IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS-11: ANALOG AND DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING, VOL. 43, NO.

VOL. 43, NO. 5 , MAY 1996 387

A Multiplier-Free Digital Sinusoid Generator

Based on Sigma-Delta Modulation
Clemens M. Zierhofer

Abstract-In this paper sigma-delta (%A) sequences derived
from a single-loop numeric E-A modulator with sinusoidal input
are investigated. A class of limit cycles shows :a special kind of
symmetry, designated as "half-symmetry". It is shown that half-
symmetric E-A sequences are especially suited for automatic
generation by means of an autonomous oscillator. The design
of such an oscillator is presented. The central part is a single-
loop numeric E-A modulator. The two-level output sequence of
the E-A modulator is accumulatedin lossless discrete integrators
and fed back to the input. If the initial conditions of the oscillator
registers are chosen properly in relation to a system constant F ,
the oscillator generates a two-level E-A sequence identical to the
sequence of a S A modulator which is externally driven by a pure
sinusoid. Conditions for system constant E and initialization for
periodic operation are derived. If constant F i s an integer, the
operation of the oscillator is exclusively based aln integers. Thus,
although the network is highly recursive, truncation- or round-
off errors are avoided and problems with respect to stability do
not occur.
I. INTRODUCTION
I N PRINCIPLE, digital sinusoids can be generated exclu-
sively from a table look-up scheme, from a recursion, or
from a combination of table look-up and computation. Purely
recursive generation requires digital networks with recursive
(or IIR-) structures. A general feature of recursive networks
is truncation- or round-off errors due to limited computation
precision and thus digital oscillators based on icecursion usually
tend to unstable operation. An example of a recursive digital
sinusoid generator is a cascade of two discrete-time integrators
with z-transforms z-'/(l-z-') and l/(l-z--'), respectively,
and a multibit-multiplier in a loop. The oscillation frequency
is determined by the multiplier factor, and the oscillation
amplitude is defined by the initial conditions of the registers.
A description of an oscillator based on this concept has been
published in [l].
The digital oscillator described in [2] essentially utilizes
the double-integration topology of the oscillator [ 11. However,
the multibit-multiplier is replaced by a sigma-delta ( E A )
modulator, which is incorporated between the integrators. In
[2],the basic operation parameters of the oscillator such as
oscillation frequency and amplitude are exclusively derived
from the double-integration oscillator without taking into
account the E A modulator. It is assumed that the E-A
modulator works fully equivalently to a mudiplier (plus one
Manuscript received June 20, 1994; revised June 26, 1995. This paper was
recommended by Associate Editor D. A. Johns.
The author is with the Institute for Applied Physics, Univeristy of Innsbruck,
A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
Publisher Item Identifier S 1057-7130(96)03755-X.
1057-7130/96$05,00 0 1996 IEEE
unit delay stage) and therefore the noise introduced in the
quantization stage of the modulator has no influence on
the stability of oscillation. This assumption is justified by
experiment, but not by theory.
This paper presents a E-A based oscillator similar to the
oscillator circuit as described in [2].The oscillator is analyzed
and conditions for guaranteed stable oscillation modes are
derived. It is shown in Section IV-C of this paper that this
type of oscillator is highly sensitive to variations of system
parameters; only small changes in the initial conditions of the
registers may lead to unstable operation modes.
The digital oscillator analyzed in this paper contains a
single-loop numeric E-A modulator. The oversampling E A
modulation concept is primarily known for its suitability
for high-performance analog-to-digital (AD)-and digital-to-
analog (D/A) conversion [3]. In the E-A-modulator, the analog
input signal is converted to a two-level output sequence
(y-sequence) at a rate f s which is much higher than the
Nyquist rate 2 f c (fc is the signal bandwidth). The ratio & is
usually designated as oversampling ratio (OSR). In the time
domain, the amplitude of the input signal is represented in the
y-sequence as the short-time mean value. In the frequency do-
main, the spectrum of the y-sequence consists of the spectrum
of the input signal in the base band plus the spectrum of the
noise signal (due to the noise added at the quantization stage).
Because of the noise-shaping properties inherent in the E A
concept, most of the energy of the noise spectrum is shifted
outside the signal band toward higher frequencies. However,
as far as the signal band is concerned, the representation of the
input signal in the y-sequence is not perfect, since some noise
energy remains in the base band and introduces a systematic
error (finite signal-to-noise ratio). As a general feature of A D -
conversion, this imperfection in signal representation can be
interpreted as an uncertainty about the input signal. This means
that a particular y-sequence can be generated not only by one
single specific input signal, but also by slightly deviating input
signals.
This general property is exploited in the E-A oscillator
analyzed in this paper. A method is presented to derive
conditions for the oscillator to generate periodic y-sequences
identical to the y-sequences of a E-A modulator which is
externally driven by a pure sinusoid. Although the input signal
of the E-A modulator within the resonator loop is not perfectly
harmonic, it is possible to obtain identity of the y-sequences
in the light of the considerations mentioned above.
This paper is organized as follows. In Section 11, y-
sequences are investigated when a discrete-time %A
38X IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS-11:
Yob>
0 ) c l ( 1 ) = f l o o r ( u ( l ) ) + 1 and v 2 ( 1 ) = floor(u(1)). Case (b):
(b)
Fig. 1. (a) Discrete-time S A modulator of first-order. (b) Equivalent cir-
cuit: Linear A modulator with an integrator in front.
modulator of first-order is driven by a pure sinusoid. A class of
sequences showing a special kind of symmetry (designated as
half-symmetry) is suited for automatic generation by means
of a E A based oscillator. In Section 111, the E A oscillator
itself is analyzed. Conditions for absolute periodic oscillation
modes which are exclusively based on integers are derived.
Therefore, registers of finite length can be used without
introducing any truncation or round-off errors. Section IV
presents some simulation results and in particular shows
unstable oscillation modes to emphazise the importance of
proper initialization.
All simulations presented in this paper have been performed
on an IBM-PC using MATLAB (The Mathworks, Inc., South
Natick, MA). In the following, the MATLAB notation for
signal description is used.
11. GENERAL OF E A SEQUENCES
PROPERTIES
DERIVEDFROMSINUSOIDAL
INPUTS
A. Symmetry Properties of Limit Cycles
In this section, Some general Properties of Y-sequences are
derived when a discrete-time c-a modulator Of first-order 1s
driven by a sinusoid. The input sinusoid is defined by
so(n,) = -aosin 2 ~ nP - - QT- (l)
( N N
with amplitude a0 being within the range 0 < a0 1. By
this definition, the sine wave has p periods during N samples,
where N and p are assumed to be integers, repectively, and
relatively prime. Phase-factor a is defined to be within the
range 0 5 a 5 1.
The discrete-time E-A modulator is shown in Fig. l(a). It
contains a lossless discrete integrator and a discrete comparator
for the detection of the sign of the integrator output, which
represents the y-sequence yo(n) E {+l, -1}. The E-A
modulator Fig. l(a) is equivalent to the circuit Fig. l(b), where
the input signal is first accumulated and then fed into a simple
linear delta (A) modulator.
Signals U(.) and ~ ( nare ) obtained by accumulation of the
input signal s o ( n ) and the output sequence yo (n),
respectively,
ANALOG AND DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING, VOL. 43, NO. 5 , MAY 1996
case (a) case (b)
Fig. 2. Case (a): floor(u(0)) E floor(u(1)). The possible initial values
for ~ ( 1are
floor(u(0)) = fioor(u(1)) - 1. The possible initial values for v(1) are
~ ~ (=1floor(u(1))
) and v z ( 1 ) = floor(u(1)) - 1. The horizontal lines
indicate integer niveaus of the quantized signal v ( n ) .
resulting in
n
+
u(n I) = u(1) + so(k),
k=l
and
n
v(n+ 1) = 41) -I- Yo(k) (3)
k=l
for n 2 1.Signal w ( n ) exclusively consists of integers. Signal
~ ( nrepresents
) the difference signal U(.) - U(.) Due to the
definition of s o ( % ) , signal U(.) shows a local maximum at
n = 1, i.e.,
u(1) > u(0) for Q # 1, and u(1)= u(0) for cr = 1 (4)
with u(0) = u ( N ) .In any case, u(1) > 4 2 ) .
Clearly, the output sequence yo ( n)will depend on the initial
condition w(1) = u(1) - ~ ( 1 )As. a condition for the general
symmetry properties derived in the following, U ( 1) is chosen
such that U(.) is a zero-mean cosinusoid described by
u(n)=
Signal u(n)at the input of the A modulator is tracked by
prediction signal Y (n).It is intuitively clear that this tracking
is especially easy at the maxima (and minima) of signal u(n),
and with condition (4), such a maximum occurs at at n = 1.
Periodic repetitions of register states in E A modulators in
general are designated as limit cycles, which have especially
been investigated for dc-input signals, e.g., in [4] and [ 5 ] .
Here, the input signal is a sinusoid, and the existence of
limit cycles also can be expected. It will be shown in the
following that for sinusoidal inputs these limit cycles can
be detected comparatively simply. By (3,the E-A register
sequence w ( n ) = u(n)- ~ ( nis)a zero-mean sequence if one
limit cycle period is taken into consideration.
Stable and periodic y-sequences are obtained, if the initial
condition Y (1)has one of exactly two possible values wI(1) or
u2(1),resulting in two different sequences ~ ( nand ) v~(n).
Dependent on the samples u(0) and u(l), two cases have to
be distinguished, as depicted in Fig. 2.
Case a): Samples u(0) and u(1) are each composed of an
integer part plus a fraction. If the integer parts are equal,
i.e., floor(u(0)) = floor(u(l)), then the two possible initial
conditions are
~ ~ (=1floor(u(1))
) + I, and ,u2(1) = floor(u(1)). (6)
ZIERHOFER MULTIPLIER-FREE DIGITAL SINUSOID GENERATOR 389

