The Analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) is the most pervasive block in electronic systems. With the advent of powerful digital signal processing and digital communication techniques, ADCs are fast becoming critical components for system’s performance and flexibility. Knowing accurately all the parameters that characterise their dynamic behaviour is crucial, on one hand to select the most adequate ADC architecture and characteristics for each end application, and on the other hand, to understand how they affect performance bottlenecks in the signal processing chain. Dynamic Characterisation of Analogue-to-Digital Converters presents a state of the art overview of the methods and procedures employed for characterising ADCs’ dynamic performance behaviour using sinusoidal stimuli. The three classical methods – histogram, sine wave fitting, and spectral analysis – are thoroughly described, and new approaches are proposed to circumvent some of their limitations. This is a must-have compendium, which can be used by both academics and test professionals to understand the fundamental mathematics underlining the algorithms of ADC testing, and as an handbook to help the engineer in the most important and critical details for their implementation.

The Analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) is the most pervasive block in electronic systems. With the advent of powerful digital signal processing and digital communication techniques, ADCs are fast becoming critical components for system's performance and flexibility. Knowing accurately all the parameters that characterise their dynamic behaviour is crucial, on one hand to select the most adequate ADC architecture and characteristics for each end application, and on the other hand, to understand how they affect performance bottlenecks in the signal processing chain.

IGH-SPEED Digital to Analog (D/A) converters are essential components in digi- Htal communication systems providing the necessary conversion of signals encoding information in bits to signals encoding information in their amplitude vs. time domain characteristics. In general, they are parts of a larger system, the interface, which c- sists of several signal conditioning circuits. Dependent on where the converter is located within the chain of circuits in the interface, signal processing operations are partitioned in those realized with digital techniques, and those with analog. The rapid evolution of CMOS technology has established implicit and explicite trends related to the interface, and in particular to the D/A converter. The implicit relationship comes via the growth of digital systems. First, it is a global trend with respect to all interface circuits that increasing operating frequencies of digital systems place a similar demand for the interface circuits. The second trend takes place locally within the int- face. Initially, the D/A converter was placed at the beginning of the interface chain, and all signal conditioning was implemented in the analog domain after the D/A conversion. The increasing ?exibility and robustness of digital signal processing shifted the D/A converter closer to the end point of the chain where the demands for high quality high frequency operation are very high.

This book analyses different A/D-converter architectures with an emphasis on the maximum achievable power efficiency. It also provides an accessible overview of the state-of-the art in calibration techniques for Nyquist A/D converters. The calibration techniques presented are applicable to other analog-to-digital systems, such as those applied in integrated receivers. They allow implementation without introducing a speed or power penalty.

The book gives an overview of the state-of-the-art in SigmaDelta design and of the challenges for future realizations. It provides an understanding of the fundamental power efficiency of SigmaDelta converters. In addition, it presents an analysis of the power consumption in the decimation filter. Understanding these power/performance trade-offs, it becomes clear that straight-forward digitization of a conditioning channel, i.e. exchanging analog for digital conditioning, comes at a major power penalty.

Institutional book, not really for bookstore catalogue The book contains valuable information structured to provide insight on how to design SC sigma-delta modulators. It presents architectures, circuits, models, methods and practical considerations for the design of high-performance low-pass switched-capacitor (SC) sigma-delta A/D interfaces for mixed-signal CMOS ASICs. The main focus of the book is on cascade architectures. It differs from other books in the complete, in-depth coverage of SC circuit errors.