TOP-DOWN RELATIVE DAC CALIBRATION

Organization Name

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION

Inventor(s)

Martin Cochet of South Salem NY (US)

John Francis Bulzacchelli of Somers NY (US)

Timothy O. Dickson of Ridgefield CT (US)

TOP-DOWN RELATIVE DAC CALIBRATION - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 18091513 titled 'TOP-DOWN RELATIVE DAC CALIBRATION

Simplified Explanation:

This patent application describes a system and method for calibrating a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) device by tuning subsets of DAC segments to match the strength of other subsets of segments.

The method involves tuning a second subset of DAC segments to match the strength of a first subset of segments.
The tuning process is iterative and involves adjusting segments associated with lesser significant bits.
The calibration is done in a top-down order from the most significant bit (MSB) to the least significant bit (LSB).
Each subset of segments is tuned to be nominally equal in strength to the corresponding subset.

Key Features and Innovation:

Iterative calibration process for DAC devices.
Tuning of subsets of DAC segments to match strength.
Top-down calibration approach from MSB to LSB.
Nominally equal strength between subsets of segments.

Potential Applications:

Consumer electronics
Telecommunications
Industrial automation

Problems Solved:

Inaccurate digital-to-analog conversion
Variability in DAC segment strengths
Calibration challenges in DAC devices

Benefits:

Improved accuracy in analog output
Consistent performance of DAC devices
Enhanced overall system reliability

Commercial Applications:

Calibration services for DAC devices in various industries to ensure accurate analog output and reliable performance.

Prior Art:

Readers can explore prior research on DAC calibration methods and techniques in the field of digital signal processing.

Frequently Updated Research:

Stay updated on the latest advancements in DAC calibration technology to enhance the performance of digital-to-analog conversion systems.

Questions about DAC Calibration:

1. How does the iterative calibration process improve the accuracy of DAC devices? 2. What are the potential challenges in implementing top-down calibration from MSB to LSB in DAC devices?

Original Abstract Submitted

A system and method for calibrating a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) device. The method includes tuning a second subset of one or more DAC segments to match a strength of a first subset of DAC segments wherein the first subset of DAC segments is of a strength nominally equal to that of the second subset of DAC segments. The process is iterative, and the second subset of DAC segments is associated with lesser significant bits than the bits associated with the first subset of DAC segments. The process is repeated to tune each of successive second subsets of DAC segments to corresponding successive first subsets of DAC segments in top-down order from a segment associated with a MSB input to a segment associated with a LSB input. In each case the first subset of DAC segments is of a strength nominally equal to that of the second subset of DAC segments.