A Low-Voltage and Low-Power Adaptive Switched-Current Sigma–Delta ADC for Bio-Acquisition Microsystems

An ultralow-voltage and low-power adaptive sigma-delta analog-to-digital converter (SDADC) with a 10-bit dynamic range for bio-microsystem applications is presented. The proposed SDADC includes a switched-current sigma-delta modulator (SISDM) and a digital decimator. In order to achieve the low-voltage requirement, a novel class-AB switched-current memory cell is adopted to implement the SISDM with the oversampling ratio (OSR) of 64. In addition, a proposed differential current comparator and a low-voltage 1-bit switched-current digit-to-analog converter (SIDAC) are used for the design of the SDM. Benefits from the SISDM using the class-AB memory cell are low power consumption and high dynamic range. Moreover, a new single-multiplier structure is presented to implement the finite-impulse-response (FIR) digital filters which are the major hardware elements in the decimator. For the various applications with different biosignal frequencies, the SDADC could be manipulated in different operating modes. The overall ADC has been implemented in a TSMC 0.18-mum 1P6M standard CMOS process technology. Without a voltage booster to raise the gate voltage of switches, measurement results show that the SISDM has a dynamic range over 60 dB and a power consumption of 180 muW with an input signal of 1.25-kHz sinusoid wave and 5-kHz bandwidth under a single 0.8-V power supply for electroneurography signals. In addition, the postlayout simulations of SDADC including SISDM and decimator reveal that the dynamic range is still over 60 dB without degrading by digital circuits     

A 3 V Wideband CMOS Switched-Current A/D-Converter Suitable for Time-Interleaved Operation

The simulated and measured performance of an experimental 10-b wideband CMOS A/D converter design is presented. Fully-differential first-generation switched-current circuits with common-mode feedforward were used to implement a 1.5-b/stage pipelined architecture in order to evaluate the switched-current technique for digital radio applications. With f _in = 1.83, the measured spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) is 60.3 dB and the signal-to-noise-and-distortion ratio (SNDR) = 46.5dB at 3 MS/s. Although this 3 V design was fabricated in a standard digital 5 V, 0.8 m CMOS process, a high bandwidth was achieved. Since the ADC maintains an SNDR 40 dB for input frequencies of more than 20 MHz, it has the highest input bandwidth reported for any CMOS switched-current A/D-converter implementation. Its sample rate can be increased by parallel, time-interleaved, operation. Measurement results are compared with the measured performance of other wideband switched-current A/D converters and found to be competitive also with respect to area and power efficiency.     

Very Low-Voltage Switched-Current Circuits in Standard Digital CMOS Process

The inherent simplicity of switched-current circuits makes them suitable for low-voltage and very low voltage operation. This paper presents the design of 1.2-V switched-current circuits in a standard digital CMOS process. The core elements are the proposed fully differential SI memory cell and high resolution current quantizer. A delay line and a second-order delta-sigma modulator are implemented and measured. The delay line occupies an active chip area of 0.2 mm² and dissipates a power of 0.2 mW, and the modulator occupies an active chip area of 0.47 mm² and dissipates a power of 0.78 mW. The measured total harmonic distortion of the delay line is less than –48 dB with a 60% input modulation index and the measured dynamic range of the modulator is 10 bits.     

A 14-bit 80-kHz sigma-delta A/D converter: modeling, design andperformance evaluation

The development is described of a sigma-delta A/D (analog-to-digital) converter. Included is a brief overview of sigma-delta conversion. The A/D converter achieves an 88.5-dB dynamic range and a maximum signal-to-noise ratio of 81.5 dB. The harmonic distortion is negligible. This level of performance is about 10 dB higher than previously reported results for oversampled A/D converters in this frequency range. The analog modulator uses a double-integration switched-capacitor architecture with an oversampling rate of 10.24 MHz. Transconductance amplifiers having a 160-MHz f_t were developed for the integrators. The circuit is implemented in a 1.75-μm 5-V CMOS process. The analog circuitry occupies 2 mm² of silicon area and consumes 75 mW of power. Some of the difficult problems associated with evaluating the performance of sigma-delta converters are described. The design of a sigma-delta development and performance evaluation system is presented. This system includes a custom interface board linking the chip to a Sun workstation, and extensive digital signal processing and analysis software     

