Patent Publication Number: US-2023134950-A1

Title: Single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit, successive-approximation register analog-to-digital converter utilizing same, and method of converting single-ended signal to differential-ended signal

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to single-ended signals and differential-ended signals (also referred to as differential signals), and, more particularly, to circuits and methods of converting a single-ended signal to a differential-ended signal and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) utilizing a single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Even though differential signals are widely used in modern electronic components, single-ended signals can still be seen. The swing of single-ended signals is only half the swing of differential signals, and the single-ended signals are susceptible to noises. The conversion of single-ended signals into differential signals is helpful in improving the performance of electronic components and thus plays an important role in this technical field. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the issues of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide single-ended to differential-ended converter circuits and methods of converting a single-ended signal to a differential-ended signal, so as to make an improvement to the prior art. 
     According to one aspect of the present invention, a single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit is provided. The single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit receives a single-ended signal and outputs a differential signal at a first output node and a second output node. The single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit includes a first sampling capacitor, a second sampling capacitor, and a switch group. The first sampling capacitor has a first end and a second end. The first end is coupled to the first output node, and the second end receives a reference voltage. The second sampling capacitor has a third end and a fourth end. The third end is coupled to the second output node. The switch group is coupled to the first output node, the second output node, and the fourth end. At a first time point, the switch group couples the first output node and the first end to the single-ended signal, couples the second output node and the third end to the reference voltage or a middle voltage value of a swing of the single-ended signal, and couples the fourth end to the single-ended signal. At a second time point, the switch group couples the fourth end to the reference voltage. The differential signal is outputted after the second time point which is later than the first time point. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, a successive-approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is provided. The SAR ADC includes a comparator, a SAR, a first sampling capacitor, a second sampling capacitor, a first capacitor group, a first switch group, a second capacitor group, a second switch group, a control circuit, and a third switch group. The comparator has a first input terminal and a second input terminal and configured to generate a comparison result. The SAR is coupled to the comparator and configured to store the comparison result. The first sampling capacitor has a first end and a second end. The first end is coupled to the first input terminal, and the second end receives a reference voltage. The second sampling capacitor has a third end and a fourth end. The third end is coupled to the second input terminal. The first capacitor group includes a plurality of first capacitors, and an end of the first capacitors is coupled to the first input terminal. The first switch group coupled to another end of the first capacitors. The second capacitor group includes a plurality of second capacitors, and an end of the second capacitors is coupled to the second input terminal. The second switch group is coupled to another end of the second capacitors. The control circuit is coupled to the SAR and configured to control the first switch group and the second switch group according to the comparison result. The third switch group is coupled to the first input terminal, the second input terminal, and the fourth end. At a first time point, the third switch group couples the first input terminal and the first end to a single-ended signal, couples the second input terminal and the third end to the reference voltage or a middle voltage value of a swing of the single-ended signal, and couples the fourth end to the single-ended signal. The third switch group couples the fourth end to the reference voltage at a second time point which is later than the first time point. 
     According to still another aspect of the present invention, a method of converting a single-ended signal to a differential signal is provided. The method includes the following steps: providing a first sampling capacitor which has a first end and a second end; providing a second sampling capacitor which has a third end and a fourth end; at a first time point, controlling the first end to receive the single-ended signal, controlling the second end to receive a reference voltage, controlling the third end to receive the reference voltage or a middle voltage value of a swing of the single-ended signal, and controlling the fourth end to receive the single-ended signal; and at a second time point, controlling the second end to receive the reference voltage and controlling the fourth end to receive the reference voltage. The first end and the third end output the differential signal after the second time point which is later than the first time point. 
     According to the present invention, the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuits and the methods of converting a single-ended signal to a differential-ended signal increase the signal swing by converting the single-ended signal to a differential signal, thereby increasing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the signal and improving the performance of electronic components (e.g., successive-approximation register (SAR) ADCs). 
