Error analysis and implementation considerations of decoding algorithms for time-encoding machine

Abstract

Time-encoding circuits operate in an asynchronous mode and thus are very suitable for ultra-wideband applications. However, this asynchronous mode leads to nonuniform sampling that requires computationally complex decoding algorithms to recover the input signals. In the encoding and decoding process, many non-idealities in circuits and the computing system can affect the final signal recovery. In this article, the sources of the distortion are analyzed for proper parameter setting. In the analysis, the decoding problem is generalized as a function approximation problem. The characteristics of the bases used in existing algorithms are examined. These bases typically require long time support to reach good frequency property. Long time support not only increases computation complexity, but also increases approximation error when the signal is reconstructed through short patches. Hence, a new approximation basis, the Gaussian basis, which is more compact both in time and frequency domain, is proposed. The reconstruction results from different bases under different parameter settings are compared.