Maxim Integrated Products, Inc.
Comparator diagnostic systems and methods

Abstract:

An analog front-end circuit for self-calibrating a comparator, the circuit comprising a comparator in a comparator measurement path; a preamplifier coupled to the comparator by a set of switches; and an amplifier coupled to the preamplifier, the preamplifier receiving a reference signal as a first input and a user-definable reference as a second input, the user-definable reference generating a user-definable value chosen to create a known condition at an output of the preamplifier, the preamplifier determines a residual value that represents a measurement error in a signal path comprising the comparator and is used to adjust the user-definable reference value to calibrate the signal path such that threshold boundaries for the comparator can be adjusted to tighten a comparator specification.