CA1294675C

CA1294675C - 10 gigasample/sec two-stage analog storage integrated circuit for transient digitizing and imaging oscillography

Info

Publication number: CA1294675C
Application number: CA000583104A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Raymond S. Larsen; James T. Walker
Original assignee: Analytek Ltd
Current assignee: Analytek Ltd
Priority date: 1987-11-16
Filing date: 1988-11-15
Publication date: 1992-01-21
Anticipated expiration: 2009-01-21
Also published as: DE3887831T2; EP0317236A2; DE3887831D1; JP2627655B2; AU604208B2; ATE101747T1; JPH01239469A; AU2510388A; US4922452A; EP0317236A3; EP0317236B1

Abstract

ABSTRACT
An analog integrated circuit is disclosed using integrated field effect transistor technology comprising a plurality of sampling and storage cells. A two-stage sampling cell design is used. The first stage incorporates a very small capacitor coupled to the input signal through a high speed gate.
This gate, which is opened only by the simultaneous occurrence of row and column cells in the circuit, causes this first capacitor to capture at very high speed a sample of the analog signal under study. When all the first capture sections of the cell have captured on their capacitors a sample of the analog signal, a transfer gate is briefly opened to transfer the captured and buffered sample values to the second or storage section of the cells. This storage section incorporates a capacitor substantially larger than the capacitor in the capture section, and capable of storing the signal for a considerably longer time.

Description

6~

I~TEGRATED CIRCUIT FOR TRANSIENT
DIGITIZING AND IMAGING OSCILLOGRAPHY
Cross Reference to Related Application A high speed analog signal sampling circuit is shown in U.S. patent number 4,811,2~5 by two of -the inventors named here-in.
Background of the Invention This invention is directed generally to an analog stor-age device and more particularly to a device for very high speedsampling of analog pulse information.
There is a great need to e~tend the range of measurement capabilities of high speed, very short lived electrical phenomena.
Such measurements are particularly important in the growing fields of laser communications research, laser fusion energy research, nuclear research, weapons study, and high speed imaging. Other possible applications include biological research, materials re-search, and accelerator and high energy physics research. Transi-ent digitizing techniques are already in use in most of these areas. However, in known systems, the accuracy degrades signifi-cantly with increases in transient speed of the signal to be sampled.
Prior efforts in this field have been limited by the fact that the storage capacitor for storing the signal sample must be kept extremely small, rendering it highly susceptible to leak-age which degrades the accuracy of the sample. Moreover, because of the small siæe of the capacitor, the sample can only be held for a very short time.

~ urther limika~ion o~ known ayE;tem~ in the ~ield is that they ~re r~ot ~d~ptable to slmultnneou~ reading of a plurallky of ~imul~aneouE;ly occurring ~ign~16.

Current: l~own D~ethod~ are limit~d to ~amplln~ ~peeds of S about 100 MH~ with accuracie~ o~ 6-~ bit~. ~e~e de~fices, :known a~; fla6h ~n2l10sito-digital converter~ (~DCs), are expen~ive, c:on~ume hlgh power, ~nd reguire high 6peed, gh power ~nd exp~nsive ~e~norie~ r d~ta storage . Dual range t~chnlqueE; tc> ~ncreas~ 'che ~Icc~aracy beyond eight 10 bit~; becDme ~pproximat~ly twice ~s expen6ive.
Summ~ ry of t21e InventiQEI
It iB an objectiv~ thi6 invention to provide a system c:apable of 6igni~icantly improved ~ampling of fa~t pulse ~ignalfi in a ~res~uency r~nge and ~1: a ~ampling ~peed use-15 ~ul ~ n laser rlnd nuc:lear research and de~r~lopment, s~ommu-nications, imag~ ny and other purpo es .

A $urth~r objec:tive herein ~s to provide reduced per-ch~nnel cc~t~ in high 6peed ~ampling applications, especially where ~ultipl~ channel~ must be simultaneously 20 ~ampled.

a ~Eurther l~b~ ectiv~ to provide improved dens ity ~nd power con~umptic~n ~rl an ultra-hi gh ~apeed ~ampl ing circuit, ~aking f~a~ible very large multi-channel ~rrays.

Mor~ part~cul~s~ly, ~n e~bjective herein i5 to providl~ a 25 ~ampling 6p6~ed ~ncrease ov~r current pul~e campling circuit technolo0ie~ of approacim~tely 100 ~i~es (twt~
- order6 of ~gr~itude~ ~or 3hort durat~t7n pulse ~vents.

1~ ~urther ab~ec~ve her~n i~ to prc~vide ~ ~ignal Gampl-~ng devi~e capa}:)le o~ ~ ~and width of gre~ater than one 30 G~z at 3~b r~ f f .

5 ~ 1 0/3~S

67~

Another o~ectiv~ her0~n iB to prov~de an amplitude aocuracy ial~provement over current ~la6h ~DCs cf 1-1/2 ord~r6 of ~agnitud~ ~or the basic d~vi~e ~lD bi'cs com par~d with Ei~ x bitE~; O.1~6 cf 1. 5% for full ~c~le) .

5 A further ~nd related objective her~in i~ to provide a high 6peed E~am~ling Bevice which cc~n~u~es low power and has a r~ tively low co~t per channel.

A furtller objective hea:ein i6 to pro~ide an ~ntegrated circuit 31evice h~ring as~ ective and efficient multiple 10 chann~l capability ~or bein~ adapted to two- or three-di:~er~sional 6ampling ~rrays~

A ~urth~r obj ectiv~ l~erein i 6 to provide a high peed digitizing circuit that can be easily reconfigured for longer ~torage time interv~ nd which further includes 15 a reprogra~nakle ~a~pling rate for daptation to a wide range o~ E;ignal frequencies.

The rec:onflgurable ~igh density and low cost ~eatures of thie invention allow the device to be adapted for ~uch applic~tion~ a8 recording of ~ingle transient phenome~a ;~o for extended peri~d~ o~ ti~e; generation o~ ~ stored ocsillo~cope di~play; ~3~pu~er stor~ge of hundreds ~r thoucand~ of channel~ v~ related or independent data; ~r generation o~ hlgh ~pead, hiyh r~salution graphics or related picture ~tor~ge ~y6te~s wi~h aper~ure ~imes of ~pproxi~ately 0~1 n~no~e~ond~ per pho~ograph ~nd pic~ure r~t~ Df 101~ per ~c~n~.

In thi6 invention, it ha6 ~een re~ognized that a large ~d ~xtre~ely ~portant ~la~s of ov~nts s~guire only that :the~e ~xtr~ely ~6t pheno~ena ~e observ~d ~r a ~hort ~riod o~ time. Thi~ ~vorable duty cycle l~nds itself to t~e invention t~ be ~escri~ad. Some circu~stances will r~guire t~e ob~erva~ion o ~ny such signals A-45210fJAS

7~i 61multz~nee:>u61y, or o:~ certain eignal~ over a ~ore extend ~d p~rlod of time. ~gain, the invention to be described c:an be configured to addre66 these l;pecial requir~ments.

