Serial-parallel analog-to-digital converter using voltage subtraction

TLDR: In this paper, an analog-to-digital converter includes a first comparator which receives an analog input, and a voltage subtractor circuit which produces an output voltage which represents the voltage difference between a first boundary of the voltage gap which encompasses the analog input voltage and the value of the analogue input voltage.

Abstract: An analog-to-digital converter includes a first comparator which receives an analog input. The first comparator generates a plurality of reference voltages which establish a first continuous range of voltage gaps. The first comparator has a plurality of quantizing outputs, one of which will be at a logical one and the rest of which will be at logical zeros in order to indicate which of the voltage gaps encompasses the analog input voltage. The first comparator also has a reference current output whose magnitude is representative of which voltage gap encompasses the analog input voltage. A first encoder receives the quantizing outputs of the first comparator and generates a binary number which represents which of the voltage gaps the analog input voltage is encompassed by and which constitutes the most significant bit group of the binary digital representation of the analog input voltage. A voltage subtractor circuit receives as inputs the reference current output of the first comparator and the analog input. The voltage subtractor produces an output voltage which represents the voltage difference between a first boundary of the voltage gap which encompasses the analog input voltage and the value of the analog input voltage. The voltage subtractor output voltage is produced concurrently with the action of the first encoder, thereby providing overlapping operations for increased conversion speeds. This voltage is provided as an input to a second comparator which compares the output voltage produced by the voltage subtractor with a plurality of internal reference voltages which form a second continuous range of voltage gaps. The second comparator has a plurality of outputs, one corresponding to each of the voltage gaps encompassed by the reference voltages in the second comparator. The second comparator produces a logical one on an output corresponding to the particular voltage gap which encompasses the difference voltage produced by the voltage subtractor. A second encoder receives as inputs the outputs of the second comparator and generates a binary output which represents the difference voltage produced by the voltage subtractor and which constitutes the least significant bit group of the analog input voltage. In combination, the output of the first encoder and the output of the second encoder form a binary digital representation of the analog input voltage, including the most significant bits and the least significant bits thereof.