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A Unifying Framework for TDC Architectures

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Noise-Shaping All-Digital Phase-Locked Loops

Part of the book series: Analog Circuits and Signal Processing ((ACSP))

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Abstract

A TDC is an analog-to-digital converter that converts the duration of a time interval to a digital word [1].

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In Time-to-Digital Converters \(x\) is the duration of a time interval. Therefore, in a TDC, the difference between two consecutive values of \(th(k)\) is the time resolution.

  2. 2.

    A flash TDC performs comparisons with all quantization levels simultaneously in time. A TDC also compares to all levels but does it sequentially in time.

  3. 3.

    In a Vernier TDC, \(res_A (m)\) and \(res_B (k)\) are the time resolutions.

  4. 4.

    In a Vernier TDC, \(res_{An}\) and \(res_{Bn}\) are the nominal time resolutions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tyndall National Institute, Cork, Ireland

    Francesco Brandonisio

  2. University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    Michael Peter Kennedy

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  1. Francesco Brandonisio
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Correspondence to Francesco Brandonisio .

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Brandonisio, F., Kennedy, M.P. (2014). A Unifying Framework for TDC Architectures. In: Noise-Shaping All-Digital Phase-Locked Loops. Analog Circuits and Signal Processing. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-03659-5_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-03659-5_3

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