In 6umm3~ry, the invention compri~e6 ~n analc~g $ntegrated 5 eircuit uE;ing ~nte~rated ~ield e~fect ~ran~ tor techno-logy co~npri~ ng ~ plurality ~E 6ampling ar: d 6torage ~ells. To achieve t,he high speed p~rf~ nce required, a twc>- taç~ ampling cell de~;ign i6 u~;led. The fir~t ~tage inc~ rat~6 a very 6mall capacitor coupled to the input 10 ~ignal tl~rough a l~lgh ~peed gate. This gate, which is ~p~ned only ~y the ~imultanec>u~ occurrence of row ~nd column ~ell~ ~Ln the circuit, cau~;e~; tl~i~ fir~k capacitor to capture ~t very 21igh ~peed ~ ~ample of the analog ~ignal under stu~y. When a~l the ~ir~t capture ~ections 15 oP the c:ell haYe captured on their capacitc)r~ a ~ample of the analc~ signal, a tranc:f~r qate is briefly opened to transfer th~ captur~d and buf~ered ~ample values to the second or storag~ E~ect~on of the c:ells. Thi~ E;t~rage ~ection incorpora~tes ~ capacitor E~ub6tantially larger 20 than the s:apacitor ~n the capture ~ec'cion, ~nd capable of 6torlng the 6ignal for a ~on~iderably longer tiDle.

Th~ ~torage ~ectiorl~ ar~ read out in ~ multiplex~d fash~
ion through ~n output bu~r ~:omprl~ing a pair of ~natched tran61etors ~oeding ~n analog output ~pli:fier. The out-25 put a~pli~ er i6 d~signed to provid~ voltag~ ~eedback toone of 'che two ~atch~d tran~i~tor6 o~ t~e output buffer ~o th~t nc~n-linear~ti~s ~r~ remov~d from lthe 6ignal rapre~enting the ~ctuaï output whi ::h is read by tha tran-tor fro~ th~ ~torage cap~citor; ~nwhile, the n~n-30 destructivc~ readc~ut format iB ~aintained. Further, byUBe ~f the ~eparate output 3bu~Eer in co~nbln~til~n with a ~3taged ~torzlg6~ ~ection/ th~ r~ad ir~ and r~zld-out 3l~0d~s of the c~ll nre s~parated, and could ~unction ~i~nultane~usly if dl~ired, 1~-4 5 21 OJJAS

61051-2231 VM:lad The cells are assembled on integrated circuit chips comprising in a preferred embodiment 1024 (32x32) storage cells.
A further novel feature herein is that various arranyements of the inputæ can be made to extend the captured record length, both horizontally in terms of the number of channels being sampled, and vertically in terms of the length of the record. Because of the extremely low inpu~ capacitance of a given column of cells, it is practical to combine cell groupings either vertically to add additional devices, or horizontally to columns of devices, to achieve sampling groupings that are extremely flexible and can be more easily tailored to a particular application. Thls flexibility is of paramount importance in certain applications where many thousands of parallel data channels must be instrumented. The high speed timing required to allow the coupling of different portions of the same signal to a single channel or adjacent channels is achieved either through the use of delay lines, the delay lines being used to delay the input of the analog signal being sampled to the next adjacent chann~l; or by application of a ga~ing signal to the capture section of a cell v~a a high-speed parallel output shift register, or equivalent timing technique.
In accordance with a broad aspect of the invention ther~
is provided a high speed data acquisition system for storing a succession of sampled values of an analog signal compri~ing analo~
signal input means and analog signal ou~put means, a first analog bus connected to said input means and a second analog bus connected to sald output means, a storage array comprising a 7~i 5a 61051-2231 VM:lad plurality of cells arranged in rows and columns, row clock means coupled to said array for selectively activating each row of said array, column cloc]c means coupled to said array for selectively activating each column of said array, said analog signal beiny directly coupled to said array to supply said signal to the cells of said array, each of said cells comprising a first, capture section responsive to said row and column clock means for capturing one of said sample values at high speed~ a storage sec~ion for holding said captured sample value for a relatively lonyer perlod ~han said capture section, an output buffer for transferring said captured sample ~o said analog signal output means, and transfer means for transferring said captured sample from said cap~ure section to said storage section, whereby a very high speed sample of said analog signal may be taken by said capture section, said sample thereafter being transferred to said storage section.
BrieE Descrip~ion of the Drawings The details and advantayes of this invention will become apparent to a person of skill in the art who studies the following description of a preferred embodiment given in conjunction with the following figures, which comprise:
Figure 1 is a detailed schematic view of the two-staye sampler and output buffer design;
Figure 2 is a timing diayram illustratiny the signal to : be sampled and the timing signals needed to æample this inpu~
signal;

FIG 3 ~llu~;trate~; ~n alternative ~rr~y of timing 6ignals u~able with th~ nt c~f FIG 1 tc) 6ample the analog input ~ignal;

FIG 4 ic; ~ 6chematic diagram of the output buffer and 5 output ampl~ r 6ehem~ u6ed to linearize the output data of the ~a~npling cell;

FIG 5 i~ a ~chem~tic diagr~m of a driver circuit used to drive on~ o~ th~ cc)rltrol gates o~ the capture ~ection and having ~n extre~ely rapidly ~alling l:railing ~dge for lo ~ontrolling the ~ste:

FIG 6 illustrat~ the ba6ic ~rranqe~ent of a plurality of input cell~ arrayed ln colu~ns to sample a plur~lity of ~eparate input 6ignal~;

FIG 7 illu~tr~tes an alt~rn~tiYe to FIG 6 in which the 15 array of 1024 cellæ Dl~y be uE;ed to ~ample a ~ir,gle input signal Vl;

FIG 8 illustrates ~n alternative arrangement in which an entire integrated chip of 1024 eells ~s used to E;ample four ~nput 6ignals Vl-V4:

20 FIG 9 illustr~te6 an ~rrangement lncorporating alterna-I:ive u~es of delay llnes to delay ~pplication o~ the input ~ignal . r the cll~ck E~ignal to columns s~f cells in order 'co ~i~plify the gener~tion ~f timing ~ignal~; nnd FIG 10 illustr~tes an alternative arr~ngement incorporat-25 ing a plurality of int~gratsd clrcui'c chips ~ach compris-lng 1~)2~ C~ 6, the data or clock ~ignal~ being delaye~
~y ~ppropriately Gc~nne~ed del~y lineE; ~r ~ r delay device to captur~ ~ ~equenc~ OI ~amples of ~n analog ~ignal over an extended period o~ ti~e.