Case b): If the integer parts of u(0) and u(1) are different,
i.e., floor(u(0)) = floor(u(1)) - 1, then

q ( 1 ) = floor(u(l)), and w2(1) = floor(u(1)) - 1.
Each of the two cases a) and b) can be verified simply
looking at the possible predecessors of samples vl(1) and
w2(1), respectively, and taking into account the rules of A-
modulation.
The two different sequences vl(n)and v 2 ( n ) result in two
different y-sequences yol(n) and yoz(n), respectively. If u ( n )
is a zero-mean cosinusoid as described in (3,some general
symmetry properties of the sequences can be derived for
i) N mod 2 = 1 (odd N ) ,
ii) N mod 4 = 2, and
iii) N mod 4 = 0.
For convenience, a parity operator on an integer argument q
is defined by
P{q} = 0 for even q , and P { q } = 1 for odd q.
(7) The period of the sequences .ut(.) and w,(n)is N,represent-
ing the limit cycle period, and the amplitude-DFT-spectra over
N samples of the associated y-sequences yo,(.) are identical,
since the sequences are equal except for a time shift.
ad iii): if N is an integer multiple of four, it follows
that U(.) shows a local maximum and a local minimum at
+
n = 1 and n = $ 1, respectively, and the considerations
concerning possible locations for v,(n) at n = 1 can be
+
adapted accordingly at n = $ 1. Here, P{v,($
N
+
I)} =
P{w,(l)},because P{C,2=1y~/o,(n)} = P{?} = 0 for N
being even. Since signals v,(n)track U(.) at n = $ 1, if +
+
follows that w ~ ( $ 1) = - v l ( l ) and w2(: +
1) = -va(l).
This means that for n = 1 : N , each of the two sequences v,(n)
is composed of two partial sequences of the length $ and the
second half of each sequence v,(n) is obtained from the first
(8) by a simple sign inversion. The sequences can be written as

