Time gain compensation circuit and related apparatus and methods
An ultrasound device, including a profile generator, an encoder configured to receive a profile signal from the profile generator, and an attenuator configured to receive a signal representing an output of an ultrasound sensor and coupled to the encoder to receive a control signal from the encoder, the attenuator including a plurality of attenuator stages, the attenuator configured to produce an output signal that is an attenuated version of the input signal.
1. An ultrasound device, comprising:
a profile generator;
an encoder configured to receive a profile signal from the profile generator;
an attenuator configured to receive an input signal representing an output of an ultrasound sensor and coupled to the encoder to receive a control signal from the encoder, the attenuator comprising a plurality of binary attenuator stages, the attenuator configured to produce an output signal that is an attenuated version of the input signal; and
a fixed gain amplifier having a gain greater than 0 dB and configured to receive the output signal from the attenuator and amplify the output signal.
2. The ultrasound device of claim 1 , wherein the profile generator provides a target attenuation profile.
3. The ultrasound device of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of binary attenuation stages provides about 0.2 dB of attenuation.
4. The ultrasound device of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of binary attenuation stages comprises at least one complementary switch.
5. The ultrasound device of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of binary attenuation stages is single-ended.
6. The ultrasound device of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of binary attenuation stages is differential.
7. The ultrasound device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of binary attenuation stages are connected in parallel to form the attenuator.
8. The ultrasound device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of binary attenuation stages are connected in series to form the attenuator.
9. The ultrasound device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of binary attenuation stages are connected in series and parallel to form the attenuator.
10. An ultrasound device, comprising:
a profile generator;
an encoder configured to receive a profile from the profile generator;
an attenuator configured to receive an input signal representing an output of an ultrasound sensor and coupled to the encoder to receive a control signal from the encoder, the attenuator comprising a plurality of stages, each stage in the plurality of stages having a predetermined attenuation, the attenuator configured to produce an attenuated output signal that is an attenuated version of the input signal; and
a fixed gain amplifier having a gain greater than 0 dB and configured to receive the output signal from the attenuator and amplify the output signal.
11. The ultrasound device of claim 10 , wherein the profile generator provides a target attenuation profile.
12. The ultrasound device of claim 10 , wherein each of the plurality of stages provides about 0.2 dB of attenuation.
13. The ultrasound device of claim 10 , wherein each of the plurality of stages comprises at least one complementary switch.
14. The ultrasound device of claim 10 , wherein each of the plurality of stages is single-ended.
15. The ultrasound device of claim 10 , wherein each of the plurality of stages is differential.
16. The ultrasound device of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of stages are connected in parallel to form the attenuator.
17. The ultrasound device of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of stages are connected in series to form the attenuator.
18. The ultrasound device of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of stages are connected in series and parallel to form the attenuator.
19. The ultrasound device of claim 1 , wherein the fixed gain amplifier has a gain between approximately 1 dB and 100 dB.
20. The ultrasound device of claim 1 , wherein the attenuator and the fixed gain amplifier are configured to perform time-gain compensation on the input signal.
21. The ultrasound device of claim 10 , wherein the fixed gain amplifier has a gain between approximately 1 dB and 100 dB.
22. The ultrasound device of claim 10 , wherein the attenuator and the fixed gain amplifier are configured to perform time-gain compensation on the input signal.