AD9984A Datasheet, PDF (12/44 Pages) Analog Devices – High Performance 10-Bit Display Interface

AD9984A
In systems with embedded sync, a blacker-than-black signal
(Hsync) is briefly produced to signal the CRT that it is time to
begin a retrace. Because the input is not at black level at this
time, it is important to avoid clamping during Hsync. Fortunately,
there is usually a period following Hsync (called the back porch)
where a good black reference is provided. This is the time when
clamping should be done.
The clamp timing can be established by simply exercising
the CLAMP pin at the appropriate time with clamp source
(Register 0x18, Bit 4) = 1. The polarity of this signal is set by
the clamp polarity bits (Register 0x1B, Bits[7:6]).
A simpler method of clamp timing employs the AD9984A
internal clamp timing generator. The clamp placement register
(Register 0x19) is programmed with the number of pixel periods
that should pass after the trailing edge of Hsync before clamping
starts. A second register, clamp duration (Register 0x1A), sets
the duration of the clamp. These are both 8-bit values, providing
considerable flexibility in clamp generation. Although Hsync
duration can widely vary, the clamp timing is referenced to the
trailing edge of Hsync because the back porch (black reference)
always follows Hsync. An effective starting point for establishing
clamping is to set the clamp placement to 0x04 (providing 4 pixel
periods for the graphics signal to stabilize after sync) and set the
clamp duration to 0x28 (giving the clamp 40 pixel periods to
reestablish the black reference).
Clamping is accomplished by placing an appropriate charge on
the external input coupling capacitor. The value of this capacitor
affects the performance of the clamp. If it is too small, there is a
significant amplitude change during a horizontal line time
(between clamping intervals). If the capacitor is too large, it
takes a long time for the clamp to recover from a large change
in incoming signal offset. The recommended value (100 nF)
results in recovering from a step error of 100 mV to within 1 LSB
in 60 lines with a clamp duration of 20 pixel periods on a 85 Hz
XGA signal.
YPbPr Clamping
YPbPr graphic signals are slightly different from RGB signals in
that the dc reference level (black level in RGB signals) of color
difference signals is at the midpoint of the video signal rather than
at the bottom. The three inputs are composed of luminance (Y)
and color difference (Pb and Pr) signals. For color difference
signals, it is necessary to clamp to the midscale range of the
ADC range (512) rather than to the bottom of the ADC range (0),
while the Y channel is clamped to ground.
Clamping to midscale rather than ground can be accomplished
by setting the clamp select bits in the serial bus register. Each of
the three converters has its own selection bit to enable them to
be independently clamped to midscale or ground. These bits are
located in Register 0x18, Bits[3:1]. The midscale reference
voltage is internally generated for each converter.
GAIN AND OFFSET CONTROL
The AD9984A contains three programmable gain amplifiers
(PGAs), one for each of the three analog inputs. The range of
the PGA is sufficient to accommodate input signals with inputs
ranging from 0.5 V to 1.0 V full scale. The gain is set in three
9-bit registers, red gain (Register 0x05, Register 0x06), green
gain (Register 0x07, Register 0x08), and blue gain (Register 0x09,
Register 0x0A). For each register, a gain setting of 0d corresponds
to the highest gain, while a gain setting of 511d corresponds to
the lowest gain. Note that increasing the gain setting results in
an image with less contrast.
The offset control shifts the analog input, resulting in a change
in brightness. Three 11-bit registers, red offset (Register 0x0B,
Register 0x0C), green offset (Register 0x0D, Register 0x0E),
and blue offset (Register 0x0F, Register 0x10) provide inde-
pendent settings for each channel. Note that the function of
the offset register depends on whether auto-offset is enabled
(Register 0x1B, Bit 5).
If manual offset is used, nine bits of the offset registers (for the
red channel, Register 0x0B, Bits[6:0] plus Register 0x0C, Bits[7:6])
control the absolute offset added to the channel. The offset control
provides ±255 LSBs of adjustment range, with 1 LSB of offset
corresponding to 1 LSB of output code.
Automatic Offset
In addition to the manual offset adjustment mode, the AD9984A
also includes circuitry to automatically calibrate the offset for
each channel. By monitoring the output of each ADC during
the back porch of the input signals, the AD9984A can self-adjust
to eliminate any offset errors in its own ADC channels and any
offset errors present on the incoming graphics or video signals.
To activate the auto-offset mode, set Register 0x1B, Bit 5 to 1. Next,
the target code registers (Register 0x0B through Register 0x10)
must be programmed. The values programmed into the target
code registers should be the output code desired from the
AD9984A during the back porch reference time.
For example, for RGB signals, all three registers are normally
programmed to Code 2, while for YPbPr signals, the green
(Y) channel is normally programmed to Code 2, and the blue
and red channels (Pb and Pr) are normally set to 512. The
target code registers have 11 bits per channel and are in twos
complement format. This allows any value between −1024 and
+1023 to be programmed. Although any value in this range can
be programmed, the AD9984A offset range may not be able to
reach every value. Intended target code values range from (but
are not limited to) −160 to −1 and +1 to +160 when ground
clamping, and 350 to 670 when midscale clamping. Note that a
target code of 0 is not valid.
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