ad i): for N being odd, the period of a;(.) (with index v 1 ( l : N )= -vl(l:;)],
i = 1 , 2 here and in the following) cannot be equal to N ,
since P{wi(N+ l)}# P { v i ( l ) } Looking
. at (3), the reason is and
that necessarily P{x,",l yo;(n)} = P { N } = 1 with N being
+
odd. However, since u ( N 1) = u(1) and thle considerations
of above concerning the possible values for vi(.) at n = 1 are
The period of the sequences w,( n )and w,( n ) IS N , represent-
still valid at n = N + 1, it follows that wl(N$-1) = v ~ ( 1and)
ing the limit cycle period. Here, in contrast to the sequences
+
wz(N 1) = wl( 1).This means that for n = 1 : 2N, each of
described in (9) and (lo), the amplitude-DFT-spectra over N
the two sequences vi(.) is composed of two partial sequences
samples of the associated y-sequences yo, ( n ) are different.
of the length N , one starting with q ( 1 ) and the other with
For convenience, the symmetry property within one period
v2(1), i.e.,
as described in (11) is designated as "half-symmetry,'' and
v,1(1:2N)= [w,(l:N) w2(1:N)], periodic sequences composed of half-symmetric periods are
and designated as half-symmetric sequences.
One special case for N mod 4 = 0 occurs, when phase-
v2(1:2N) = /.2(1:N) v1(1:N)]. (9) factor Q of the input sinusoid is set to Q = 1. Then
Therefore, the period of the sequences U;(.) and conse- signals so(n) and u(n)are highly symmetric and it follows
quently the period of the sequences w; ( n )= U ( n ) - U;( n )is that s o ( 1 : N ) = [ s o ( l : + ) s o ( $ : - l : l ) - s ~ ( l : $ )-
2N, representing the limit cycle period. The amplitude-DFT- 30($:-1:1)] and u ( 1 : N ) = [u(l) ~(2::) 0 -
spectra over 2 N samples of the associated y-slequences yo; ( n ) u ( T : - 1 : 2 ) -u(l) - u ( 2 : 7 ) 0 u ( 7 : - 1 : 2 ) ] with
are identical, since the sequences are equal except for a time zeros at n = 4 1 and n = + + 1. Starting at n = 1, one of
shift. the two sequences ut
(.
) will also be zero at n = %+ 1, and
ad ii): if N is an integer multiple of two, it follows that therefore the determination of yo, ( n )at this location will cause
N + 1 : N ) = -u(l : +), and especially ,U($) = -u(0) difficulties. Condition for sequence v, ( n )for not being zero at
and U ( % + 1) = -u(1). Thus U(.) has a local minimum n = + 1 (i.e., P { V N +
, ( ~ 1)) = 1) is that parity P{v,(l)}
at n = $ + 1, and the considerations concerning possible is different from parity P{C$, yO,(n)}= P { $} (cf. (3)).
locations for U;(.) at n = 1 can be adapted accordingly at This means that $ being even requires an odd initial condition
+
n = $ 1. However, if N is a multiple of two, but not of w,(1) to produce a valid sequence u,(n), and
N
being odd
four, P{w;(~+l)} # P{wi(l)},because P{><,"=ly;o(n)} = an even initial condition. Depending on the amplitude of the
P { T } = 1 for $ being odd. Since signal w;(n)tracks U(.) input sinusoid, index i will change between 1 and 2. For
at n = $! + 1, it follows that w ~ ( :+ 1) = -vz(l) and convenience, a new index "s" is introduced for this case:
v2( N + 1) = -w1(1). This means that for n '= 1 :N , each of signal w,(n) is the sequence w,(n) with index z properly set
the two sequences U;(.) +
is composed of two partial sequences such that U,( $ 1) # 0. The resulting y-sequence is yo, ( n ) .
of the length 9 and can be written as Signal w, ( n )in general has a remarkable property: the shifted
+
sequence us (n 1) has exactly the same symmetry property as
v 1 ( l : N ) = [?Jl(l:;) -w2(1:;)], u ( n ) , i . e . , ~ , ( 2 : ~ + 1 )[vs(2)
= w3(3:$+1) o - u s ( $ ! +
1 : -1 : 3) -ws(2) - v s ( 3 : + + l ) 0 w , ( ? + l : -1 : 3)]. Since
and the zero-mean sequences v , ( n ) and u(n)are derived from the
390 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS-11: ANALOG AND DIGlTAL SIGNAL PROCESSING, VOL. 43, NO. 5 , MAY 1996

zero-mean sequences yos (n) and SO (n)by accumulation,
respectively, the shifted sequence y o s ( n + 1) also shows
the same kind of symmetry as s o ( n ) , i.e., yos(2 : N
[ y o s ( 2 :Nq + 1 ) y o s (N7 + 1 : - 1 : 2 ) - y o s ( 2 : $ + l )
1 : -1 : a)].It will be shown in Section IV-A that sequences
y ~ , ~ are
( n )especially suited for automatic generation by means
of an oscillator.
The question might arise, whether or not (for arbitrary N )
the sequences w1(n)and u2(n)collapse into each other, i.e.,
u1(n) = v ~ ( R )for R > n,. This case can simply be ex-
cluded, because the intitial parities are different (P(v1(l)}#
P{v2 (1)) since ul(1) - v2 (1) = 1) and the parities of adjacent
samples are different (i.e., P { v z ( n ) }# P{v?,(n I)}), and
thus P { v l ( n ) }# P ( v z ( n ) }for arbitrary n.
B. Properties of Half-Symmetric Sequences
Half-symmetric sequences as described in (1 1) in general
some highly interesting properties.
Sequence h ( n ) is assumed to be a half-symmetric and
composed of integers. Thus, the shifted sequence h(n
n o )is also half-symmetric (index no is arbitrary). There-
fore, the properties described in the following for the
indexes k = 1 :N (first period) can be adapted to
arbitrary indexes k = no : n o N - 1. + and yo(n) = 1 for ).(U
The mean of h ( n ) over one period is zero, since
N
-
2 sequences
As a consequence of the properties a) and b) of above,
a sequence composed of integers with half-symmetry can be
+
-yos(:+
1) = accumulated an arbitrary number of times without loosing the
half-symmetry property and without introducing noninteger
numbers.
C. Determination of Amplitude Limits
If a particular sequence yo(n) is derived from a sinusoid
s o ( n ) , sequence y ~ ( n )will not change, if amplitude a0 re-
mains within a particular range ao+in < ao < a ~ , To~ ~ ~ .
determine this range, signals U(.) and W(R) are regarded.
The amplitude of u(n)can be varied within particular limits
+ without changing ~ ( n )Reducing
. the amplitude of ~ ( n )the
,
lower limit is reached, when U(.) is equal to w(n)at particular
positions. Such positions can only occur at indexes n+,where
abs(u(n)) > abs(v(n)) (note that indexes n+ can also be
derived from signals U(.) and yo(n): for n+,yo(%) = 1 for
z,(n) 2 0 and yo(n) = -1 for ~ ( n5) 0). Increasing the
amplitude of u(n),the upper limit is reached, when U(.)
+ is equal to U(.) at particular positions. Here, such positions
can only occur at indexes n-,where abs(u(n)) < abs(w(n))
(corresponding to above, indexes n- can also be derived from
signals ).(U and yo(n): for n-,yo(n) = -1 for w(n) > 0
< 0). Since the amplitude of U(.)
is proportional to amplitude ao,the limits and
are proportional to the maximum and the minimum of the
[m] 4n+)
and [w],
4n-)
respectively, i.e.,