开关电流技术与过采样A／D变换器

开关电流(SI)电路技术与标准数字CMOS工艺的完全兼容使得它成为实现过采样A／D变换器乃至单片模数混合集成系统的理想选择。本文讨论了开关电流电路技术及其在过采样A／D变换器的应用，包括开关电流电路的基本单元及其各种改进型，实现过采样A／D变换器中调制器的建构模块和制器的结构。     

A low-voltage switched-current delta-sigma modulator

This paper presents the design of a fully differential switched-current delta-sigma modulator using a single 3.3-V power-supply voltage. At system level, we tailor the modulator structure considering the similarity and difference of switched-capacitor and switched-current realizations. At circuit level, we propose a new switched-current memory cell and integrator with improved common mode feedback, without which low power-supply-voltage operation would not be possible. The whole modulator was implemented in a 0.8-μm double-metal digital CMOS process. It occupies an active area of 0.53×0.48 mm² and consumes a current of 0.6 mA from a single 3.3-V power supply. The measured dynamic range is over 10 b     

A 10-bit pipelined switched-current A/D converter

A modified RSD algorithm has been implemented in a switched-current pipelined A/D converter. The offset insensitivity of the RSD Converter reduces the effect of several nonidealities proper to current copier cells. Moreover, the benefits resulting from the large tolerances inherent to the RSD algorithm and the pipelined architecture result in an improved conversion rate. Measurements on a first prototype give an integral nonlinearity error less than 0.8 LSB for 10-bit accuracy. Power dissipation is 20 mW and silicon area is 2.5 mm² . The measured sampling rate is 550 kS/s. It is an improvement by a factor of twenty compared to known equivalent CMOS switched-current converters. It is nevertheless still well below the predicted conversion rate of 4.5 MHz, which should be obtained once this A/D converter is integrated into an analog front-end. Full compatibility with standard digital technologies makes this kind of converter attractive for low power, medium-fast converters with 10-bit accuracy     

Multibit oversampled ΣΔ A/D converters as front end forCD players

A technique is presented for deriving all of the different control signals needed for focusing and radial tracking in a digital servosystem for compact disc (CD) players, as well as the full band data from the disc. Because of the different natures of all those signals, different bandwidth and dynamic range, complex analog anti-aliasing circuits, and several types of A/D (analog-to-digital) converters would normally be required to convert the signals from the analog to digital domain. With the proposed technique it is possible to carry out the conversion of the high-frequency data as well as the low-frequency control signals with only a single type of multibit sigma-delta (ΣΔ) A/D converter in combination with digital signal processing. The use of ΣΔ type A/D conversion also has other advantages such as its suitability for integration in a CMOS VLSI process and the fact that the requirements for the anti-aliasing filters in front of the converters are relaxed due to the oversampling technique     

CMOS oversampling ΔΣ magnetic-to-digital converters

In this paper, two CMOS oversampling delta-sigma (ΔΣ) magnetic-to-digital converters (MDCs) are proposed. The first MDC consists of the magnetic operational amplifier (MOP) and a first-order switched-capacitor (SC) ΔΣ modulator. The second one directly uses the MOP to realize a first-order SC ΔΣ modulator. They can convert the external magnetic field into digital form. Both circuits were fabricated in a 0.5-μm CMOS double-poly double-metal (DPDM) process and operated at a 5-V supply voltage and the nominal sampling rate of 2.5 MHz. The dynamic ranges of these converters are at least ±100 mT. The gain errors within ±100 mT are less than 3% and the minimum detectable magnetic field can reach as small as 1 mT. The resolutions are 100 μT for both of the two MDCs. The measured sensitivities are 1.327 mv/mT and 0.45 mv/mT for the first and the second MDC, respectively     

New current-mode wave-pipelined architectures for high-speed analog-to-digital converters

