Metastability Dependent Sub-picosecond Time-to-voltage Converter

In this study, a novel approach in the design of a sub-picosecond time-to-voltage converter (TVC) based on the phenomenon of metastability in a bi-stable element is presented. The proposed TVC is a modified form of a TDC such that the timing information is transformed to a voltage directly without digitization. The measurement circuit is compact enough to be implemented on the chip. This, in turn, reduces the possibility of environmental noise interference. A detailed description of the time voltage conversion property is discussed. Simulations suggest that the time voltage converter can be designed for converting large gains with short input dynamic ranges which could be very useful in jitter measurement, especially in modern aggressive design styles where the resolution requirements on such measurements is in the picosecond range. Moreover, some figures of merit and performance parameters are introduced along with a discussion on some of the trade-offs involved in the design of the proposed TVC.