6'~

--7~
Detail~d Descrip~ion of a Preferred Embodiment The tw~;ct~e c~11 de~ gn 20 u~ed tc: ~;ampl~ an analog signal lnput V~ hown in schemat~ rm in FIG 1.
~his ~mpling ~ell 20, which ~ clude~ ~irst ~nd ~econd 5 6tages co:mpri~ing a t:apture ~;tage 22 and ~ etor~ge 6tage 24 opt~m~ ze6 the ~peed o~ sampling. q~e go~ f th~
I;amplins~ design 1~ to ach~eve el circui~ lnput band width of great~r than 1 G;Hz ~ ~nd ~ampling ~peed~ of up to 10 GHz (10 gigasa~ple~/6ec, sr GS/6). TAe æpe~d of the lo basic c:ircuit is~pl~!sment~tibn to b~ de~t~ribed i5 limited only by th~ input-~Eollowing ti~e c~nE;tant which defines the bandwidth, and ~y t~e external fa . t ti~lng circuitry (which will be de6crib~d with respect to FIG 5~ which mu~t generate elean ~ign~l~ of 1 nanc~econd tr~nsition 15 time ~or optimum perf~rmance ~t ~ 1 GS/~ r~te in the current iD}: lementation .

The principle l~f operation OI the basic 6ampling cell is a_ ~ollows: the analog SIGNAL IN (V; ahown also ~t the tQp line ~f FIG 2~ pplied t~ the input of the 6amp-20 ling cell~; 20 through a c~ n anal~ bus 30 on the ~nt~grated circuit chip that will carry a large num~er of the cell~, typically 1024 per chip. ~he typical ~inglo 6ampling oell 20 co~pri~es two ~t~ge~ he first, called the eignal s:apture 6;~ct~sn 22, ~ncludes es~entially a 25 pair o~ FET s~ates Ql, Q3 ~ollowed by a ~mall ~ampling o~pacitor Cl. This c~pacitos Cl ha~ ~n extremely small value, ~nd 311~y s~entially c:o~nprise only the s . ray capa-citance ~f th~ input circuit. The reason for the use of ry low v~lue c~paci1:ance i~ ~:o reduce ~he input 30 capacit~nce c~f the Ga~plinçl ce~ll 20, m~xiD~izing the speed of 6ampling and the nu~iber of ~11G th~t ~y be connected tc~ the co~non bu~ 30. ~or optiYnum bandwid~t~, the voltage ~ollowing RC time con~tant 3~11St be very ~hort; therefore, a pr~ferred ~ dilDent o~ the desiqn ~or capacitor Cl 35 ~nini~izes the v~lue l:o approxi~nately 0.1 plcofarads, so A-4 S 21 O~JAS

6t;~

~B -tA~t the ~e tlme c~n~tant become~ ~pproximately lO0 pico-seconds, leading to an input bandw~ dth o~ 1. 6 GHz .

I'h~ storage ~apa~it~r Cl ~ buffered by a voltaye follow-~r circuit 32 rompri~ing ~ palr o~ FET6 QS ~nd Q6. In an 5 ~lternatiYe embc~dixaent, the buiE~er eir~u$t 32 ~nay be repla~ed wilth a stag~ providlng voltage qain. l:ach sam-pling cell 20 i5 activated ~y the ~:oincid~nt ~ccurrence o~ ~ pair ~r sign~ F~ and ~C~ (FIG 2t lin2s 21, 23), applied t~ g~teE3 34, 36 o~ ~he pair o~ ~ran6iE;tors Ql and lO Q3 . Typic~lly, the column si~rlal ~e ~ r~mains on for the entirçs ti~e a colu~ c~ ~ell~ i B to be ~nabled. The fast gate oontrol ~;lgnalE~ applied to the gate 34 c~f transistor Ql are gener~t~d ~ hip ~preferably u~ing the circuit of FIG 5) and c~u e lthe ~torlng oP a value of ~ p;~rtiru 15 lar v~ltage taken fr~m the ~nalog 6ignal ~ nt the occur-rence of ~he traili~g edge o~ ~he ~t~rage g~te wavef~rm ~Fi . The capture ~ection 22 in ::ludes two ~urther tran-6i~tor~ Q2 ~nd Q4, ~dh~6e ~unction~ contribute to the ~sccura~y o~ capture Istage 22, and the ~ccuracy of 20 tran~fer of the captured E;a~ple to the next eucceeding ~torage stage 2~a. Tran~i6tor Q~, coupled between the ~unctlon of transi6t0rs Ql and Q3 and controlled by ~ignal INH (FIG 2 f llne 25) ~ GOC~p~rateS wlth tr~nsi~tor Ql to for~ cer ~gain~ unwanted 6ign~1 eed l:hrough 25 during reaa-~ut oi~ the data. Low requency nc~ise ignals ill be attenu~ted in the r~tio f R2on/ lof~
frequency eed lthrough will b~ ited by ~l~e at~enuation f~tor o~E Z;2on~Xlo~, where Xl ~ primarily the reac-tanc~ OI 'c~le ~l:ray c~p~cltance fro:m the input to the 30 ~unction of t21 ~nd Q3. ~ransi~tor Q4 is coupled between the junct~ on of tr~n~istor Q3 ~nd capac:itor Cl, ~nd grc~und, ~t~ ~t~te b~lng cvntroll~d by the ~ign~ (FIG
2,11n~ 27)o As ~ppear~ at th~ bot~om o~ FIC 2, th~ state o~ ~ign~l ~R is c:h~nged to 5~round cap~ci~ r Cl, discharg-35 ing it co~pletely. Tran~i6tor ~24, togeth~r wi~h ~9--tran~ or Q3, t~us ~orms ~ E~econd ~ilter to isolatenoi~e ~rom re~dinsll thf3 6ample ~n C2.

In 6u~nmary, ~ample~ of the ~IGN~ IN V~ ar~ taken at the trailing edqe o~ e~ h ~a6t yate E~ignal ~F L appl~ ed to the 5 gate of tran~tor Ql and stored on cap~c:$tor Cl. 5ince cap~citor Cl iE~ v~ry 6mall, ~te hold ti~ue ~ 6 liT~ited to v~ hr~x~ ti~e~; o~ the order o~ ~ ~ew hundred ~nicro-~econds. ~rherefors~ the 6ample ~ell 20 of thi~ invention compr~e~ a 6econd stage or oe~torzlge ~ection 24 immediate-lo ly ~ollowing the fir~i;t l;ta~e c:omprising ~ate Q7 activatedby a ~ignal ~T ~nd a l~rs~er l3torage capacitor C2 which ha~ a v~lue ~ approximately 1 pi:ofarad. ~his l;~orage ~ectic~n 24 provides ~ Estoras~e time for the ~ample cell 2 0 of hundreds o:f ~illi6e~:Qnds. It ean be ~een from FIG 2 15 l:hat the tr~nsfe3: gate, co~pri6ing i:rarlsi~t~r Q7, is enabled ~y the signal ~T ~at ~ tiDle following the fast ~ate signal ~ to the tran6isltor Ql of the last ~ampling cell 20 of an ~rray. Thif~ way, ~11 the data or ~naloq ~a:nples ~tored on the ::apacitor Cl o~ ~very cell 20 are 20 trarl~ferr~d simultaneously to the ~torage ~tages ~4 and speci~ically the cApacitcr6 C2. It $s ~ ~eature o~ this invention that at the ti~ne T2 (FIG 2, l~ne 27) when the ~ata ~re tran6ferred ~ro~n ~2e capture ~ection 2 to the ~tora~ ~e~tlon 24, ~nother ~a~t write cyc:le ca~ imm~di-25 ~tely c:~D~e~lce ~ven ~hile the original data is not yetread ~ut or ~B l:~eing read out v~ th~ laultiplexed read lines 4~, 44. Thu~, ~ double ~hot ~East c:~pture ~ode is po~ible, ~o long as the ~rst ~at~ ~a~ple transferred to th~ storage ~tag~ c~pflcitor C2 ie r~3ad out rapidly ~nough 30 that tl~a dynamically ~tored data th~ t~red in l:he ~econ~ rs:und c~f dalt~ nple~ on ~e ~:~pture ~;tage capaci-tor C~ ~e not siyn~ antly deteriorate ~efor~ transfer of the ~ec~nd ~ pl~ ~Lnl:t~ the ~econd ~tage ~torage capacitor C2.

