Optical proximity detectors

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9250714-B2
Application number	US-201414495688-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 24, 2014
Priority date	Nov 27, 2013
Publication date	Feb 2, 2016
Grant date	Feb 2, 2016

Abstract

Described herein are optical proximity detectors, methods for use therewith, and systems including an optical proximity detector. Such optical proximity detectors include an analog front-end and a digital back-end. In certain embodiments, the digital back-end includes a dynamic gain and phase offset corrector, a cross-talk corrector, a phase and magnitude calculator, and a static phase offset corrector. The dynamic gain and phase offset corrector corrects for dynamic variations in gain and phase offset of the analog front-end due to changes in temperature and/or operating voltage levels. The crosstalk corrector corrects for electrical and/or optical crosstalk associated with the analog front-end. The phase and magnitude calculator calculates phase and magnitude values in dependence on the corrected versions of digital in-phase and quadrature-phase signals received from the analog front-end. The static phase offset corrector corrects for a static phase offset of the optical proximity detector.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An optical proximity detector, comprising:
a driver that produces a drive signal, having a carrier frequency, for use in driving a light source to thereby cause the light source to emit light having the carrier frequency;
a light detector that produces a light detection signal indicative of a magnitude and a phase of a portion of the light emitted by the light source that reflects off an object and is incident on the light detector,
an analog front-end including
amplification circuitry that receives the light detection signal and outputs an amplitude adjusted light detection signal;
one or more analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) that
receive the amplitude adjusted light detection signal, or in-phase and quadrature-phase signals produced therefrom, and
output a digital light detection signal, or digital in-phase and quadrature-phase signals; and

a digital back-end including a dynamic gain and phase offset corrector that during an operational mode of the optical proximity detector
receives the digital light detection signal from the analog front end and produces digital in-phase and quadrature-phase signal therefrom, or receives the digital in-phase and quadrature-phase signals from the analog front end,
corrects for dynamic variations in gain and phase offset caused by a portion of the analog front-end, and
outputs dynamic gain and phase offset corrected digital in-phase and quadrature-phase signals.

2. The optical proximity detector of claim 1 , further comprising:
a calibration reference signal generator that produces a calibration reference signal having a same phase as the drive signal produced by the driver and having a magnitude within a dynamic range of the analog front-end;
wherein during a calibration mode of the optical proximity detector
the calibration reference signal, produced by the calibration reference signal generator, is provided to the analog front-end; and
the digital back-end
determines an actual magnitude and an actual phase of an IQ vector corresponding to the digital in-phase and quadrature-phase signals;
determines a difference between the actual magnitude of the IQ vector and an expected magnitude of the IQ vector in order to determine a zero-phase gain offset;
determines a difference between the actual phase of the IQ vector and an expected phase of the IQ vector in order to determine a zero-phase phase offset; and
determines, based on the zero-phase gain offset and the zero-phase phase offset, a transfer function for use by the dynamic gain and phase offset corrector during the operational mode of the optical proximity detector.

3. The optical proximity detector of claim 1 , wherein:
the portion of the analog front-end, for which the dynamic gain and phase offset corrector corrects for dynamic variations in gain and phase offset, includes the amplification circuitry;
the amplification circuitry of the analog front-end includes a fixed gain amplifier and one or more variable gain amplifiers downstream of the fixed gain amplifier; and
the dynamic variations in gain and phase offset caused by the amplification circuitry are due to dynamic variations in at least one of temperature or operating voltage associated with the amplification circuitry.

4. The optical proximity detector of claim 3 , wherein the dynamic gain and phase offset corrector also corrects for dynamic variations in gain and phase offset of at least one of the light source or the light detector.

5. The optical proximity detector of claim 1 , wherein:
the portion of the analog front-end, for which the dynamic gain and phase offset corrector corrects for dynamic variations in gain and phase offset, has a transfer function that includes a nominal portion corresponding to a nominal response of the portion of the analog front-end and a dynamic portion corresponding to a dynamic gain offset and a dynamic phase offset of the portion of the analog front-end; and
the dynamic gain and phase offset corrector has a transfer function that is substantially equal to an inverse of the dynamic portion of the transfer function of the portion of the analog front-end.

6. The optical proximity detector of claim 1 , wherein the digital back-end also includes:
a cross-talk corrector that
receives the dynamic gain and phase offset corrected digital in-phase and quadrature-phase signals from the dynamic gain and phase offset corrector,
corrects for at least one of electrical crosstalk or optical crosstalk, and
outputs crosstalk corrected digital in-phase and quadrature-phase signals.

7. The optical proximity detector of claim 6 , wherein the digital back-end also includes:
a phase and magnitude calculator that determines a phase value and a magnitude value in dependence on the crosstalk corrected digital in-phase and quadrature-phase signals.

8. The optical proximity detector of claim 7 , wherein the digital back-end also includes:
a static phase offset corrector that
receives the phase value determined by the phase and magnitude calculator,
corrects for a static phase offset associated with the analog front-end, and
outputs a corrected phase value indicative of a distance between the optical proximity detector and an object off of which light, emitted by a light source driven by the driver, reflected and is incident on the light detector.

9. The optical proximity detector of claim 8 , wherein the static phase offset corrector also corrects for a static offset associated with at least one of the light source or the light detector.

10. The optical proximity detector of claim 1 , wherein the digital back-end also includes a gain adjustment controller that produces a gain adjustment signal that is used to adjust a gain of one or more variable gain amplifiers of the amplification circuitry of the analog front-end.

11. A method for use by an optical proximity detector including an analog front-end and a digital back-end, the method comprising:
(a) producing a drive signal having a carrier frequency;
(b) driving a light source with the drive signal to thereby cause the light source to emit light having the carrier frequency;
(c) producing an analog light detection signal indicative of a magnitude and a phase of a portion of the light emitted by the light source that reflects off an object and is incident on a light detector;
(d) amplifying the analog light detection signal using amplification circuitry of the analog front-end to thereby produce an amplitude adjusted analog light detection signal;
(e) producing, in dependence on the amplitude adjusted analog light detection signal, digital in-phase and quadrature-phase signals; and
(f) correcting for dynamic variations in gain and phase offset caused by a portion of the analog-front end to thereby produce dynamic gain and phase offset corrected digital in-phase and quadrature-phase signals.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein steps (a) through (f) are performed during an operational mode of the optical proximity detector, and further comprising, during a calibration mode of the optical proximity detector:
producing a calibration reference signal having a same phase as the drive signal used for driving the light source;
providing the calibration reference signal to the analog front-end;
determining an actual magnitude and an actual phase of an IQ vector corresponding to digital in-phase and quadrature-phase signals received from the analog front-end, or filtered versions thereof;
determining a difference between the actual magnitude of the IQ vector and an expected magnitude of the IQ vector in order to determine a zero-phase gain offset;
determining a difference between the ac

Assignees

• Intersil Americas LLC

Inventors

• Hiromi Itaru
• Golden Philip V
• Ritter David W
• Bhardwaj Pradeep
• Herbst Steven
• Craddock Warren

Classifications

• G01S17/04 Primary

  Systems determining the presence of a target · CPC title

• G01S7/4913

  Circuits for detection, sampling, integration or read-out · CPC title

• H03K2217/94108

  making use of reflection · CPC title

• H03K2217/94116

  increasing reliability, fail-safe · CPC title

• H03K17/941

  using an optical detector (H03K17/968 takes precedence) · CPC title