High resolution time-to-digital converter

摘要

A time to digital converter (TDC) has a pair of digital oscillators. The periods of the oscillators differ by TDelta. The oscillators are triggered by START and STOP pulses. A counter counts a number of pulses until reference points on the signals output by the oscillators coincide. Measurements may be made using a dual resolution method. Intrinsic jitter of the TDC can be determined by comparing sets of measurements in which the switch in resolutions is made at different points. A range extender circuit may be provided to extend a valid measurement range of the TDC.