k=l k=$+l

Regarding the accumulated sequence CL=, h ( k ) ,a short and

calculation yields a general expression for the mean of
this sequence over one period N
N
-
.
1
N n r 2
D. Number of y-Sequences for Amplitudes 0 < a0 5 1
- h(k)= h(k). t 13)
N n=l k=l
2 If amplitude a0 of an input sinusoid is continuously de-
k=l
creased from a0 = l to a . = 0, only a finite number
If the accumulated sequence ~ ~ = ,
h ( k ) is dc-compensated
'V
of different y-sequences are obtained. In the following, the
and multiplied by two, sequence 2 E:=, h ( k ) - number of different y-sequences is estimated, if N mod 4 = 0
h ( k ) is assumed.
is obtained. This sequence shows the following prc,perties:
First, the amplitude of so(n)is first set to a0 = 1.According
a) it consists exclusively of integers, and to Section 11-A, for N mod 4 = 0 and Q # 1,two independent
b) shows half-symmetry again. sequences u l ( n ) and v 2 ( n )are associated with this sinusoid.
These features are demonstrated with the help of a simple Thus, two different amplitude ranges with [ a ~ l , ~ i ~ ,
example. One period within a half-symmetric sequence is and [u02+in, u , , ~ , ~ Jrespectively, , are obtained. These two
given by [4 1 -2 8 -4 -1 2 -81. The accumulated sequence ranges have immediately neighboring ranges, whose upper
is 14 5 3 11 7 6 8 01. The mean of this sequence is y,
thus limits are equal to the lower limits a 0 1 , ~ and i ~ a02,~i~.
the zero-mean sequence multiplied by two is [-3 -1 -5 11 3 1 respectively. The lower limits of the neighboring ranges will
5 -1 11, which again shows half-symmetry. also be different. The neighboring ranges of these ranges,
A half-symmetric integer sequence is obtained by accu- and of these again, and so on can be calculated, until the
mulation of h ( n ) without multiplication by two, if the term lower limits reach zero. In all, two closed sets of ranges are
h ( k ) is integer (cf. (13)). Sufficient conditions there- obtained, where neighboring ranges have no gaps and are
fore are that N mod 4 = 0 (and thus $ is even) and that not overlapping. For cr = 1, an input sinusoid is associated
h(n)exclusively consists of either even or odd integers. Then with only one sequence yos(.). Therefore, only one set of
an accumulation of an even number of even (or odd) integers neighboring ranges is obtained.
results in an even integer and thus division by two yields an To estimate the number of ranges in each set, the difference
integer result. of the sequences u(n)which are associated with neighboring
ZIERHOFER MULTIPLIER-FREE DIGITAL SINUSOID GENERATOR 391

ranges is of interest. Let U(.) and ).(U be associated with

range [ao,min, U O , ~ ~ Setting
~ ] . a0 = ao,mln,sequence U(.) is
equal to ).(U at particular positions n,, where indexes n, are a
subset of indexes n+ (cf. Section 11-C). If the amplitude is set
+
to a0 = uO,min E (with F << 1), then abs(u(n,)) is slightly
greater than abs(v(n,)). For a0 = a0,min - E , abs(u(n,))
is slightly smaller than abs(w(n,)), and therefore the two-
level signal yo(n) changes its sign at indexes n, and at the
following indexes a, + 1, respectively. However, except for
these changes, yo(n) remains the same. The changes in yo(n)
+
result in changes of w(n)only at positions n, 1, and there,
abs(w(n)) is reduced exactly by 2.
For illustration, a simple example is presented. Setting
parameters N = 24, p = 1,a = 0, and amplitude a0 = 1.00
results in sequence u(1 : 6) = [3.80 3.54 3.04 2.33 1.44 0.501
(here, only one quarter of period N is considered). Selecting
v(1) = 3 results in sequences w(1 : 6) = [3 4 3 4 3 21
and yo(1 : 6) = [ l -1 1 -1 -1 -11. Here, u(3) = 3.04 is U

slightly greater than w(3) = 3, and hence yo(3) = 1. If the F

amplitude is reduced to a0 = 0.97 and again ~ ( 1= ) 3 is
selected, sequences u(1 : 6) = [3.68 3.43 2.95 2.26 1.42
0.491, v(1 : 6) = [3 4 3 2 3 21, and yo(1 : 6) = [ l -1 -1 1
-1 -I] are obtained. Here, u(3) = 2.95 is slightly smaller than
w(3) = 3. Consequently, yo(n) changes at n = 3 and n = 4
to yo(3) = -1 and yo(4) = 1, respectively. The neighboring
sequence w( 1 : 6) has only changed at position n = 4 from
v(4) = 4 (for a0 = 1.00) to v(4) = 2 (for a0 = 0.97), and
the difference is 2.
The number of positions n, within one period N depends
on the symmetry properties of U ( n ) and w ( n ) For N # 1, there
I
(cl
Fig. 3. (a) Block diagram of a digital oscillator incorporating a E-A
modulator. (b) Double-integration network (LDIz ). (c) Single-loop E-A
modulator
is obtained, when the sequence w(a)derived from an input
sinusoid with a0 = E is accumulated. In this case, ).(U is
an alternating sequence ..., 0 1 0 l . . . if U(.) > 0, and
. . . , 0 -1 0 -1 0 . . . if U(.) < 0. The resulting amplitude
of the accumulated sequence is 6.Assuming a constant
decrease A for neighboring ranges, an overall number of

