity may include a sensing stage configured to sense the electrical quantity and generate a sense signal indicative of the electrical quantity, wherein the electrical quantity is indicative of an electrical signal generated by a Class-DG amplifier configured to drive a load wherein the Class-DG amplifier has multiple signal-level common modes and a common-mode compensator configured to compensate for changes to a common-mode voltage of a differential supply voltage of the driver occurring when switching between signal-level common modes of the Class-DG amplifier.

Abstract: The overall performance of an ANC system may be improved by configuring the ANC system to perform adaption in the frequency domain. The ANC systems may be configured to update an algorithm of an adaptive filter based, at least in part, on the first input signal, the second input signal, and a feedback signal that is based on an output of the adaptive filter. Updating may include changing parameters of the algorithm based on a SDR based, at least in part, on the first input signal. Updating may also include normalizing a step size and processing at least full band information for the input signal in a frequency domain to generate coefficient values for the algorithm. Updating may also include applying a frequency domain magnitude constraint on adaptive filter coefficients.

Abstract: A system may include a front end differential amplifier having two input terminals, two input resistors, each of the two input resistors coupled to a respective one of the two input terminals, and an input common mode biasing circuit for an output stage of the front end differential amplifier, the input common mode biasing circuit comprising two current sources configured to generate currents for biasing the output stage of the front end differential amplifier.

Abstract: A battery management system configured to electrically couple to a battery may include a boost converter comprising a plurality of switches arranged to provide a boosted output voltage at an output of the boost converter from a source voltage of the battery and a bypass switch coupled between the battery and the output, wherein the battery management system is operable in a plurality of modes comprising a bypass mode wherein the source voltage is bypassed to the output and when the battery management system is in the bypass mode, at least one switch of the plurality of switches is enabled to increase a conductance between the battery and the output.

Abstract: Driver circuitry for driving a load based on an input signal, comprising: at least one variable boost stage comprising: first and second input nodes configured to receive a first voltage and a second voltage respectively; first and second flying capacitor nodes for connection to a flying capacitor therebetween; a network of switching paths for selectively connecting the first and second input nodes with the first and second flying capacitor nodes; an output stage for selectively connecting a driver output node to each of the first and second flying capacitor nodes; and a controller operable in a first boost mode to: control the output stage to selectively connect the driver output node to the first flying capacitor node; control the network of switching paths to switch connection of the second flying capacitor node between the first and second input nodes at a controlled duty cycle; and in a first charge top-up cycle, control the network of switching paths to connect the first input node to the first flying c

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to circuitry for performing a multiply-accumulate (MAC) operation. The circuitry comprises a first multiplexer having a plurality of inputs for receiving a plurality of unary-coded input signals representing operands of the MAC operation and an output for outputting a multiplexer output signal representing a result of the MAC operation and a first vector quantizer configured to receive a plurality of weighting signals, each representing a proportion of a computation time period for which a respective one of the unary-coded input signals should be selected by the multiplexer and to output a first selector signal to the multiplexer to cause the multiplexer to select each of the input signals in accordance with the plurality of weighting signals.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to switching drivers for driving a transducer. A switching driver (202) has supply nodes for receiving supply voltages (VSH, VSL) defining at least one input voltage and an output node (104). A controller (205) controls operation of the first switching driver to generate a drive signal for the transducer at the output node (104), based on an input signal (Sin). A first capacitor (201a) is connected between first and second capacitor nodes (104, 204a) and a second capacitor (201b) is connected between the second capacitor node (204a) and a third capacitor node (204b). A network of switches (203) selectively connects any of the driver output node, the second capacitor node and the third capacitor node to either of a respective pair of said supply nodes, with the first capacitor node connected to the first driver output node.

Abstract: A single-inductor multiple output (SIMO) switched-power DC-DC converter for a class-D amplifier provides outputs that are symmetric about a common-mode input voltage of the amplifier, while remaining asymmetric about a return terminal of the amplifier and switching converter. The DC-DC converter includes an inductive element, a switching circuit that energizes the inductive element from an input source, and a control circuit that controls the switching circuit. The control circuit may have multiple switching modes, and in one of the multiple switching modes, the switching circuit may couple the inductive element between outputs of the converter so that stored energy produces a differential change between the voltages of the outputs. The control circuit may implement a first control loop that maintains a common mode voltage of the pair of outputs at a predetermined voltage independent of the individual voltages of the pair of outputs.

Abstract: Pre-conditioning circuitry for pre-conditioning a node of a circuit to support a change in operation of the circuit, wherein the circuit is operative to change a state of the node to effect the change in operation of the circuit, and wherein the pre-conditioning circuitry is configured to apply a voltage, current or charge directly to the node to reduce the magnitude of the change to the state of the node required by the circuit to achieve the change in operation of the circuit.

Abstract: An amplification system with an output driver stage for providing an output signal to acoustic output transducers such as speakers or haptic output devices removes signal distortion caused by output stage non-linearities by pre-distorting an input signal. The system includes the output driver stage, an input stage for receiving the input signal, and a processing block that receives the input signal and provides an output signal to the output driver stage. The processing block includes a pre-distortion circuit that applies a pre-distortion function to the input signal to generate the output signal if a signal level of the input signal is greater than a threshold amplitude, and if the signal level is less than or equal to the threshold amplitude, generates the output signal from the input signal by bypassing the pre-distortion circuit.