Abstract: A method of operating an analog-to-digital converter includes in a first conversion period, a comparator generating a first comparison result, a first selection circuit switching a voltage output to a first capacitor of a set of larger capacitor of a first capacitor array, and a second selection circuit switching a voltage output to a second capacitor of a set of larger capacitor of a second capacitor array, and in a second conversion period after the first conversion period, the comparator generating a second comparison result different from the first comparison result, the first selection circuit switching back the voltage output to a first capacitor portion of the first capacitor of the set of larger capacitor of the first capacitor array, and the second selection circuit switching back the voltage output to a first capacitor portion of the second capacitor of the set of larger capacitor of the second capacitor array.

Abstract: A pipeline analog to digital converter includes converter circuitries and a calibration circuitry. The converter circuitries sequentially convert an input signal into a plurality of first digital codes, in which a first converter circuitry in the converter circuitries is configured to perform a quantization according to a first signal to generate a first corresponding digital code in the first digital codes, and the first signal is a signal, which is processed by the first converter circuitry, of the input signal and a previous stage residue signal. The calibration circuitry combines the first digital codes to output a second digital code, detects whether the quantization is completed to generate control signals, and determines whether to set the second digital code to be a second corresponding digital code in predetermined digital codes according to the control signals.

Abstract: An analog-to-digital conversion system includes an analog-to-digital converter and a power supply. The analog-to-digital converter is configured to convert an analog input signal to generate a digital output signal, and configured to generate a control signal according to a state of converting the analog input signal. The power supply is configured to provide a supply voltage to the analog-to-digital converter, and change the ability to provide the supply current of the power supply according to the control signal to stabilize the supply voltage.

Abstract: A semiconductor capacitor array layout includes a first conductive structure and a second conductive structure. The first conductive structure includes: longitudinal first conductive strips in a first integrated circuit (IC) layer; and lateral first conductive strips that are in a second IC layer and coupled to the longitudinal first conductive strips. The longitudinal and lateral first conductive strips jointly form well-shaped structures including outer wells and inner wells. The outer wells are not electrically coupled to the inner wells. The second conductive structure includes second conductors that are respectively disposed in the well-shaped structures in the first IC layer. The second conductors include outer second conductors respectively positioned in the outer wells and inner second conductors respectively positioned in the inner wells. The outer second conductor are not electrically coupled to the inner second conductor.

Abstract: A finger-type semiconductor capacitor array layout includes a first conductive structure and a second conductive structure. The first conductive structure includes longitudinal first conductive strips and lateral power supply strips. The second conductive structure includes longitudinal second conductive strips and P lateral power supply strip(s). The longitudinal first conductive strips and the longitudinal second conductive strips are alternately disposed in a first integrated circuit (IC) layer; and the longitudinal first conductive strips include a first row of strips and a second row of strips. The lateral power supply strips are located in a second IC layer, and coupled to the first and second rows of strips through vias. The P lateral power supply strip(s) is/are located in the second IC layer, and include(s) a first-capacitor-group power supply strip that is coupled to K strip(s) of the longitudinal second conductive strips through K via(s). The P and K are positive integers.

Abstract: A semiconductor capacitor array layout generates parasitic capacitance toward an edge of the layout so as to reduce a capacitance difference between an outer capacitor unit and an inner capacitor unit. The semiconductor capacitor array layout includes a first conductive structure and a second conductive structure. The first conductive structure includes: longitudinal first conductive strips disposed in a first integrated circuit (IC) layer; and lateral first conductive strips disposed in a second IC layer. The longitudinal and lateral first conductive strips jointly form well-type structures including outer wells and inner wells that are electrically connected. The second conductive structure includes second conductors disposed in the first IC layer. The second conductors include outer conductors and inner conductors that are electrically disconnected and respectively disposed in the outer wells and the inner wells. The outer wells and the closest inner conductors jointly generate parasitic capacitance.

