Patent attributes
Disclosed is a time delay generator 200 apparatus and method. The apparatus includes a time delay gate 212, a mixer 216 (a Gilbert cell circuit), and a current digital to analog converter 206. The mixer 216, comprised of first and second transistor differential pairs 218 and 220, receives an analog input signal 202 without a delay as well as a delayed input signal 210 produced by the time gate delay. The digital to analog converter regulates the relative current flow between a first control signal 232 and a second control signal 238, effectively altering the mixing of the undelayed input signal 208 and the delayed input signal 210 to generate a delayed output signal 214 with a time or phase delay substantially equal to the temporal delay represented by the digital signal input 204. The time delay generator exhibits reduced phase noise and a linear time delay response.