The Btorage ti;ne extQnsion provided by the ~toragP 6tage 24 i3 particularly ~mportant ~Ln typical imple~entations b~here lergla array~ o~ c:ell~ are to be read out over a c~on analog 3: u~ a~ ~ill be di6cuss2~ ~ith respect to ~IG 10. Capacitor C2 of the ~torag~ 6tage 24 $a followed by ~n output buf ~r 5't:~gç3 40 compri~ing a 1:ransi~tsr Q8 operating in oon~unction with ~ r~fer~nce cell Q9 to ~rovide a dlf~Eer~ntial zmal~g read-out ~ignal cor,sisting OI the ~;alopled voltage and the reference voltzlge impress-lo ed upon di~feren~ial analog outpuk buses 42, 4d,. This operation will be axplaill6ad in greater detail below.

A ~llrther impo:rtant ~eature of the desi~n of the 6ampling ~:ell of ~lG 1 is it~ adaptability to ~ontrol by the over-lapping ti~ing l?ul~e~ shD~m ~or exa~nple in FIG 3. ~s discussed abov~, the ga~e of tran6i~tor ~21 which controls the 6ampling of the analo~ s;ignal V~ causes the F~ample to be takerl upon the c~ccurrence of the trailing ~dge of the control ~ignal 4F; at gate 34. Bec~use of thi~ and th~
further *act that the length of time for which lthe ~teady E;~ate of ~he 6ignal ~Fi to any ç~ate 34 may ~xi~t is not relevallt to the 6a~ple time, a ~erie~ of overlapping timing signal6 s~uch a~ thD6e hc)wrl ~n FIG 3 and labelled 60, 62, ~4 ~ay be ~ppli~ad to the gate~ of the transistors Ql or a plurality o~ 6~epar te ~:~116 that are receiving the 6a~e input ~lgnal Vl, 65. It ~an be seen in FIG 3 that 6ignals ~50, 62, 64 ~er~selves overlap, but that the trailing edges thereo~ are 6~parated by per~aps 100 pico-6econd~ . Thus in l:he ~x~mpl~ 6hown ~n ~IG 3 J 10 adj acent ~ell~ at once could be ~urned on and actively trac~ing - 30 and ~a2npllnsl the input vDltage w~lveform. The actual sam-ples wc~uld b~ t~kerl ~t ~e trailing edges o:E th~ contr~l ~ignal~ 60-64, which edges eBn be very C:lQg~ly ~paced in ti~e. B~csu~e s~ v~ry ~all cap~ei~ance of the c~pture ~Itage . apacitc~r Cl, the input i~ loaded Dnly very 3s ~lightly ~Dore than i~ would be n~ally. In contrast, no~lly the input capacitance to ~ large csll~ction OI

~ 61051-2h31 cells would be very large compared with the inpu~ capacitance of a single cell. Thls advantage is achieved in part because each cap-ture stage 22 o-f this cell design 20 is isolated by the input FET gate Ql, so that the input capacitance is limited to being essen-tially the capacitance of the channel of the F~T Ql itself.
Turning to FIG. 4, the dif-ferential read-out scheme of this invention is shown in detail therein. To read out the volt-age stored in any sampling cell 20, -the particular cell is select-ed by the multiplexing yate 70 in a manner already known in this technology and described for example in the abovementioned U.S.
patent 4,811,285.
The multiplexed differential output signals 72, 74 are fed through a pair of operational amplifiers 76, 78 into a voltage sensitive high gain operational amplifier 80. The output of this amplifier 80 is read as the output signal VouT of the samp-ling cell and is applied as a feedback signa] VREF to the gate of transistor Q9 through a filter section (not shown). By this feedback action, the current difference between transistor Q8 (which provides the actual stored sample from storage section 24) and transistor Q9 (which comprises the reference transistor) is minimized or nulled to a fraction of the sampled voltage, that fraction being defined by the ratio of the closed loop to the open loop gain as in any known feedback circuit. The transistors Q8 and Q9 are of matched monolithic construction to minimize differ-ences between the reference signal 72 and output sample 74. The amplifier 80 is a high gain amplifier that can be adjusted to minimize the error in matching the currents from Q8 and Q9. The result of this is that a linear transfer is provided -from the capacitor C2 to the voltage output VREF, with any non-linearities in the operating characteristic curve of the transis-tors being clivided by the ~orward gain of the ampli~i~r to reduce their ~igni-nce.

E~y providins~ the operatio~l a3nplifier~ 76, 78, and 80, between the ou1:pu~ buffer ~n~ the ~gnal output, and S ~eedinç~ ~utput E~ l VREF bacX to the ~tched trarl istor Q9, the volt~e th~t appear~ ~t the gate af the FET
~uf~er tran~$;tor ~29 will b~ ~dent1cal to lthe voltage re6iding on thQ ~mpling ~ap~citor e2 ~ att~ched to the galt~ 3f FET bu~fer trAn~i6tor Q~. Transist~r6 Q8 and Q9 10 ar~ identical in ~tructure and very clo~ely coupled phy6~ cally a~ are the ~ sequent differential pairs of tran~i~tor~ inc:orporated $n the ~nultiplexing read~ c:ut bu~;~s. Ther~fore, t~e diæclosed de~ gn will provide a clo~e tracking ~etween the ~utput volt~ge VOUT of the 15 circuit whlch i6 nc~w t~e re~erence Yolt~ge, VREF, and the sa~npled 6ignal vc~ltage, to a first order. This unique read-out ~nethcsd removes the need for ~ir6t order lineari-~ati~n ~f the data to c:ompensate fc~r the inherent non-l~nearitie~ in non-fed-back circuits. Correcticn o~ ~am-20 pled data ~or other erfacts, uch ~s timing and thresholdvariations in the rell6, which are second order effects lmp~rt~nt only at the highest frequency of operation, can 6t:ill be applied by ~axternal c~libration correction means th~'c will l:e ~e~cribed l~ter. ~r many ~pplications, the 25 simpl~ lin~arization provided by th~ operational amplifi-~r ~eedb~ck ~cheme of this invention will be ~ufficient.