Abstract: A cross-type semiconductor capacitor layout includes a first conductive structure and a second conductive structure. The first conductive structure includes longitudinal first conductive strips and lateral first conductive strips. The second conductive structure includes longitudinal second conductive strips and lateral second conductive strips. The longitudinal first conductive strips and the longitudinal second conductive strips are alternately disposed in a first integrated circuit layer. The lateral first conductive strips and the lateral second conductive strips are alternately disposed in a second integrated circuit layer. The lateral first conductive strips are coupled to the longitudinal first conductive strips through vias. The lateral second conductive strips are coupled to the longitudinal second conductive strips through vias.

Abstract: A pipeline analog to digital converter (ADC) includes converter circuitries, a detector circuitry, and a clock generator circuit. The converter circuitries sequentially convert an input signal to be digital codes. One of the converter circuitries includes a sub-ADC circuit and a multiplying digital to analog converter (MDAC) circuit. The sub-ADC circuit performs a quantization according to a first signal to generate a corresponding one of the digital codes, in which the first signal is the input signal or a previous stage residue signal. The MDAC circuit processes the corresponding one of the digital codes in response to a first clock signal, in order to generate a current stage residue signal. The detector circuitry detects whether the quantization is complete, in order to generate a control signal. The clock generator circuit adjusts a timing of the first clock signal according to the control signal.

Abstract: A method of operating an analog-to-digital converter includes in a first sampling stage, switching a swap signal to a first level for a first selection circuit to reset a first capacitor array according to a first voltage configuration and for a second selection circuit to reset a second capacitor array according to the first voltage configuration, and in a second sampling stage, switching the swap signal to a second level for the first selection circuit to reset the first capacitor array according to the second voltage configuration and for the second selection circuit to reset the second capacitor array according to the second voltage configuration. A control logic circuit is used to switch the swap signal between the first level and the second level in a uniform order in a plurality of sampling stages.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a DAC method having signal calibration mechanism is provided. Operation states of current sources are controlled to generate an output analog signal by a DAC circuit according to a codeword of an input digital signal. An echo signal is generated by an echo transmission circuit according to the output analog signal. The codeword is mapped to generate an offset signal by a calibration circuit according to a codeword offset mapping table. The offset signal is processed to generate an echo-canceling signal by an echo-canceling circuit. By a calibration parameter calculation circuit, offset amounts are generated according to a difference between the echo signal and the echo-canceling signal, the offset amounts are grouped to perform statistic operation according to the operation states and current offset values are calculated according to calculation among groups and converted to codeword offset values to update the codeword offset mapping table.

Abstract: The present invention discloses an analog to digital conversion (ADC) apparatus having quick conversion mechanism. Each of ADC circuits receives a previous higher-bit conversion result to perform prediction to generate a current higher-bit conversion result, performs conversion on an input analog signal according to a sampling clock that has a frequency at least twice of the frequency of the input analog signal based on a successive-approximation mechanism to generate a current lower-bit conversion result, and combines the current higher-bits and current lower-bit conversion results to generate a current conversion result and output a remained signal amount as a residue. A noise-shaping circuit performs calculation based on the residue to generate a noise-shaping reference signal. Each of the ADC circuits combines the current conversion result and the noise-shaping reference signal to generate an output digital signal.

Abstract: An analog-to-digital converter, configured to convert an input signal into an n bits digital output signal, includes a capacitor module, a control signal generation unit, a comparator, and a register. The capacitor module is configured to receive the input signal at a sampling phase in a normal mode, and to generate a first sampling signal and a second sampling signal according to the input signal in a conversion phase. The control signal generation unit is configured to adjust the first sampling signal or the second sampling signal in the conversion phase. In the normal mode, the comparator is configured to compare the first sampling signal and the second sampling signal in the conversion phase to generate n comparison signals. The register is configured to store the n comparison signals as the digital output signal, and output the digital output signal in the normal mode.

Abstract: A control circuit of a pipeline analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is provided. The pipeline ADC includes a multiplying digital-to-analog converter (MDAC) which includes a capacitor. The control circuit includes six switches and two buffer circuits. The first and second switches are respectively coupled between one end of the capacitor and the first and second reference voltages. The output terminals of the first and second buffer circuits are respectively coupled to the first and second switches. The input terminal of the first buffer circuit is coupled to the third reference voltage through the third switch, or receives a control signal through the fifth switch. The input terminal of the second buffer circuit is coupled to the fourth reference voltage through the fourth switch, or receives the control signal through the sixth switch. The first and second reference voltages are different, and the first and second switches are not turned on simultaneously.