In this paper, two new architectures for high-speed CMOS wave-pipelined current-mode A/D converters (WP-IADCs) are proposed and analyzed. In the new WP-IADC architectures, the wave-pipelined theory is applied to both pipeline structures, called full WP-IADC (FWP-IADC) and indirect transfer WP-IADC (ITWP-IADC). In the FWP-IADC, each stage uses the full current-mode wave-pipelined structure without switched-current cell circuits. In the ITWP-IADC, the switched-current cells are incorporated into the wave-pipelined stages which are divided into several sections with controlled clocks. Therefore, the proposed ITWP-IADC performs optimally in terms of speed and accuracy in the WP-IADCs. Generally, the proposed WP-IADCs have the advantages of high speed, high input frequency, high efficiency of timing usage, high clock-period flexibility in switched-current cells for precision enhancement, and reduced number of switched-current cells in the overall data path for linearity improvement. According to the theoretical analysis on the proposed WP-IADC structures, the minimum sampling clock period is proportional to the intrinsic delay of the current mirror and the increased rise/fall time in each wave-pipelined stage. The HSPICE simulation results reveal that, under Nyquist rate sampling in 8-b resolution, a sampling rate of 20 and 54 MHz can be achieved for FWP-IADC and two-section ITWP-IADC, respectively. If four wave-pipelined sections are used, the ITWP-IADC can be operated at 166 MHz at an input frequency of 8 MHz. To experimentally verify the correct function of the proposed WP-IADC structures, the proposed new architecture of the FWP-IADC is implemented by using 0.35-/spl mu/m CMOS technology. The measurement results successfully demonstrate the feasibility of wave-pipelined IADC architectures in applications of high-speed ADCs.     

Superconductor analog-to-digital converters

Ultrafast switching speed, low power, natural quantization of magnetic flux, quantum accuracy, and low noise of cryogenic superconductor circuits enable fast and accurate data conversion between the analog and digital domains. Based on rapid single-flux quantum (RSFQ) logic, these integrated circuits are capable of achieving performance levels unattainable by any other technology. Two major classes of superconductor analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) are being developed - Nyquist sampling and oversampling converters. Complete systems with digital sampling at rates of /spl sim/20 GHz and above have been demonstrated using low-temperature superconductor device technology. Some ADC components have also been implemented using high-temperature superconductors. Superconductor ADCs have unique applications in true digital-RF communications, broadband instrumentation, and digital sensor readout. Their designs, test results, and future development trends are reviewed.     

Switched-current oversampling converters

There are many choices in designing a real-time signal processing system. To exploit the advantages that inexpensive digital CMOS process technologies provide, it is usually a good choice to use digital signal processing circuits extensively and to use analog circuits only as a bridge between the real analog world and digital signal processing circuits. The mixed analog/digital circuits usually have high performance and low cost. SI oversampling converters in particular are the ideal choice as the front ends for the mixed analog/digital design. They serve to bridge the real world and modern process technologies     

A 12-bit 1-Msample/s capacitor error-averaging pipelined A/Dconverter

A capacitor error-averaging technique is applied to perform an accurate multiply-by-two (×2) function required in high-resolution pipelined analog-to-digital (A/D) converters. Errors resulting from capacitor mismatch and switch feedthrough are corrected in the analog domain without using digital calibration and/or trimming. A differential pipelined A/D converter that achieves a throughput rate of 1 Msample/s with 12 bits of linearity has been made and evaluated. A prototype pipelined A/D converter implemented using a double-poly 1.75-μm CMOS process consumes 400 mW with a 5-V single supply and occupies 14 mm², including all digital logic and output buffers     

A/D converter based on a new memory cell implemented using the switched current technique

This paper presents an A/D converter based on a Delta–Sigma Modulator implemented using the switched-current technique. The new memory cell was used as a basic component for the SI blocks. The design is a good example of a mixed analog–digital circuit, hence VHDL-AMS models were written to improve the design process. This work demonstrates the ability to use the VHDL-AMS models to simulate a complex switched-current circuit.     

A 2.5-V sigma-delta modulator for broadband communicationsapplications

Oversampled sigma-delta (EA) modulators offer numerous advantages for the realization of high-resolution analog-to-digital (A/D) converters. This paper explores how oversampling and feedback can be employed in high-resolution ΣΔ modulators to extend the signal bandwidth into the range of several megahertz when the oversampling ratio is constrained by technology limitations. A 2-2-1 cascaded multibit architecture suitable for operation from a 2.5-V power supply is presented, and a linearization technique referred to as partitioned data weighted averaging is introduced to suppress in-band digital-to-analog converter (DAC) errors. An experimental prototype based on the proposed topology has been integrated in a 0.5-μm double-poly triple-metal CMOS technology. Fully differential double-sampled switched-capacitor integrators enable the modulator to achieve 95-dB dynamic range at a 4-Msample/s Nyquist conversion rate with an oversampling ratio of 16. The experimental modulator dissipates 150 mW from a 2.5-V supply     