     These and other objectives of the present invention no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the various figures and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIGS.  1 A and  1 B  are circuit diagrams of a single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIGS.  2 A and  2 B  are circuit diagrams of a single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIGS.  3 A and  3 B  each show an embodiment of the clock CLK. 
         FIGS.  4 A and  4 B  are circuit diagrams of a single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  5    is a circuit diagram of a single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  6    is a circuit diagram of a SAR ADC according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  7    is a circuit diagram of a SAR ADC according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  8    is a flowchart of a method of converting a single-ended signal to a differential-ended signal according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  9    is a flowchart of a method of converting a single-ended signal to a differential-ended signal according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     The following description is written by referring to terms of this technical field. If any term is defined in this specification, such term should be interpreted accordingly. In addition, the connection between objects or events in the below-described embodiments can be direct or indirect provided that these embodiments are practicable under such connection. Said “indirect” means that an intermediate object or a physical space exists between the objects, or an intermediate event or a time interval exists between the events. 
     The disclosure herein includes single-ended to differential-ended converter circuits, SAR ADCs utilizing the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit, and methods of converting a single-ended signal to a differential-ended signal. On account of that some or all elements of the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuits and the SAR ADCs utilizing the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit could be known, the detail of such elements is omitted provided that such detail has little to do with the features of this disclosure, and that this omission nowhere dissatisfies the specification and enablement requirements. The methods of converting a single-ended signal to a differential-ended signal can be performed by the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuits or their equivalents. A person having ordinary skill in the art can choose components or steps equivalent to those described in this specification to carry out the present invention, which means that the scope of this invention is not limited to the embodiments in the specification. 
       FIG.  1 A  and  FIG.  1 B  are circuit diagrams of a single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention. The single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  100  receives the single-ended signal VIP and the reference voltage Vrefn in the sampling phase ( FIG.  1 A ), and outputs the signal VOP and the signal VON (collectively, the differential signal VO) from the output node N_a and the output node N_b in the hold phase ( FIG.  1 B ). In other words, the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  100  converts the single-ended signal VIP into the differential signal VO. The single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  100  includes a sampling capacitor C_Ra, a sampling capacitor C_Rb, a switch group  110 , and a logic circuit  120 . The switch group  110  includes a switch  110 _a, a switch  110 _b, and a switch  110 _c. One end of the sampling capacitor C_Ra is coupled or electrically connected to the output node N_a, and the other end of the sampling capacitor C_Ra receives (i.e., is coupled to) the reference voltage Vrefn. One end of the sampling capacitor C_Rb is coupled or electrically connected to the output node N_b, and the other end of the sampling capacitor C_Rb receives, through the switch group  110  (specifically, through the switch  110 _c), the single-ended signal VIP or the reference voltage Vrefn. The logic circuit  120  generates the control signal CS (including the control signal CS 1  and the control signal CS 2 ) according to the clock CLK. The switch  110 _a and the switch  110 _b are controlled by the control signal CS 1 , while the switch  110 _c is controlled by the control signal CS 2 . 
     As shown in  FIG.  1 A , in the sampling phase, the logic circuit  120  controls the switch  110 _a and the switch  110 _b to be turned on, and controls the switch  110 _c to switch to the single-ended signal VIP. In other words, in the sampling phase, the voltage at the output node N_a and the voltage at one end of the sampling capacitor C_Ra are identical to the single-ended signal VIP, the voltage at the output node N_b and the voltage at one end of the sampling capacitor C_Rb are identical to the reference voltage Vrefn, and the voltage at the other end of the sampling capacitor C_Rb is identical to the single-ended signal VIP. 
     As shown in  FIG.  1 B , in the hold phase, the logic circuit  120  controls the switch  110 _a and the switch  110 _b to be turned off, and controls the switch  110 _c to switch to the reference voltage Vrefn. In other words, in the hold phase, the signal VOP is identical to the voltage at the output node N_a (i.e., the voltage at one end of the sampling capacitor C_Ra), the signal VON is identical to the voltage at the output node N_b (i.e., the voltage at one end of the sampling capacitor C_Rb), and the voltage at the other end of the sampling capacitor C_Rb is identical to the reference voltage Vrefn. 
     If the single-ended signal VIP=VCM+DELTA_V and the reference voltage Vrefn=VCM+VCMdelta, the differential signal VO is shown in equation (1). 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   { 
                   
