Method and systems to align outputs signals of an analog-to-digital converter

1. A method of aligning digital signals appearing on signal paths of a parallel data bus, the method comprising:

sampling the digital signals at a plurality of delay times to obtain a plurality of sample sets, wherein each sample set is associated with a corresponding delay time;

identifying from the sample sets a second digital signal that is misaligned with respect to a first digital signal, wherein the identifying further comprises:

determining a best fit line function for each sample set;

calculating an absolute distance between the best fit line function and samples within the associated sample set; and

identifying from the calculated absolute distances a data signal having the highest data bit exhibiting a deviation from the best fit line function;

determining the delay time required to align the second digital signal with the first digital signal; and

adjusting the delay of the second digital signal by the determined delay time.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first digital signal represents the most significant bit of multi-bit data appearing on the data bus.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the delay time is determined by the number of the sample sets having the highest data bit exhibiting a deviation from a best fit line function.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising repeating the method to substantially align a third digital signal provided by the data bus with the first and second digital signals.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the digital signals are received from an analog-to-digital converter (ADC).

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising providing a ramp function to the ADC.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method is performed by a programmable logic device (PLD).

8. A system for aligning a plurality of signals, the system comprising:

a plurality of input buffers adapted to receive a plurality of digital signals over a data bus, wherein the digital signals are associated with a corresponding plurality of data bits;

a plurality of delay blocks associated with the input buffers, wherein each delay block is adapted to individually delay an associated one of the digital signals by a selectable delay time; and

means for selecting the delay times of the delay blocks to substantially align the digital signals, wherein the input buffers, the delay blocks, and the selecting means are implemented by a programmable logic device (PLD).

9. The system of claim 8 , further comprising:

a pattern generator adapted to provide an analog signal; and

an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) adapted to convert the analog signal to the digital signals.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the selecting means further comprises:

means for sampling the digital signals to obtain a plurality of samples;

means for determining a best fit line function using the samples;

means for calculating an absolute distance between the plurality of samples and the best fit line function;

means for associating at least one of the digital signals with the absolute distance; and

means for selecting the delay time of the delay block associated with the at least one of the digital signals using the absolute distance.

11. A method of aligning a plurality of signals, the method comprising:

sampling a plurality of digital signals to obtain a first plurality of samples, wherein the digital signals are associated with a corresponding plurality of data bits;

determining a first best fit line function using the first plurality of samples;

calculating a first absolute distance between the first plurality of samples and the first best fit line function;

associating a first one of the digital signals with the first absolute distance; and

selectively delaying the first one of the digital signals by a delay time to substantially align the first one of the digital signals with a second one of the digital signals.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

sampling the digital signals to obtain a second plurality of samples;

determining a second best fit line function using the second plurality of samples; and

calculating a second absolute distance between the second plurality of samples and the second best fit line function, wherein the first absolute distance is greater than the second absolute distance.

13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising repeating the method to substantially align a third one of the digital signals with the first and second digital signals.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the second one of the digital signals is associated with a most significant bit of a data bus.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the digital signals are provided by an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) receiving an analog input signal.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the analog input signal is a ramp function.

17. The method of claim 11 , wherein the sampling is performed at a rate in excess of approximately 1.5 GHz.

18. The method of claim 11 , wherein the method is performed by a programmable logic device (PLD).