Abstract: Improvement of quantization errors that arise in a delay line with finite resolution. A direct digital synthesizer (DDS), which contains a numerically controlled oscillator (NCO) and a digital-to-phase converter (DPC), is placed in the feedback loop of a phase locked loop (PLL). The DDS is used as a fractional divider of the voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) frequency, such that the reference frequency of the DDS is made variable. Alignment of the edges provided by the DDS delay line may then be adjusted. Mismatch errors in the DDS delay line are reduced by utilizing independently tunable delay elements.

Abstract: A DPC (300) includes: a frequency source (310) for generating a clock signal; a delay line (320) for receiving the clock signal and generating phase-shifted clock signals at output taps; a digital control device (330) for generating a control signal; and a windowing and selection circuit for generating the output signal, that includes sequential logic devices (500, 510, 520) and a combining network. A method for use in a DPC includes: receiving (400) a control signal based on a desired output signal that identifies a first output tap on the delay line; based on the control signal, selecting (410) at least two output taps on the delay line for receiving at least two different phase-shifted clock signals; and generating (420) an output signal based on the control signal and the received phase-shifted clock signals that is substantially the desired output signal.

Abstract: A direct digital synthesizer (DDS) (300) that uses a system for reducing spurious emissions in a digital-to-time converter (DTC) (317). The DDS (300) includes one or more dither sources (307) and a random access memory (RAM) (305). The RAM (305) utilizes a look-up table for storing delay error values by using an output of the look-up table which is combined with the dither source (307) to compensate unequal unit delay values in the DTC (317).