Patent ID: 7271750

Claim:
An analog-to-digital converter system, comprising: signal-processing stages which include successive signal converters that process samples of an analog input signal at a sample rate, wherein: a) all but a last one of said stages has a respective stage gain to thereby provide an output signal to a succeeding one of said stages; b) said stage gain is realized with the aid of an amplifier that amplifies a signal at an amplifier input node with an amplifier gain; and c) each of said signal converters is configured to generate a digital code that corresponds to the output signal of the preceding one of said stages; a code aligner/corrector that temporally aligns and corrects the digital codes of said signal converters to thereby provide a system digital code that corresponds to said analog input signal; a converter that converts an error signal at the input node of a selected one of said stages to a digital error signal; and a controller configured to process said digital error signal and the back-end digital code of back-end ones of said signal converters that succeed said selected stage to thereby form an amplifier gain estimate and adjust said back-end digital code with said stage gain and said estimate to enhance the accuracy of said system digital code.