The present invention is related to a method and apparatus for detecting and measuring peaks in a signal.
Peak detectors are used to detect the peak amplitude of a signal, such as an analog electronic signal. Examples of peak detector units are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,188,250; U.S. Pat. No. 6,191,621; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,594,384, which are incorporated herein by reference. The main shortcomings of known peak detectors are caused by factors such as capacitor leakage, voltage drop in rectifying diodes, and slow amplifier feedback. An improved peak detector is desirable.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a peak detector includes a pulse edge generator circuit that generates a pulse edge signal in response to the signal peaks of an input signal and a sampler circuit that is triggered to sample the input signal by the pulse edge signal. The pulse edge generator circuit compares the input signal with a delayed version of the input signal to produce a differential signal and generates the pulse edge signal using the differential signal. An analog or digital sampler is triggered by the pulsed edge signal to measure the information, e.g., peak value, of the input signal. One or more delay circuits may be used to align the edges of the pulsed edge signal with the peaks of the input signal. In one embodiment, the peak detector is capable of providing repeatable and accurate measurements of the signal amplitude for variable frequencies of input signals.
The peak detection circuit 110 shown in
The output signals from amplifiers 116a and 116b are received by a differential converter (DIFF CONV) 118. The differential converter 118 produces a differential output signal that is proportional to the phase difference of the signals at its input terminals, i.e., the output signals from amplifiers 116a and 116b.
As illustrated in
Referring back to
When the delay at the delay circuit 114b is reduced the peaks of two input signal waveforms to the differential converter 118 are pulled closer together, resulting in the zero crossing of the differential output signal being closer to the signal peak and, thus, the comparator circuit 136 switching closer to the signal peak. Thus, with a small delay at the delay circuit 114b, the accuracy of the peak detection is increased. However, for wide frequency ranges, setting the delay at delay circuit 114b too small may cause degradation of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) due to the differential converter 118 producing a differential output signal with a low amplitude and flatter slope at the low end of the frequency range. This problem can be dealt with using a variable delay circuit 114b and (or) using a variable gain amplifier (VGA) 132 at the output terminal of the differential converter 118, as illustrated in
The edges in the pulsed edge signals produced by the positive and negative comparator circuits 136 and 138 are aligned with the positive and negative peaks of the input signal IN to the sampler circuit 150 by means of respective programmable clock delay circuits (PROG CLK DELAY) 140 and 142.
After aligning the edges of the pulsed edge signal from comparator circuits 136 and 138 with the positive and negative signal peaks in the input signal IN, the sampler circuit 150 is triggered using the pulsed edge signal to capture information about the values of the peaks of the input signal IN.
As illustrated in
Samplers (SAMPLER POS) 158 and (SAMPLER NEG) 160 receive the input signal IN from amplifiers 156a and 156b, respectively, and are triggered by the edges of the pulsed edge signals from the programmable clock delay circuits 140 and 142, respectively, to measure the information, e.g., peak value, of the signal peak of the input signal IN. The samplers 158 and 160 can be analog circuits, e.g., sample and hold, or an analog to digital converter.
In an embodiment in which only the positive peak or the negative peak is desired to be measured, only one sampler circuit and the preceding amplifier and delay circuits, are necessary in the sampler circuit 150. Additionally, only one comparator and programmable clock delay circuit is necessary in the peak detection circuit 110.
The peak detection circuit 100 provides repeatable and accurate measurements of the signal amplitude for variable frequencies assuming that selected components have constant propagation delay and gain for the selected frequency ranges. The SNR optimization accomplished by using a variable gain amplifier does not alter the position of the edges relative to the signal peaks and thus does not affect the measurement accuracy. For a wide frequency range, sub-ranges can be used with the different delay circuit 114b settings for each sub-range for optimal SNR. The edge position alignment will then be required only within each sub-range.
Table 1 provides exemplary components and their manufacturer for the peak detector 100 illustrated in
Is should be understood that the above components are provided for illustrative purposes and that other appropriate components may be if desired. Moreover, additional components or circuits may be used. For example, another transformer, similar to TRANS1 may be located after the amplifiers 156a and 156b in front of the A/D converters of the sampler circuits 158 and 160.
Although the present invention is illustrated in connection with specific embodiments for instructional purposes, the present invention is not limited thereto. Various adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the foregoing description.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/788,511, filed Mar. 30, 2006, entitled “Peak Detector”.
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3826988 | Wise et al. | Jul 1974 | A |
3968487 | Herring et al. | Jul 1976 | A |
4311960 | Barr | Jan 1982 | A |
4943974 | Motamedi | Jul 1990 | A |
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6191621 | Ota | Feb 2001 | B1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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60788511 | Mar 2006 | US |