Patent ID: 8159272
Filing Date: 2012-04-17
Classification: G01R

Abstract:
1. A system comprising an apparatus for measuring a time interval between first and second selected edges of a clock signal, said apparatus comprising: an edge generator having a first output node for producing a first edge derived from a first edge of the input clock signal, and a second output node for producing a second edge derived from the second selected edge of said input clock signal; a first multi-tap delay module having its input operatively coupled to said first output node of said edge generator for providing a first constant delay at each tap; a second multi-tap delay module having its input operatively coupled to said second output node of said edge generator for providing a second constant delay at each tap where each second constant delay is incrementally less than each first constant delay; and a multi-element phase detector in which each element has a first input operatively coupled to a selected tap of said first multi-tap delay module, and a second input operatively coupled to a corresponding tap of said second multi-tap delay module, the outputs of said multi-element phase detector providing a value of the time interval.