Returnia~g to th~a ~ample ce~ll 20, and ~;p@cl flcally the capture ~ect~on 22, the dri~er Girc:uit ~hown in FIG 5 f~r providing the ~aet gate pulses ~ Fl to the ga~e of tran-30 ~i~t~r Ql ~ill next be di~u~;ed. The aperlture, or turrl-o~f ti~e o~ ~i6 fir~t ~t~ge c~f th~ ~ampl~r t:ircuit i5 cr~t~c~ e tran~l~tor Ql used to prov~de ~i~ gat~ is ~ ~inimwD geo~etry dQvice to op~imize itB ~p~ed s:~f opera-tion. ~ a~ple ti~e o~ cell 20 iE~ a direc~ ~unction of 35 the ~lling ~dge ti~e of th~ siqnal ~Fi ~hown at the 7~
~13-upp~r righ~ of F~ 5 which ~rive~ th~ transistor Ql in FIG 1. I~ thi~ ~dge wer~ ~n~inite6imally short in time, the ~vice would ~a~ple precl~ely the voltage ~tored on the c~pacitor at that ti~. At a ~mplin~ 6peed of 1 S ~Hz, it i~ de~ir~ble to have a trailing ~dg~ tlme of 100 pic~second6 or 1~

In a typ~cal ~mplementati~n, ~roups of cell~ will be connected t~get~er ln a colu~n ~r row array to minimize the ~m4unt of A~t drive circuitry that must be provided lo ~or ~he c~ ample lines. ~wev~r~ thi~ increases the capacitance of the load to be dr~ven by th~ driYer cir-cuit. FlG 5 ~how~ a driv~r circuit capabl~ of driving up to 32 e~ w~th ~ ~ignal ~Fi having a trailing or falling edge time o le~s than 10~ pico~econds, although 15 together, the cell~ h~ve ~ calculated load capacitance of three picofarads. The design ~s~u~ption ~or this circuit i~ that the ri~ing adye of the ~Fi pul~e does not need to be nearly a~ fa~t; ~ut ~ust ~e above a de~in~d threshGld a ~u~ nt time for the ~ignal to ~ttle to the correct 20 v~lue on the 0.1 plco~arad captur~ capacitor Cl. In ~act, the ~ignal ~Fi, and therefore the c~pture ~t~ge transis-tor Ql, coul~ th~or~tic~lly be turn~d ~n an arbitrarily long time ~head o~ the ~alling ¢~ge. In practice, a f~s 6a~pli~g pul6e ~Fi ~ ~ev~ral nano6~conds i8 ~dvantage-ous. In e~th~r case, th~ ~ajor require~ent i~ to gener-ate ~n extre~ely ~a~t ~alling edg~ ~or the ~ignal ~F. A
circuit ~hat 6~rves ~he purpo~e o~ providing the fast falling ~dga i~r ~h~ signal ~Fi i~ ~h~wn in ~G 5. ~his circuit ~um~ ~hat ~n input ~ignal 37 comprising a 1 nano~e~ond wide pulse w$t~ ri~e and all ~imes vf ~pprox-imately 100 p~co~e~nd6 ~nd having an 3utput value that v~ri~ ~e~w~en -.B v~lt~ ~nd ;;1.~ volt6 i~ gen~r~ed ~rom ~ ~a6t b~p~lar ~r galliu~ aræenide ~h~ r~ r, delay llne, or an ~gually ~a~t ~urce, rQpre~en~ad by the tran-3s ~i~tor ~nd r~gi6t~r co~bination labell~d ~L ~vurce 89.~he ~t~nd~rd logie 1~Y~16 0~ ~it~r coupled loqic ~ECL) A-45210~JAS

L~ 6 ~7 5 ~14 ~
are a~u~ned ~or th~ urt:e. Th~ dris~er circuit 90, which ie ta tA~Ce th~ plllBI~ 87 and sh~pe it to pr~vide the ri6e and especi~lly t~e ~lling edç~e ti~ne r~guired ~or ~ gnal jlF~ o~ c:ell 20 ~ ntl~lly c~mpri6e~ a c:ommon ~mitt~r 5 current swit/::h Q91, ~ollow~d by a common ~:ollQc'c~r 6ta~e Q95 whioh ~un~tios~e 3e ~ c:urrent ~ult~plier. This current ~nultiplier Q9~ re6p~nd6 to a chang~ ln t~e level applied ~ECL ~ignal ~7 ~o produ~e a ver~ high current c:>utput to ~very rapidly disch~rge the load capaci tanc~ CL 97 of the 6~mple c~ll 20. In this way, when the OUtpllt 98, which i~ c:oupl~d to the gake of tr~n~ixtor Ql, chaslg~s ~t~te ~nd provid~s thiE; high s:urren$ outpu1:, an extre~ely ~a~t ~alling edge of the ~ignal ~Fi ~ prGduced to provide the le6~ ~han 100 p~c~ on~ f~lling edge ~i~n~l regu~red. The requir~msnt ~mp~sed on the driver circuit of FI~ 5 i6 to first ~harge th~ capacitor CL
repre~enting the gate cir~uit6, ~nd ~hen to diecharge it rapidly within the reguireB ~all ti~e. Therefore, a PNP
follower circu~t i6 u6ed inco~p~rating the transistor 20 Q95. The ~witch Q91 1~ d~sign~d ~or a 6t nding current of 15 ~A. Matching dio~e~ D99 and D100 are provided to de~ine the range o~ ~ignal applied to the base o~ thP
tran~i6tor ~95. The circuit is designed to oper~te ~s ~ollows: when the valu~ of ~ign~l 87 ~n lin~ 88 t~ the 2s ba~e of ~ran~i~tor Q91 $~ at .8 Y~lts, a 6ufficient voltage ~rop ~xist6 ~ero~ re~i~tor R92 ~uch that di~de D100 will turn on, wi~h its ~paed o~ turn-on depending on ~he ~$ze of R92. It haG ~een d~terminsd that this res$~tor ~hould b~ ~t l~a~t ~00 ~s. At thi6 ti~e, the 33 ollow~r tran~istor Q~5 will ~urn on, providing ~ logio zero at it~ er output. ~h~n ~he ~ignal on line ~
~o~s to it~ v~lue of -1.6 volt~, t~e colle~t~r of the tr~n~istor Q91 will ~o positiv~, and ~he ~ode ~99 will ~onduct, ~u~ln~ ~h~ ba~a ~ ~ransie~or ~95 ~o ~o p~si-tive to ~ut ~.3 v~lt~. T~i~ will cau~Q t~e output att~ ~itter o~ tr~n~tor Q95 t~ ~o po~itlv~, ~nd charg~
t~ ~f~ctive ~apacit~nce CL97 o~ th~ ~ample c~ll with a ~-45210/J~S