                     
                       
                         
                           VOP 
                           = 
                           
                             VCM 
                             + 
                             DELTA_V 
                           
                         
                       
                     
                     
                       
                         
                           VON 
                           = 
                           
                             
                               
                                 
                                   
                                     ( 
                                     
                                       VCM 
                                       + 
                                       VCMdelta 
                                     
                                     ) 
                                   
                                   - 
                                   DELTA_V 
                                   + 
                                 
                               
                             
                             
                               
                                 
                                   VCMdelta 
                                   = 
                                   
                                     VCM 
                                     - 
                                     DELTA_V 
                                     + 
                                     
                                       2 
                                       × 
                                       VCMdelta 
                                     
                                   
                                 
                               
                             
                           
                         
                       
                     
                   
                 
               
               
                 
                   ( 
                   1 
                   ) 
                 
               
             
           
         
       
     
     where VCM represents the common-mode voltage of the single-ended signal VIP (i.e., the middle voltage value of the swing of the single-ended signal VIP), DELTA_V represents the signal component of VIP, and VCMdelta represents the difference between the common-mode voltage of the single-ended signal VIP and the common-mode voltage of the reference voltage Vrefn. 
     The term “2*VCMdelta” in equation (1) is the conversion error amount of the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  100 . As shown in equation (1), the differential signal VO is a differential signal (i.e., the signal VOP and the signal VON both contain the signal component DELTA_V), meaning that the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  100  converts the single-ended signal (VIP) into a differential signal (VO). Moreover, because the signal component of the differential signal VO (i.e., the difference between the signal VOP and the signal VON, which is 2*DELTA_V-2*VCMdelta) includes the term “2*DELTA_V,” the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  100  has the effect of amplifying the single-ended signal VIP. 
       FIGS.  2 A and  2 B  are circuit diagrams of a single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit according to another embodiment of the present invention. The single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  200  is similar to the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  100 , except that in the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  200 , the switch  110 _b couples the output node N_b to the common-mode voltage VCM of the single-ended signal VIP, instead of the reference voltage Vrefn. As a result, equation (1) becomes equation (2) below. 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   { 
                   
                     
                       
                         
                           VOP 
                           = 
                           
                             VCM 
                             + 
                             DELTA_V 
                           
                         
                       
                     
                     
                       
                         
                           VON 
                           = 
                           
                             VCM 
                             - 
                             DELTA_V 
                             + 
                             VCMdelta 
                           
                         
                       
                     
                   
                 
               
               
                 
                   ( 
                   2 
                   ) 
                 
               
             
           
         
       
     