exist exactly two positions, one in each half of period N . For
N = 1, in general four positions n, exist, two in each half of
period N . However, if n, = 0 occurs, for symmetry reasons
only one additional position nz = is possible, resulting in
two neighboring sequences ).(U which are different at only
two positions n = 1 and n = 1 N
+ 1.
If some neighboring sequences ).(U are regarded, the
positions of differences change in a hardly predictable way
and therefore it is difficult to determine the overall number
of ranges if sequences w(n) alone are taken into account.
However, the well defined differences between neighboring
sequences w(n) can be made visible independent of their
positions if the sequences w(n) are accumulated. Since se-
quences w ( n )are half-symmetric, (zero-mean) half-symmetric
sequences can be obtained by accumulation (cf. Section 11-B).
The differences between neighboring sequences v ( n ) cause
an exactly defined difference A in the amplitudes of the
accumulated sequences. For p = 1, the amplitude difference
is exactly A = 1, when two positions n, occur within period
N , and A = 2 for four positions n,. For 11 # 1, the mean
amplitude differences are A = l / p and A = 2 / p for two and
four positions n,, respectively.
Accumulation of w ( n )means double-integration of sequence
yo(n). Since the input sinusoid is represented in yo(n) as
short-time mean value, the amplitude of the double-integration
sequence is approximately an( SIz. Setting ao = I results
in the maximum amplitude ( z)2. The minimum amplitude
i((g)2 i(&)' - f) z neighboring ranges is obtained,
resulting in approximately ;(E)' and ranges for
a # 1 and N = 1, respectively.
111. ANALYSIS
OF A c-a OSCILLATOR
Section I1 demonstrates that a sinusoid in general is as-
sociated with exactly two y-sequences, if U(.) is assumed
to be a zero-mean sequence (cf. (5)). For N mod 4 = 0,
these y-sequences are independent of each other and show
half-symmetry, respectively. It has been shown that integer
half-symmetric sequences can be accumulated such that again
half-symmetric sequences consisting of integers are obtained.
It has also been shown that y-sequences can be insensitive
to slight variations of the input sinusoid. These variations in
general might be caused by some noise added to the sinusoid,
or may simply be variations of the amplitude of the sinusoid
(cf. (14)).
In the light of these considerations it seems reasonable to
construct an oscillator which automatically generates half-
symmetric y-sequences identical to those produced by the
driven E A modulator. In the following, only half-symmetric
y-sequences are considered, and for convenience, index i =
1 , 2 is omitted.
A. Principle of Operation
A block diagram of a E A oscillator is shown in Fig. 3(a).
It consists of a cascade of pairs of lossless discrete integration
392 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS-11:
_-----_---_--_____-
LDI,
#1
#R
(b)
Fig. 4. (a) Resonator circuit cut off after the E-A comparator. (b) Modified circuit.
networks (LDI2s, Fig. 3(b)) and a numeric single-loop E A
modulator of first-order as depicted in Fig. 3(c).
The transfer function of an LDIz derived from its z-
transform is
where f denotes the frequency normalized to the sampling
frequency f s . The phase spectrum of LDIz(f) is zero and
therefore no phase shift between the input and the output
is introduced. The output of the first integration circuit is
multiplied by two to ensure integer operation of the second in-
tegration network. Because of this factor, the output sequence
of an LDT2 is exclusively either even or odd. Therefore, no
factor two at the output of the second integration network is
necessary for integer accumulation of sequences in the first
integration circuit of the following LDI2 (cf. Section 11-B).
The numeric X-Amodulator of Fig. 3(c) is identical with
the X-A modulator of Fig. l(a), except for the multiplier F
in the feedback branch. Since F determines the oscillation
frequency of the oscillator, it is designated as system constant.
Block z+l after the last LDI2 is necessary to compensate for
the delay in the E A modulator. It can be realized by simply
+
taking b ~ ( n 1) as input signal ~ ( nof )the E-A modulator
(cf. Fig. 4).
The basic idea behind this oscillator is as follows. Let
yo(n) be a half-symmetric sequence derived from a driven
X-A modulator Fig. l(a) for a sinusoidal input so(n). Then
the short-time mean of yo(n) is proportional to the amplitude
of the input sinusoid and the spectrum of yo(n) consists of
a single spectral line at the frequency of the input sinusoid
plus the noise spectrum, which is of high-pass type. Due
to the low-pass type filter characteristic of the LDT2s, the
noise floor is reduced at higher frequencies. Since no delay
is introduced in the LDIzs, the resulting signal zo(n) at
the .CA modulator input is a sinusoid plus some remaining
noise. However, within each LDIz, the amplitude of the signal
is amplified by about 2(&j2 (this is an approximation of
ANALOG AND DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING, VOL. 43, NO. 5, MAY 1996
(15) for f = 5 << 1). Considering R LDIzs, the overall
amplification of the input sinusoid so ( n ) is approximately
2 R ( & ) 2 R , i.e., xo(n)M s 0 ( n ) 2Z T ~P ( X )This
~ ~amplification
.
is compensated by adapting the input range of the E-A
modulator by multiplying yo(n) by F M 2R(&)2R. Since
yo(n) E {-I, I}, this multiplication is trivial, and if F is
an integer, operations based on integers can be performed.
If a system constant F exists such that xo(n) at the %A
modulator input is converted into the sequence yo(n) again,
self-oscillation can be achieved.
B. Initial Conditions for Periodic Operation
For analysis, the oscillator of Fig. 3(a) is cut open imme-
diately after the discrete comparator as shown in Fig. 4(a),
and sequence yo (n)is fed into the input. Far convenience, the
network Fig. 4(a) is modified to network Fig. 4(b). Here, the
integrator of the X-A modulator in Fig. 2(a) is split up into
two integration circuits, and the adder is shifted to a position
immediately before the comparator.
Since sequence yo(n) is half-symmetric, all registers of
Fig. 4(b) can be initialized such that sequences a,(n),b,(n)
(for T = 1 ; 2 . . . . . R ) , u ~ ( n and
) ).(U are again half-
symmetric composed of integers (cf. Section TI-B)
N
-
2
b,.(l)=~u,,(k+I), forr=1,2,...,R, (17)
k=l
-
N
l 2
u ~ ( 1=
2
+
) - - c b ~ ( k l ) , and
k=l
ZIERHOFER: MULTIPLIER-FREE DIGITAL SINUSOID GENERATOR 393