'7S
61051-~231 V21:lad time constant in the up direction set by the values of the resistors R92 and R102. R102 is typically 300 ohms or less, assuming a capacitive load of three picofarads.
It is noted that this will lead to a standing current in transistors Q90 and Q95 of about 35 milliamps, and a combined power dissipation of 195 milliwatts for one stage or 6.4 watts for 32 stages. To reduce this power, the values of R1 and R2 can be increased, and a correspondingly longer charging time allowed.
The values shown are quiescent nominal currents. The width of the clock pulses varied inversely with this nominal current.
At the critical time when the fast falling edge of ~Fi is to be produced, the signal on line 88 returns to its value of -.8 volt. Both transistor Q91 and Q95 are configured to be able to draw maximum instantaneous current in the negative going direction at this time. Therefore, the fall time at the output of transistor Q95 is determined solely by the maximum instantaneous current and the load capacitance CL 97. To get added pull down current through the transistor Q95, a speed-up capacitor C104 is provided at the emltter of transistor Q91 to pull added charge into the base of transistor Q95. This current, when amplified, i5 available to aid in the discharge of the capacitor CL97 and provide an instantaneous chanye in the value of the current in Q95 a shown at curve 105 on the right of Figure 5.
For transistors Q91 and Q95 to switch sufficiently rapidly, transistors with an Ft of at least 6 GHz must be provided; to discharge CL97 in less than 100 picoseconds requires an instantaneous current in the transistor Q91 of Cdv/dt=100 67~i 15a 61051-2231 VM:lad milliamps, a very reasonable value.
Diode D100 is to prevent transistor Q91 from saturating, and guarantees a stable low level voltage at the output of transistor Q95 at the zero voltage conditlon. Diode D99 prevents transistor Q95 from turning off, and sets 7~ii --~6--'che high 1~3~rel at the l~utput of tran~i~tor Q95 to 4 . 3 volt6. ~n ~ddit~e~nal diode D106 1~ provlded across the ba6s e~nitter ~unct~on of transistor Q95 t~ prevent potential damaSIe to this tran6i~tor~

It Ishould b~ noted that to prevent ~xcess power dissipa t~n in th~ circui~ n option to pul~e 'che supply power ON ~uet befc~re c~mencem~nt o~ the write ycle. In many application~, thil!s '16 ~!1 per~ec:tly accepitable mode of operation. 1~,16t~ o increase th~ gate transition, and hence, improve the dyrlamic: range, the ~upply pc~wer for the buffer ~3e~tion ~ust d~cribed c:2n be pulsed to 2 60m~what higher level ~6 volts) shown in FIG 5.

The driver c:ircuit described zlbove i6 a c:lear improvemen~
over kncn,m driver circuit6 in that the pc~wer dissipation 1S iE~ c~ntroll~ble ~y :reduc~ng standing ourrent at the c~st oî ch~rging the ~witching circuit~ ~ore ~l~wly. The max-imum speed of the falling edge i~ preserv~d by virtue of Ith~ hl gh c:urrent gain of bc~th transi6tor~ Q91 and Q95 being u~ed to drive the discharge of the c~pac:itor CL97.
W~th ~ppropriate external control circuitry, having prc~pagation delay relakively les~ than 100 picoseconds, groups of cell6, ~.g., columns, or ~ntire chips can be phased to achleva asl overall 6y6tem 6ampliny rate of up ~:4 1 O GS/Bec-Havlrtg d~rri~ed the organi zatis~n and design of each e~ll, the r~maining figure~ ~llu61trate dif~erent ~D~IIS of ~rgnni~ation ~n a ~ingle chip of ~ plurality o~ gro5 ps of In ~n exemplary embodiment E;hown in FIG ~, the eell~ ar~ ~rrang~d in a 3~x3~ array, wit~ Qach column of 32 c~116 ~ving a ~ngl~ ltage ~;lgnal lr~put Yi ~ the column ~ignal ~c b~tn5~ mon 'tD al l the 3~ ce~ in a giverl cDlu33tn. Each ~a~nple c:ell i~ activ~tsed only when both ~Cj ~nd ~i are~ ul5tan~ously ~gh. By pr~vidiilg ~n ~rr~ng~ent ~ ~n FIG ~, w~ich ~3y be prc~vided on a A 45210~JAS

--~7 -gl~ chip~ 32 parallel input ~ignal~, Vl through V32, ~ay be E;amplQd Esimul~aneoualy over 'che eame ~st timing :Lnter~f~l, at sp~ed~ up to 1 Eiample ~v~ry lOû pico~econds, or 10 GS,~6~ ~y virtue oP the fact that the ~115 ~ppear 5 ~ n a regul~r r~ct~ngular ~rr~y with the ~:olu~n clock 6ignal~ ~u~ed vertically, and ghe f~t row clc~ck ~ignals bu~ed hor~ zontally, a number v~E di~feren~ ~rr~ngements are ~vailabl~ to ~;ample ~n incomin~ nal or ~iynals for diff~rent period o~ time at very high ~;p~eds.

10 An ~l~erna~:ive arraa~ge:nlen~ $or E;~or~n~ a long se~ries of 3ample~ o~ a ~in~le input ~ignal ~ppeare~ in FI& ~, where 11 the 6ignal input~ re tied in parallel. According to th$6 arrangeIaent, ~e OO1UD~ E;ignalE; ~C~ C32 follow one ~fter the oth~r, ~a::h colu~n ~ign~l lasting ~or the 15 duration o~ al~ 32 ~a~t c:lc~k ~gnal~ . This arrange-Dlent will prs:~vide ~eor 1024 ~;ucc~ssive high ~peed ~amples of a ~ingle analo0 signal input Vl.

Another rlrr~ngement i6 6hown in FIG `8~. By connecting 8 plura~lity c>f colunul input lines tog~ther ~nd then ~pecif-ically ~ddres~ing each c:olumn ~or the dur~tion of the :IEast row g~t~ s~ F 1-32, a r~cord of ~ length of the input ~ignal YlN ~an b~ ~ade where th~ number of 6ucces~i~re 6~mple~ aual~ the nwnber o~ ~a~t pul~s ~Fi t~e~ the n~a~er D:e ti~d ~ lumn input8. In FIG `R, the ltotal cell ~rray iE; divided lnlto i~our ~eg~ent~ 1~0, 122, 124, 126, oach c~f which $nclud~s 256 ~ell6 ~nd r~ceives a ~ gl~ nal input Yl V4. Considerlng only the 256 cell DDatrix 120, by appr~priate ~eslu~ncing o the acti~r~ting cQlumn clock liign~l ~C, ~ach colu~n clc)c3c ~eing held on ~or a p~riod long ~nough to allow ~11 3~ ~ast clock ç~ign~ls ~ ~ to occ:ur, ~ total o~ 256 ~1;UC:5~!E;siV! ~amples ean l:~e taken c~ 3ingl~ ~nput ~ignal Vl.