     The term “VCMdelta” in equation (2) is the conversion error amount of the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  200 . The conversion error amount of the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  200  is less than that of the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  100 . As shown in equation (2), similar to the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  100 , the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  200  can not only convert the single-ended signal VIP into the differential signal VO but also amplify the single-ended signal VIP. 
       FIGS.  3 A and  3 B  each show an embodiment of the clock CLK. The period of the clock CLK is T. “Φs” represents the sampling phase, while “Φh” represents the hold phase. The sampling phase Φs may correspond to the high level of the clock CLK ( FIG.  3 A ), while the hold phase Φh may correspond to the low level of the clock CLK ( FIG.  3 A ); alternatively, the sampling phase Φs may correspond to the low level of the clock CLK ( FIG.  3 B ), while the hold phase Φh may correspond to the high level of the clock CLK ( FIG.  3 B ). In other words, in some embodiments, the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  100  and the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  200  operate alternately in the sampling phase Φs and the hold phase Φh according to the clock CLK. 
     For  FIG.  3 A , at the rising edges of the clock CLK (time point t 1 , time point t 3 , . . . ), the logic circuit  120  controls the switch  110 _a and the switch  110 _b to be turned on and controls the switch  110 _c to switch to the single-ended signal VIP; at the falling edges of the clock CLK (time point t 2 , time point t 4 , . . . ), the logic circuit  120  controls the switch  110 _a and the switch  110 _b to be turned off and controls the switch  110 _c to switch to the reference voltage Vrefn. 
     For  FIG.  3 B , at the falling edges of the clock CLK (time point t 1 , time point t 3 , . . . ), the logic circuit  120  controls the switch  110 _a and the switch  110 _b to be turned on and controls the switch  110 _c to switch to the single-ended signal VIP; at the rising edges of the clock CLK (time point t 2 , time point t 4 , . . . ), the logic circuit  120  controls the switch  110 _a and the switch  110 _b to be turned off and controls the switch  110 _c to switch to the reference voltage Vrefn. 
     People having ordinary skill in the art can design the logic circuit  120  according to the above discussions; that is, the logic circuit  120  can be an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or embodied by circuits or hardware, such as a programmable logic device (PLD). 
       FIGS.  4 A and  4 B  are circuit diagrams of a single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit according to another embodiment of the present invention. The single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  400  is similar to the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  100  and the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  200 , except that the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  400  further includes a capacitor C_ 1   a  and a capacitor C_ 1   b . The voltage Vx may be the reference voltage Vrefn or the common-mode voltage VCM. One end of the capacitor C_ 1   a  is coupled or electrically connected to the output node N_a, and the other end of the capacitor C_ 1   a  receives the reference voltage Vrefn. One end of the capacitor C_ 1   b  is coupled or electrically connected to the output node N_b, and the other end of the capacitor C_ 1   b  receives the reference voltage Vrefn. In this embodiment, the differential signal VO can be adjusted by adjusting the ratio of the capacitance value of the sampling capacitor C_Ra (or the sampling capacitor C_Rb) to the capacitance value of the capacitor C_ 1   a  (or the capacitor C_ 1   b ). For example, when the capacitance values of the sampling capacitors C_Ra and C_Rb are both X units and the capacitance values of the capacitors C_ 1   a  and C_ 1   b  are both Y units, the signal component of the differential signal VO of the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  400  is X/(X+Y) times the signal component of the differential signal VO of the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  100  (or the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  200 ). 
       FIG.  5    is a circuit diagram of a single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit according to another embodiment of the present invention. The single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  500  is similar to the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  100  (note that  FIG.  5    shows only the hold phase), except that the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  500  further includes a capacitor group  520 _a and a capacitor group  520 _b. The capacitor group  520 _a includes m first capacitors (C_ 1   a , C_ 2   a , . . . , C_ma, where m is an integer greater than one, and some components are omitted in the figure), while the capacitor group  520 _b includes m second capacitors (C_ 1   b , C_ 2   b , . . . , C_mb, where m is an integer greater than one, and some components are omitted in the figure). One end of the first capacitors is coupled or electrically connected to the output node N_a, and the other end of the first capacitors receives the reference voltage Vrefn. One end of the second capacitors is coupled or electrically connected to the output node N_b, and the other end of the second capacitors receives the reference voltage Vrefn Similar to the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  400 , the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  500  can adjust the magnitude of the signal component of the differential signal VO by adjusting the equivalent capacitance values of the capacitor group  520 _a and the capacitor group  520 _b. 
     In some embodiments, the capacitance values of the m first capacitors and the m second capacitors increase or decrease in a binary progression; for example, the capacitance values of the capacitors C_ 1   a  (C_ 1   b ), C_ 2   a  (C_ 2   b ), . . . , C_ma (C_mb) are 1C, 2C, 4C, . . . ,  2   m-1  C, respectively (C being the unit capacitance value). 
