Patent ID: 7443332

Claim:
A converter comprising: an analog input port configured to receive a primary analog input signal; a digital output port configured to provide a primary digital output signal representative of the primary analog input signal; and a plurality of converter stages coupled in a pipeline, wherein a primary input of the pipeline is coupled to the analog input port; wherein each of at least a subset of the plurality of converter stages is operable to: receive a time-continuous respective analog input signal; generate a respective digital output signal based on the received time-continuous respective analog input signal; generate an analog version of the respective digital output signal; generate a respective residue output by combining the received time-continuous respective analog input signal and the analog version of the respective digital output signal; and provide the respective residue output as an analog input signal of a next one of the plurality of converter stages in the pipeline; wherein the converter is operable to generate the primary digital output signal by combining the respective digital output signals of the plurality of converter stages.