A DSP-based hearing instrument IC

This paper presents a digital signal processing IC, including AD/DA converters, for one-chip hearing instruments. An on-chip infrared remote control receiver is used to load a program Into the digital signal processor (DSP). The complete IC consumes 2 mW from a single cell battery and operates with supply voltages down to 0.9 V. The oversampling A/D and D/A converters show a dynamic range of 77 and 93 dBA, respectively. Only a few external capacitors are needed. The chip area is 35 mm² in a low-threshold 0.8-μm CMOS process     

A 1-V 140-/spl mu/W 88-dB audio sigma-delta modulator in 90-nm CMOS

A single-loop third-order switched-capacitor /spl Sigma/-/spl Delta/ modulator in 90-nm standard digital CMOS technology is presented. The design is intended to minimize the power consumption in a low-voltage environment. A load-compensated OTA with rail-to-rail output swing and gain enhancement is chosen in this design, which provides higher power efficiency than the two-stage OTA. To lower the power consumption further, class-AB operation is also adapted in the OTA design. Due to the relatively low threshold voltage of the advanced technology, no clock bootstrapping circuits are needed to drive the switches and the power consumption of the digital circuits is reduced. All the capacitors are implemented using multilayer metal-wall structure, which can provide high-density capacitance. The modulator achieves 88-dB dynamic range in 20-kHz signal bandwidth with an oversampling ratio of 100. The power consumption is 140 /spl mu/W under 1-V supply voltage and the chip core size is 0.18 mm/sup 2/.     

A third-order /spl Sigma//spl Delta/ modulator in 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS with calibrated mixed-mode integrators

This paper describes a third-order sigma-delta (/spl Sigma//spl Delta/) modulator that is designed and implemented in 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS process. In order to increase the dynamic range, this modulator takes advantage of mixed-mode integrators that consist of analog and digital integrators. A calibration technique is applied to the digital integrator to mitigate mismatch between analog and digital paths. It is shown that the presented modulator architecture can achieve a 12-dB better dynamic range than conventional structures with the same oversampling ratio (OSR). The experimental prototype chip achieves a 76-dB dynamic range for a 200-kHz signal bandwidth and a 55-dB dynamic range for a 5-MHz signal bandwidth. It dissipates 4 mW from 1.8-V supply voltages and occupies 0.7-mm/sup 2/ silicon area.     

A design system for on-chip oversampling A/D interfaces

An integrated design system for the analysis, design, and implementation of on-chip A/D interfaces using oversampling A/D converters has been developed. The system unifies a diverse base of design knowledge required for mixed analog and digital circuits and covers the design process from specification to mask layout for a variety of configurations. A hierarchical design estimation approach was used to guide system development, allowing designers to quickly estimate performance at a high level of abstraction and to update these estimates as the design progresses. At lower levels of abstraction, architecture templates are used to encapsulate information about particular filter implementations and to simplify the design process. Designers use performance estimates to guide the design process and to make the critical decisions about the choice of algorithm and architecture. Accurate simulation models have been integrated into the design system to allow examination and verification. Results from a 14-b signal acquisition module are presented to illustrate use of the tools and the typical tradeoffs faced at different levels of abstraction. This system illustrates how various design automation techniques can be combined to provide better optimization for a complex system design and to shorten design cycles for custom converters to a matter of days     

Switched-current circuits in digital CMOS technology with low charge-injection errors

In this paper, digital CMOS switched-current (SI) circuits with low charge-injection errors are presented. These circuits are based on the operation of the switches at virtual-ground nodes to result in signal-independent charge injection. Based on this scheme, different topologies for the memory cell are discussed. To verify the theoretical concepts developed, a third-order elliptic low-pass SI filter is implemented in a 0.25-/spl mu/m digital CMOS process. The filter nominally operates with a clock frequency of 10 MHz, cutoff frequency of 1 MHz, and a power supply of 2.3 V, while consuming 29 mW of power and processing input signals as large as 600-/spl mu/A peak differential. The low-charge injection nature of the circuit is reflected in its low total harmonic distortion of -59 dB for a 0.3-MHz signal with a modulation index of 0.5.