Z~n alterna~v~ a~ethod of u~inS~ th~ etructural ~cheme ~f t2~i6 ~nvent~ :?n to take extxem~ly closely spaced ~amples ~4 52 10/J~LS

67~

~18-- ~
~ Qn lnpul: D~ignal l!lppear6 in FIG; ~, with two al~errlatlve~ be~ng lllu6trated in the ~am~ ~lgure. In the ~lr~t altern~ti~re, twc~ ~ucces~ive l:olla~ns oiE cell~
130, 132 ~v~ ~eir Y~N sign~l ~nput6 connected by a 5 ~ielay line 134. ~h~n th~ Ellgnal Vl occur~, ~t first appears t the lnput Vl t~ the column 130, ~nd ~ very short time later efi;tablished :by th~ deli~y line 134 ak the input V2 to the c~Qlwnn 132. If ~he ~c~lumn clock 6ignals ~Cl arld ~C2 arfa ~ 'ch pre~ent and the fast clock capture 10 signal ~ Fl now s~ccur~, ~he ~ir~ ell ~ ol~L~n 13 0 cap-tures a ~ampl~ o~ the analog E~i~nal ~t ~ts ~nput, ~nd the ~ir~t s:ell $n ccilumn 132 captures a 6ample of the ~ame ~ignal a8 it Dccurred a $hort ti~ne interva~ later. The tilae interval iE; ~ixe~ by the del~y of delay line 134.

15 ~n alternative, rather th~n u~ing the ~elay lln~ 134 at the eiqnal input, would be to u~;e a delay l~ne 136 ~ the ~ame ti~ne delzly roupling the c91Um31 dock inputs 138, 140. In thi~ instance, the colu~n clc~ck ~Cl ~t the first columTI 13 0 would gc~ high at ~ c~rtain point and when it 20 coincid~s with the existence of ~ignal ~Fl wc~ul~l ~tore a 6ample of the input ~ignal Vl. The c:olu~ cl~ck C2 goes high a period of time later ~3u~h thal: it would store a sa~pl~ of ~ 6is~nal in the fir~t ~:ell of the c:Dlumn 132 at the time o~ 6 coin~iderlce ~wilth a ~signal ~Fl, which 25 ~ign~l i6 con~tantly r~pe~ting. This ~rrangemen~ would be e~pecially u~e~ul with ~;lower ~ampling rates.

For ex~mple, returrlin61 ~gain to the ~xa~nple o~ a delay line coupling two input~, ~6~ume that the inputs Vl, V~
~re connected through ~ on~ nan~sec:c~nd ~elay lin~ 134, 30 ~n~ oilarly ln ~:he ~rray ~h~wn ln FIG ~, tl~at input p~rs 3-~, 5-6"~etc., t~ 31-32 ~re sach c:s3nnacted ~hrough a on~ nano~c~lld delay liDe ~nd that ~ ~asic clock ~rlving ~p~ed ~rough lln@~ ~Fl-32 i6 r~duced to two nanc~sec~3ld~ plar cycle S50D ~Hz). Tben the resulting 35 ~tor~d record will containsd 16 C~annel6 ~f data, each Ao4 52 .lO~JAS

7~
-19 ' with 64 ~tored value~, ~ach data ~oint r~presenting a ~ample t~e~ at ~ one nano6eGond interval on each of the 16 chann~ thi~ arrange~ent, lt 6hould b~ noted that the ~a~pl~s ar~ all tnken ~t preci~ely the came time on all cha~nel~, which i6 an important ~atur~ ~n c rtain cla~ses o~ me~ure~nt~ where it i~ nece~ary to corre late th~ ti~e ~easurement~ on ~ny point~ ~imultan~ously.

A ~urther n~vel exten~ion og thi6 design i~ that each int~grated chlp o~ 102~ cell6 ~y be replicated ~nd lo interconn~ct~d i~ an ~rr~y o~ lik~ chip~, to ~xtend tha r~ ord len~th both horizontally ln nu~ber of c~ann~ls ~nd vertic~lly in length vf ~he rec~rd to be made of any given input ~gn~l. This eould be done as ~hown in FIG
by coupling 0ither ~h~ ~ignal input Vl ln the verti-cally ~rrayed chips 140, 142, 144 u~ing delay lines 146,148, the d~lay line~ bein~ equal to the time neces~ary to produce ~ a~t 32 pul~e~ F32; or by c~nnecting the respective fast control lines ~F f~r ~ach chip thr~ugh delay line6 150, 152. In ~hi~ way, the ~i~nal 1nput Vl could trav~l through the length of ~h~ vertical chip arr~y 140 144, with ~11 o~ the cell6 then being pulsed at ~ppropriate time interval6 by the appr~pri~tely delayed ~F~ nal~. Thi~ arranye~en~ i~ available ~ince ~he input capacitance o~ a ~iven column ~f cell6 as designed herein is extre~ely ~all, on ~h~ ~rder of one picofarad ~or 32 cell~. It i~ there~ore pra~tical to c~mbine the c~ roupin~s eit~r ver~irally, to additional ~vi~es, or ~orizontally ~or ~x~mple vi~ d~l~y line~. Sampling qroup~ng~ ~r~ ~her~by provid~d which are ex~r~ely ~lex-30 ible ~nd cAn be ~orQ ~a~ily t~ red ~o the particular~pplic~ion. mi~ ~lex~bility i~ o~ paramount i~p~rtance ln ~er*aln ~pplications wh~r~ ~ ny thou~and~ o~ parall~l dat~ ~annel$ ~u~t be ~n~tru~ented~ ~he 32 column device describ d h~rein, u~ed with dolay line~ ~n y~ld ~ombi-35 n~tiQn~ ll~i~ed only by ~he pr~cticability 5~ implement-lng ~uch ~elay lin~s. In ~rinc~ ple, ~ ~ingle chip can be ~4~210/JAS

configured as 32 analog data channels, or as any comhination of eolumns connected together to analyze any number of inputs bet~7een 1 and 32.
Another important feature herein is that 10-GS/s equivalent sampling speed can also be achieved by delaying the fast clock lines ~F1 ~F32 in the arrangement in Figure 9 from one chip to the next in the vertical directlon 140-144 by 100 picoseconds, and using for example M=10 chips. Thus the gate signals for chip M=2 will be uniformly delayed from chip M=1 by 100 picoseconds; from M1 to M3 by 200 picoseconds, and so on.
Thus, one full cycle of the fast clocks from ~F1-~F32 will store the data for 10 100-picosecond intervals in each of 10 chips. On readout, the readout sequence can be trivially arranged to match the write sequence, such that a continuous record of samples in the natural time sequence will be received at the read output.
Moreover, the vertical columns of each chip can be organized, one with respect to the other, such that total record length and number of channels can be configured to suit the particular application.
In a preferred embodiment, each chip 140 comprises 1024 sample cells of the design shown in Figure :l, and includes a driver circui~ such as shown in FigurP 10 for each set of 32 sample cells, all combined on a hybrid circuit. This combination is recommended for optimum timing performance. A common readout 153 and common clock address lines 155 (-32 x 17 chips) i5 also provided.
. ~

67Si 2()a The basic difference between the approach described with respect to Figure ~ for achieving lO~GS/s performance vs. the overlapping pulse methocl clescribed ln Figure 3 is that in the Figure 9 example it is not necessary in principle to overlap write pulses to achieve the result. At the same time, the assumption is that a longer record length or more parallel data channels jus~ify the use of 10 chips.