Note that these initial conditions can be detferminedwithout amplitudes are approximately
system constant F . After determination of F (cf. Section III-
C), the initial condition W F (1) can be calculated by W F (1) = max[u,(n)] M 2T-1 ( & y - l ,
U&) - Fw(1).

C. Constraintsfor System Constant F for Periodic Operation

and
If the output sequence y & ( n )in Fig. 4(b) is q u a l to the input
sequence yo ( n ) ,the loop can be closed, and operation as au-
tonomous oscillator can be achieved. As shown above, the ini-
tial conditions for the registers can exclusively be derived from The resulting register lengths (including the sign-bit) are
sequence yo ( n ) .It has also been demonstrated above that con-
stant F is approximately F M aR( G ) 2 R ,but unfortunately,
simple rounding operations like F = floor1[2~( & ) 2 R ) , or
F = ~ e i l ( 2&~) (2 R ) in general yield scaling factors F , which
do not result in yb(n) = yo(n).
A convenient approach for finding adequate values of F and
is made possible with the help of Fig. 4(b). Here, the signal
u ~ ( nis)directly compared with signal F*v(n). Both signals
U F ( n )and w ( n )are derived from the same input signal yo ( n ).
Signal ~ ( nis) obtained by accumulating ?/o(n).The time The maximum register length is L,. For example, for N =
waveform obtained after multiplying the result by F is rather 213 = 8192 and p = 1, L, = 24 b for R = 1, and L, = 46
rough since two neighboring values differ by :tF, respectively. b for R = 2. Each doubling of period N increases the length
Signal U F ( n )is considerably smoother since it is the result of of L, by 2R b.
+
2R 1 integrations which eliminate a great deal more of the
high-frequency E A noise. Signal y&(n)is simply RESULTS
IV. SIMULATION

yb(n) = sign(uF(n) - F * v ( n ) ) . (21) A. Generability of y-Sequences

This section investigates whether a sequence yo(n) derived
For general sequences yo(n) with half-symmetry at the input from a sinusoid so(n) can be generated by means of the
of the network Fig. 4(b) and initial conditions from (16)-(20), autonomous E A oscillator. Some general conclusions can be
yA(n) will differ from yo(n). However, if yo(n) is E A drawn regarding at the DFT-spectra Yo(m) and So(m). The
sequence derived from a pure sinusoid, possibly a real region DFT of sequence so(n) here is defined as
with upper and lower limits Fminand F,,, respectively, can
be found, and all real numbers F within Fmlin < F < F,,
yield yb(n) = yo(n).
The limits Pminand F,, can be found as the maximum
and minimum of the sequences [1- and [ -1, respec- So(m) as the DFT of a sinusoid shows two spectral lines at
tively, where indexes n- and n+ are defined by sequences +
m = p 1 and m = N + 1 - p and is zero elsewhere. The
)
.
(
U and yo(n) as shown in Section II-C spectrum Yo(m)in general can be written as

Yo(m)= So(m)exp -j-(m

(: - I)
1+ r(m)

where the first term is the spectrum of so(n) delayed by

(26)

one unit, and the second term is the noise spectrum r(m)
Note that real regions [F,;, , F,,] (with Fmin < F,,) are of as a consequence of the quantization noise. Since yo(n) is
particular importance for the oscillator implementation, if they zero-mean, the dc-component Y o ( l )= 0 in any case. In the
contain at least one integer. However, this must not necessarily resonator loop, signal yo(n) is filtered by a chain of LDI2s to
remove the influence of r(m)and to enhance the component at
be the case (cf. Section IV-A, Table I).
m = p+ 1 (here and in the following only indexes 1 5 m 5
are considered). However, the noise spectrum r(m)in general
D.Hardware Cost is not zero at m = p + 1, and its influence on the phase of
+
As far as R LDI2s are concerned, the oscillator can be im- Y o ( p 1) in principle cannot be removed by the LDI2s (cf.
plemented using 2R+1 registers and 2R+2 adders. The length the zero-delay transfer-function (15)).
of the registers can be determined by estimating the amplitudes For p # 1, spectrum Yo(m) in general has components
of the signals a l ( n ) , u 2 ( n ) , . . . , U R ( ~ ) ,h~(n),bz(n),...,within 1 < m < p + 1, and due to the filter-function of the
, w ~ ( n )if, sequence yo(n) is derived from a LDI2 s, these components are amplified even more strongly
b ~ ( n )and
+
sinusoid with amplitude a. = 1. With T = 1,2, . . . , R, these than the spectral line at m = p 1. Therefore, with respect
394 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS-11: ANALOG AND DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING, VOL. 43, NO. 5 , MAY 1996