Abstract: A method of operating an analog-to-digital converter includes in a first sampling stage, switching a swap signal to a first level for a first selection circuit to reset a first capacitor array according to a first voltage configuration and for a second selection circuit to reset a second capacitor array according to the first voltage configuration, and in a second sampling stage, switching the swap signal to a second level for the first selection circuit to reset the first capacitor array according to the second voltage configuration and for the second selection circuit to reset the second capacitor array according to the second voltage configuration. A control logic circuit is used to switch the swap signal between the first level and the second level in a uniform order in a plurality of sampling stages.

Abstract: A method for receiving data includes receiving a transmission signal through a channel, adjusting the intensity of the transmission signal to generate an adjusted transmission signal according to an analog gain level, converting the adjusted transmission signal into a digital signal, filtering the digital signal to generate a filtered signal according to a set of filter coefficients, and adjusting intensity of the filtered signal according to a digital gain level. The method further includes, in a training mode, estimating a transmission condition of the channel and adjusting the analog gain level and the digital gain level according to the transmission condition for obtaining convergent values for the set of filter coefficients before the training mode ends, and in a data mode, performing a gain adjustment operation to adjust the analog gain level and to adjust the digital gain level according to the adjustment made to the analog gain level.

Abstract: A pipeline analog to digital converter includes converter circuitries. The converter circuitries are configured to sequentially convert an input signal to be digital codes. The converter circuitries includes a first converter circuitry and a second converter circuitry. The first converter circuitry is configured to a convert a first signal to be a first digital code in the digital codes, and generate a first residue signal according to the first signal and the first digital code. The second converter circuitry is configured to receive the first signal and the first digital code to quantize the first signal according to the first digital code, in order to generate a second digital code in the digital codes, and generate a second residue signal according to the first residue signal and the second digital code.

Abstract: A channel estimation method is configured to estimate a channel length. The method includes the following operations: receiving an input signal; summing the input signal and an analog echo cancelation signal decrease an echo of the input signal, and generate a first signal according to a result of the summation; providing an analog gain value to the first signal to generate a second signal; performing an analog-to-digital conversion to the second signal to generate a third signal; obtaining a ratio according to an energy of a first frequency and an energy of a second frequency of the third signal; and estimating the channel length according to the ratio, and setting the analog gain value according to the estimated channel length.

Abstract: Disclosed is a sample and hold circuit and method capable of amplifying an input signal. The method includes: in a sample phase, receiving a first (second) input signal with top electrodes of first (second) capacitors, and receiving the second (first) input signal with all bottom electrode(s) of at least a part of the first (second) capacitors; in a hold phase, stopping receiving the first (second) input signal with the top electrodes of the first (second) capacitors, and receiving a first (second) group of reference signals with the bottom electrodes of the first (second) capacitors, so that the first (second) capacitors provide a first (second) sample voltage on the top electrodes of the multiple first (second) capacitors through charge redistribution, wherein the first and second input signals are a pair of differential signals and they are opposite to each other.

Abstract: A time interleaved analog-to-digital converter (TIADC) is provided. The TIADC converts an input signal into a digital output signal and includes N analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), a clock generation circuit, and a control circuit. The N ADCs receive the input signal and sample the input signal according to N sampling clocks to each generate a digital output code, N being an integer greater than or equal to 2. The clock generation circuit is configured to receive a working clock and a set of control values and to generate the N sampling clocks according to the set of control values and the working clock. The control circuit is configured to periodically generate the set of control values based on a pseudo random number and to output the digital output codes in turn as the digital output signal.

Abstract: A channel estimation method is configured to estimate a channel length. The method includes the following operations: receiving an input signal; summing the input signal and an analog echo cancelation signal decrease an echo of the input signal, and generate a first signal according to a result of the summation; providing an analog gain value to the first signal to generate a second signal; performing an analog-to-digital conversion to the second signal to generate a third signal; obtaining a ratio according to an energy of a first frequency and an energy of a second frequency of the third signal; and estimating the channel length according to the ratio, and setting the analog gain value according to the estimated channel length.