I ~;

7~

further altern~tiv~ ~b~diment ~P thl~ lnvention is achie~ed ~y ~xten6ion o~ the ba~ic ~onfigur~tion shown in ~"1 FIG ~U. A ~y~e~ ~or continuou~ record$ng of 6ingle or ~ultiple data channel~ can ~hereby be achieved o~ ~ampl-~ng ~p~ed~ up to 10 GSJ~, ~his rogu~re~ organizing theread output~ ~nto n group~ of ADCs, ~uGh th~t the ~ssem-blage o~ conY~rt~r~ run~ ~t ~n overall ~peed eguivalent to n time~ ~e ~peed o~ a ~ngle converter. ~upp~se c~n~
v~rter~ of 10 MHz are u~ed, and an overall ~ampling ~peed o~ 1000 ~HZ or 1 G~Z i~ reguir~d. Thi6 can be ~chiev2d with 100 groups of ~ampler chip6 followed by a converter.
A conti~uous r~cording sp~ed of 10,000 ~Hz would require 1000 oonverter~. Th~ ~torage capacity o~ a ~in~le yroup would n~rmally be k2pt to the ~lnimum n~eded to acco~-15 pli~h ~he ~e~ired ~aximu~ speed of 6ampling. This~rrangement ~an be achieved due to ~he fAct that ~ampling o~ contlnuou~ waveforms at ~h~ maximum rates o~ the ~ampler chip ~ always fea~l~le ~nd practical. Further, a wlde dyn2mic r~nge achievabl~ by no other ~ystem i5 achleved by t~i~ invention. Finally, the digital ~emory requireme~t~ ~re simple 6ince r~latively 610w ~peed, low p~wer ~rl~ can be u~ed ~n~tead o~ ultra~ast memories : which ultl~ately limit the performance of flash 6ystems known in the prior art.

25 Other alt~rn~tives ~ay become apparent to a person of ~kill in the ~rt who 6tudie~ ~hi~ invention di~cl~sure.
~h~re~ore, the ~cope o~ ~hi6 ln~ntion $~ to be limited only by the ~llowing cl~ms.

~-45210/JAS

Claims

1. A high speed data acquisition system for storing a succession of sampled values of an analog signal comprising analog signal input means and analog signal output means, a first analog bus connected to said input means and a second analog bus connected to said output means, a storage array comprising a plurality of cells arranged in rows and columns, row clock means coupled to said array for selectively activating each row of said array, column clock means coupled to said array for selectively activating each column of said array, said analog signal being directly coupled to said array to supply said signal to the cells of said array, each of said cells comprising a first, capture section responsive to said row and column clock means for capturing one of said sample values at high speed, a storage section for holding said captured sample value for a relatively longer period than said capture section, an output buffer for transferring said captured sample to said analog signal output means, and transfer means for transferring said captured sample from said capture section to said storage section, whereby a very high speed sample of said analog signal may be taken by said capture section, said sample thereafter being transferred to said storage section.

2. A data acquisition system as in claim 1 wherein each of said capture sections and said storage sections includes a capacitor, said capture section capacitor being of a minimum value 23 61051-2231 VM:lad minimizing the capacitive load on said analog signal input, and maximizing bandwidth.

3. A data acquisition system as in claim 1 including means for periodically generating a transfer signal following the generation of row and column signals to a plurality of said cells, said transfer signal being simultaneously coupled to said transfer means of said plurality of said cells for transferring said captured samples to said storage section of said cells.

4. A data acquisition system as in claim 2 wherein said capture section capacitor is about 0.1 picofarad to achieve a signal bandwidth in excess of 1 GHz.

5. A data acquisition system as in claim 1 wherein said analog signal output means comprise a first buffer transistor coupled to the storage section capacitor for transferring the captured sample to the output, and a reference transistor cooperating with said buffer transistor to define a differential output signal to said outputs.

6. A data acquisition system as in claim 1 wherein said capture section comprises first and second transistors responsive to said row and column signals, respectively, to capture said samples of said analog signal, said first row signal responsive transistor being responsive to the trailing edge of said row signal to capture said sample, whereby the duration of each of 24 61051-2231 VM:lad said row signals is not determinative of the sample captured by said cell.

7. A data acquisition system as in claim 6 including timing means for generating said row and column signals, said row signals which are to be applied to successive cells in said array overlapping in duration and having closely spaced trailing edges, whereby a very rapid succession of samples of said analog signal may be taken.

8. A system as in claim 1 wherein a plurality of analog signal inputs to said columns of cells are tied in parallel to receive a single analog signal input whereby series of samples of a single analog signal equal to the total number of cells in the columns whose inputs are tied may be captured.

9. A system as in claim 1 including delay means connected between successive analog signal inputs of adjacent columns of said array, the same said row and column clock signals being applied to said adjacent columns whereby said adjacent columns store samples of said analog signal separated in time by the period of said delay means.

10. A data acquisition system as in claim 5 including a differential amplifier whose inputs are coupled to the outputs of said buffer transistor and said reference transistor, the output of said differential amplifier being the output signal to said 61051-2231 VM:lad analog output bus and being fed hack to said reference transistor to minimize the difference in the outputs of said buffer and reference transistors, thereby reducing nonliniarities in the response of each cell in the array to less than ?1%, typically.

11. A system as in claim 6 wherein said columns are driven by a common set of devices, said inputs being connected to a plurality of sources to achieve simultaneous sampling of a relatively large number of analog signals provided by said different sources.

12. A system as in claim 1 realized in the form of a monolithic integrated circuit.

13. A system as in claim 7 wherein said columns are driven by a common set of devices, said inputs being connected to a plurality of sources to achieve simultaneous sampling of a relatively large number of analog signals provided by said different sources.

14. A data acquisition system as in claim 3 wherein said capture section comprises first and second transistors responsive to said row and column signals, respectively, to capture said samples of said analog signal, said first row signal responsive transistor being responsive to the trailing edge of said row signal to capture said sample, whereby the duration of each of said row signals is not determinative of the sample captured by 26 61051-2231 VM:lad said cell.

15. A data acquisition system as in claim 14 including timing means for generating said row and column signals, said row signals which are to be applied to successive cells in said array overlapping in duration and having closely spaced trailing edges, whereby a very rapid succession of samples of said analog signal may be taken.

16. A system as in claim 15 wherein said columns are driven by a common set of devices, said inputs being connected to a plurality of sources to achieve simultaneous sampling of a relatively large number of analog signals provided by said different sources.

17. A data acquisition system as in claim 16 including a differential amplifier whose inputs are coupled to the outputs of said buffer transistor and said reference transistor, the output of said differential amplifier being the output signal to said analog output bus and being fed back to said reference transistor to minimize the difference in the outputs of said buffer and reference transistors, thereby reducing nonliniarities in the response of each cell in the array to less than ?1%.

18. A data acquisition system as in claim 11 including a differential amplifier whose inputs are coupled to the outputs of said buffer transistor and said reference transistor, the output 27 61051-2231 VM:lad of said differential amplifier being the output signal to said analog output bus and being fed back to said reference transistor to minimize the difference in the outputs of said buffer and reference transistors, thereby reducing nonliniarities in the response of each cell in the array to less than ?1%.