TABLE I
OF SEQUENCES
GENERABILITY

to the generability of a y-sequence, the case p = 1 clearly has

to be preferred.
Regions Emin,
F,&
As shown in Section II-A, special symmetry properties
occur setting cr = 1.In this case, sequence yos(n) is associated Fig. 5. Regions Fmax] for
[Fmin, an oscillator with one
with the input sinusoid, and the input sinusoid and the shifted LDI2(R = 1): y-sequences are derived from sinusoids with h = 2 5 6 ,
p = 1, and a = 1. Each single horizontal solid line corresponds to one
+
output sequence yos(n 1) have the same kind of symmetry. region [Fmin, Fma,l,
Setting p = 1, it follows for the spectral line at m = 2 that

and each of these contains at least one integer. Here the number
of sequences that can be generated by the oscillator even
i.e., the phase of the input sinusoid exactly coincides with decreases, when two LDIzs are used instead of one. This
the phase of the first harmonic of sequence yos(n), except clearly underlines the importance of (27) and the exceptional
for one unit delay. This fact has an important impact on the importance of sequences yos ( n )in the present application.
generability of sequences yos(n) (with p = 1). It means that Table I also depicts some results for p = 3. As expected, the
in principle each sequence yos ( n )can be generated by means number of y-sequences that can be generated by the oscillator
of the oscillator, provided a sufficient reduction of the noise is comparatively low. Corresponding to the considerations
spectrum of Yos(m)by the chain of LDI2s. Equation (27) in stated above, the number of possible sequences is significantly
general is not fulfilled for arguments arg(Yo(2)) for arbitrary reduced for R = 2 instead of R = 1.
phase factors cr and p = 1, and therefore additional filtering For illustration, all regions [Fmin,F], with F,in < Fmax
with LDI2s will not necessarily improve the generability of derived from input sinusoids with N = 2 5 6 , p = 1, and a = 1
the sequences yo ( n ) . are depicted in Fig. 5 and show a structure similar to a fir tree.
Some results are summarized in Table I. Columns 1-3 The location of the tree is at F M M 3320. In Fig. 5,
contain the parameters N , a, and p defining the sinusoid s o ( n ) . each region [F,;,, F,,] is represented by a horizontal solid
The overall number of y-sequences is calculated in column line.
4, if the amplitude is reduced from a0 = 1 to a0 = 0. It might be of practical interest to search for y-sequences
Depending on the number R of LDI2s (column 5), a particular for a given amplitude a0 and varying period N , which can be
number of y-sequences can be generated by means of the generated by the oscillator. However, the number of different
oscillator. Column 6 shows the number of y-sequences with y-sequences increases approximately proportional to N 2 , and
F,,, < F < F,,, and column 7 yields the number of regions thus the mean width of the regions [a~,,i~,u~,,,~] over
[F,,,, Fmax]which contain at least one integer. one period is proportional to &. Therefore, if the original
For sinusoids defined by N = 256, p = 1, and U: = 1, in all sequence yo(n) cannot be generated, it might be sufficiently
826 different sequences yos(n) are obtained. For an oscillator accurate to take the next possible sequence y i ( n ) , whose
containing one LDI2(R = l), 815 sequences yield regions corresponding region [a:,,;,, is closest to the original
with Fmin < F < F,,, and out of these, 797 regions contain region.
at least one F as an integer. For 11 regions, Fmln > F,,, For example, all y-sequences have been computed for
and these results correspond to y-sequences, which cannot be a0 = .95,p = 1, and cr = 1, and increasing period N =
generated by the oscillator with one LDI2. For R = 2, 824 y- (256:4:8192), resulting in 1985 y-sequences. For each se-
sequences can be generated with operations on integers. Here, quence, the region [ q m i n , a ~ , has~ been ~ determined.
~ ] For
additional filtering helps to increase the number of sequences an oscillator with one LDIz(El = 1), 106 out of 1985 y-
that can be produced by the oscillator. sequences cannot be generated. For these sequences, the next
If all possible y-sequences are derived for N = 256, p = 1, possible sequences which are associated with the replacement
and cr = 0, 1631 different y-sequences are obtained. For regions a{,max]have been determined. Fig. 6 depicts
R = 1, 1095 sequences yield regions with F,,, < F < Fmax. the complete set of all 1985 regions [ u o , ~ ~u , , ~ , offset ~ ~ ~ ]
Out of these, 1048 regions contain at least one F as an integer. by a0 (upper trace), where each region corresponds to a
For R = 2, 1009 regions with F,,, < F < F,, are obtained, vertical line. The lower trace shows the position of the
ZIERHOFER: MULTIPLIER-FREE DIGITAL SINUSOID GENERATOR 395

x 10"
9 0

2000 3000 4000 5000 6wO 7000 8000 9000

Period N

5t
Ot
1
-5 -
2o
101
t I
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Amplitude
~ ~=]0.95 and
u o ,by~ ao
Fig. 6. Upper trace: All regions [ a ~ , ~ i ~ , offset
Fig. 7. Dotted line: SNR of S A sequences for OSR =I92 (iV = 4096),
N = (256 : 4 : 8192), Lower trace: Replacement regiam [a:,min, a:,max]
Solid line: SNR of PCM-signals with OSR = 1.5, B =11.5 b ( N = 128).
offset by a0 for y-sequences which can be generated by an oscillator with
R = 1. Each region is associated with a vertical line.

With the signal power cr: = 9,the Signal-to-Noise ratio

106 replacement regions [a:,min,a~,,,,]. Fig. 6 also contains
functions k(g)-2 representing the mean width 2(g)-2
, ~ ~ , N] , when a! = 1 and
the regions [ u ~ , ~ i ~ , afor~ period
p = 1 (cf. Section 11-D). Fig. 6 demonstrates that the regions
are situated close to or even within the functions Az($)-~,
so that the error resulting from taking thern instead of the
original region is marginal.
If an oscillator with two LDI2's is considered, there are only
3 y-sequences which cannot be generated for a. = 0.95, a =
1 , p = 1, and N = (256:4:8192).
B. Signal-to-Noise Ratio
The spectral properties of two-level E A sequences in
general have been broadly discussed in literature, e.g., [6].
In [7], especially E A systems of first-order with sinusoidal
input signals are investigated.
In the present application, the Signal-to-Noise ratio within
a given signal band f c can be exactly computed, since for
N mod 4 = 0, both sequences s o ( n ) and y / ~ ( nare
) periodic
with period N . The overall noise spectrum is given by
The number of spectral lines m, within the signal band [O, fc]
is
(SNR) is
of
SNR= lolog(&).
Fig. 7 plots the SNR's derived from E-A sequences (dotted
line) and PCM-signals (solid line) as functions of amplitude
ao. The E-A sequences are derived from sinusoids with N =
4096, p = 1 and a = 1. The oversampling ratio is OSR=192.
The SNR's of these sequences correspond approximately to
the SNR's of PCM-signals with OSR=1.5, N = 128, and a
resolution of 11.5 b.
The fluctuations of the curve derived from the S A se-
quences are due to the low number of spectral lines within the
signal band (mc,c-a= l l ) , compared to m c , p c ~= 43 for
the PCM-signals.
C. Examples of Unstable Oscillation Modes
This section demonstrates the sensitivity of the oscillation
modes to slight changes of the initial conditions and the system
constant F . As an example, the y-sequence is derived for an
input sinusoid characterized by N = 128, a0 = 0 . 9 8 , ~= 1,
and a! = 1. An oscillator configuration with R = 1 is
considered, and (16) and (17) yield the initial values of the
registers of the LDI 2a1(1) = 19 and bl (I) = 20, respectively.
The region for system constant F is calculated with (22)
resulting in [F,i,, F,,] = [830.60, 836.441. Choosing F =
831 yields initial condition w ~ ( 1 )= 843 ( u ~ ( 1 )and w ( 1 )
with (19) and (20), respectively). For this set of initial register

