Patent ID: 7436334

Claim:
An amplifier comprising: an input signal node for conveying an input signal having an input signal value; an output signal node for conveying an output signal having an output signal value; amplifier circuitry coupled to the input signal node and provided with at least a first intermediate output signal node for conveying a first intermediate output signal having a first intermediate output signal value, and a second intermediate output signal node for conveying a second intermediate output signal having a second intermediate output signal value, whereby the first intermediate output signal value relates to the input signal value in accordance with a predetermined first signal gain and the second intermediate output signal value relates to the input signal value in accordance with a predetermined second signal gain, which predetermined second signal gain is at least ten times higher than the predetermined first signal gain; and a signal selector arranged to select one of the intermediate output signals and to feed the selected one to the output signal node; wherein the signal selector comprises an analogue comparator bank to compare the intermediate output signal values against reference values.