       FIG.  6    is a circuit diagram of a SAR ADC according to an embodiment of the present invention. The SAR ADC  600  employs the above-discussed single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  100  or single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  200  and further includes a comparator  610 , a SAR  620 , a control circuit  630 , a switch group  640 _a, a switch group  640 _b, a capacitor group  650 _a, and a capacitor group  650 _b. 
     The switch group  640 _a includes m first switches (S_ 1   a , S_ 2   a , . . . , S_ma, where m is an integer greater than one, and some components are omitted in the figure), and the switch group  640 _b includes m second switches (S_ 1   b , S_ 2   b , . . . , S_mb, where m is an integer greater than one, and some components are omitted in the figure). The capacitor group  650 _a (or the capacitor group  650 _b) includes m first capacitors (or second capacitors), and one end of each first capacitors (or second capacitors) is coupled or electrically connected to the output node N_a (or the output node N_b), the other end of each first capacitor (or second capacitor) is coupled to the reference voltage VRP or the reference voltage VRN through their corresponding first switch (or second switch). In some embodiments, the reference voltage VRP is a high voltage, the reference voltage VRN is a low voltage, and the reference voltage Vrefn is not the reference voltage VRP and the reference voltage VRN. 
     The comparator  610  has a first input terminal (electrically connected to the output node N_a) and a second input terminal (electrically connected to the output node N_b). The comparator  610  compares the voltage at the output node N_a and the voltage at the output node N_b, and generates a comparison result Dk. The SAR  620 , which is coupled to the comparator  610  and the control circuit  630 , stores the comparison result Dk. The control circuit  630  controls the switch group  640 _a and the switch group  640 _b according to the register value(s) of the SAR  620  and the clock CLK. The details of the control of the switch group  640 _a and the switch group  640 _b by the control circuit  630  are well known to people having ordinary skill in the art and thus omitted for brevity. 
     Similarly, in some embodiments, the capacitance values of the m first capacitors and the m second capacitors increase or decrease in a binary progression. 
     Since the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  100  and the single-ended to differential-ended converter circuit  200  have the effect of amplifying the single-ended signal VIP, the SAR ADC  600  of the present invention has better performance (e.g., better SNR), compared to the SAR ADC that does not implement the single-ended to differential-ended conversion. 
       FIG.  7    is a circuit diagram of a SAR ADC according to another embodiment of the present invention. The SAR ADC  700  is similar to the SAR ADC  600 , except that in the embodiment of  FIG.  7   , the logic circuit  120  is integrated into the control circuit  730 ; therefore, the control circuit  730  further generates the control signal CS according to the clock CLK. 
       FIG.  8    is a flowchart of a method of converting a single-ended signal to a differential-ended signal according to an embodiment of the present invention, which converts the single-ended signal VIP into the differential signal VO. The method includes the following steps. 
     Step S 810 : providing a first sampling capacitor C_Ra, which has a first end (i.e., the end coupled or electrically connected to the output node N_a) and a second end. 
     Step S 820 : providing a second sampling capacitor C_Rb, which has a third end (i.e., the end coupled or electrically connected to the output node N_b) and a fourth end. 
     Step S 830 : at the first time point t 1 , controlling the first end to receive the single-ended signal VIP, controlling the second end to receive the reference voltage Vrefn, controlling the third end to receive the reference voltage Vrefn (corresponding to  FIGS.  1 A and  1 B ) or the middle voltage value of the swing of the single-ended signal VIP (corresponding to  FIGS.  2 A and  2 B ), and controlling the fourth end to receive the single-ended signal VIP. 
     Step S 840 : at the second time point t 2 , controlling the second end to receive the reference voltage Vrefn and controlling the fourth end to receive the reference voltage Vrefn. 
     The second time point t 2  is later than the first time point t 1  (as shown in  FIGS.  3 A and  3 B ), and the differential signal VO after conversion is outputted from the first end and the second end after the second time point t 2 . 
       FIG.  9    is a flowchart of a method of converting a single-ended signal to a differential-ended signal according to another embodiment of the present invention. The method, which converts the single-ended signal VIP into the differential signal VO, includes steps S 810 -S 820 , S 910 -S 920 , and S 830 -S 840 . Since steps S 810 -S 820  and S 830 -S 840  are the same as those in  FIG.  8   , the details are not discussed herein again for brevity. 
     Step S 910 : providing a first capacitor C_ 1   a , which has a fifth end and a sixth end, with the fifth end coupled or electrically connected to the first end, and the sixth end receiving the reference voltage Vrefn. 
     Step S 920 : providing a second capacitor C_ 1   b , which has a seventh end and an eighth end, with the seventh end coupled or electrically connected to the third end, and the eighth end receiving the reference voltage Vrefn. 
     Since a person having ordinary skill in the art can appreciate the implementation detail and the modification thereto of the present method invention through the disclosure of the device invention, repeated and redundant description is thus omitted. Please note that the shape, size, and ratio of any element in the disclosed figures are exemplary for understanding, not for limiting the scope of this invention. Furthermore, there is no step sequence limitation for the method inventions as long as the execution of each step is applicable. In some instances, the steps can be performed simultaneously or partially simultaneously. 
     The aforementioned descriptions represent merely the preferred embodiments of the present invention, without any intention to limit the scope of the present invention thereto. Various equivalent changes, alterations, or modifications based on the claims of the present invention are all consequently viewed as being embraced by the scope of the present invention.