(
m, = ceil f c -
I) = ceil --
(2&) (29)
conditions and system constant F , the oscillator produces y-
sequences identical with the y-sequences of the driven E A
modulator. The resulting periodic sequence zo(n)at the input
where OSR is the oversampling ratio. Thus the noise power
of the E-A-modulator within the oscillator is depicted in the
within [-fc,fc] is
first trace of Fig. 8. The second trace shows the simulated
time waveform of ~ ( nif )b l ( 1 ) = 21 instead of b l ( 1 ) = 20.
Here, the oscillation amplitude is not constant and amplitude
variations of approximately 10% occur. The third trace depicts
396 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS-11: ANALOG AND DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING, VOL. 43, NO. 5 , MAY 1996

symmetric sequence yo(n). Sequence yo(n) can be

generated by the oscillator, if constant F exists such
0 that F,,,, < F < F,,,. It cannot be produced, if
Fmm > Fmax.
-1 000
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4) If constant F is an integer and y o ( n ) is half-symmetric,
1000 the operation of the oscillator is exclusively based on
integers. Thus, registers with finite length can be used
0 and no truncation- or round-off errors are introduced.
5) Sequences yos(.) derived from sinusoids with N mod
-1000
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000
4 = 0. Q = 1, and p = 1 have a special importance.
lo4 It has been shown Section IV-A that each of these
0 sequences in principle can be generated by the oscil-
lator, provided a sufficient number of LDI2s is used.
For y-sequences derived from sinusoids with a # 1
-2
0
500
Y
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500
1
4000
(and arbitrary p), adding LDIzs does not necessarily
time n enhance the generability.
Fig. 8. Time waveforms of signal xc(n) for for various initial conditions, 6) It has been shown with the help of some examples
First trace: a l ( 1 ) = 1 9 , b l ( l ) = 2 0 , w p ( l ) = 843.F = 831 (stable os- that the oscillator is highly sensitive to variations of
cillation). Second trace: a l ( 1 ) = 1 9 , b l ( l ) = 2 1 . ~ ~ ( =1 S43.F
) = 831. the initial conditions and the system constant F . Even
Third trace: al(1) = 1 9 , b l ( l ) = 2 0 , u , ~ ( 1= ) 813.F = 830.
marginal changes may either result in amplitude fluctua-
tions or even cause a complete breakdown of operation.
rco(n),if F is set to F = 830 instead of F = 831. This change
results in a complete breakdown of the oscillator operation, REFERENCES
since the oscillation amplitude tends to increase to infinity [ I ] L. E. Turner, A fully programmable digital oscillator, in CMC
after a certain number of oscillation cycles. Workshop.. Kingston, June 1992.
This example clearly demonstrates the importance of proper [2] A. K. Lu; G. W. Roberts, and D. A. Johns, A high-quality analog
oscillator using oversampling D/A conversion techniques, IEEE Trans.
initialization and proper choice of system constant F . It proves Circuits Spr. ZZ, vol. 41, pp. 4 3 7 4 4 4 , July 1994.
that the simple analysis of the oscillator as reported in [2] is 131 J. C. Candy and G. C. Temes, Oversampling methods for A D and
not sufficient and may lead to some unpleasant surprises. DIA conversion, Oversampling Delta-Sigma Converters. New York:
IEEE Press, 1991.
[4] V. Friedman, The structure of limit cycles in sigma-delta modulation,
V. CONCLUSION IEEE Trails. Commun.. vol. 36, pp. 972-979, Aug. 1988.
[5] S. Hein and A. Zakhor, On the stability of sigma delta modulators,
The analysis of the E-A based oscillator as described in this IEEE Trans. Signal Process, vol. 41, pp. 2322-2348, July 1993.
[6] B. P. Agrawal and K. Shenoi, Design methodology for SDM, IEEE
paper can be summarized as follows. Trans. Commun., vol. COM-31, pp. 360-370, Mar. 1983.
1) The analysis aims at finding conditions for the oscillator [7] R. M. Gray, W. Chou, and P. W. Wong, Quantization noise in
single-loop sigma-delta modulation with sinusoidal inputs, IEEE Trans.
to generate y-sequences identical to those produced by Cominun., vol. 37, pp. 956-968, Sept. 1989.
a E A modulator driven by a pure sinusoid.
2) The input sinusoid is defined by the parameters N .
a , and p . Sufficient conditions for the resulting se-
quence yo(n) being half-symmetric are that N is an Clemens M. Zierhofer was born in Innsbruck,
Austria, in 1962. He received the DipLIng. and
integer multiple of four, and signal U(.) is a zero-mean Dr.techn. degrees in electrical engineering from the
cosinusoid (cf. (5)). Technical University of Vienna, Austria, in 1985 and
3) The oscillation frequency and the oscillation ampli- 1989, respectively.
In 1986 he joined the Institute of Experimen-
tude of the oscillator are determined by system con- tal Physics, University of Innsbruck, Austria. His
stant F and the initial states of the registers. A re- research interests include cochlear implant design,
gion [F,,, F,,] and proper initial register conditions analog and digital signal processing, and RF-power
amplifiers.
can be calculated with the help of the desired half-