METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR GENERATING PULSES FROM ANALOG WAVEFORMS

Abstract

A method and apparatus are provided for generating output pulses or oscillations in response to input analog waveforms which involves exciting, with a known but arbitrary analog waveform (210), a circuit (302) with a variable operating point and having a transfer function characterized by an unstable operating region bounded by a first stable operating region and a second stable operating region. The analog waveform is characterized by having a first information region and a second information region. In response to sensing the first an second information regions, the operating point of the circuit is forced into its unstable and stable regions. This produces a sequence of oscillatory and non-oscillatory behavior at the circuit's output.