Pipelined Noise-Shaping ADC With Passive Error Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional analog-to-digital converters require high-gain operational amplifiers, leading to high power consumption and limited conversion bandwidth, making them unsuitable for low-power supply environments and deeply-scaled nanoscale process technologies.
Innovation Solution
A pipelined noise-shaping analog-to-digital converter architecture with a first-stage quantizer, a second-stage quantizer, and a noise cancellation filter, utilizing passive error extraction and amplification to reduce quantization errors, allowing implementation in low supply voltage environments and achieving higher conversion bandwidth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If high-gain operational amplifiers are used in conventional analog-to-digital converters, then signal-to-noise ratio is improved, but power consumption increases and conversion bandwidth is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The converter is divided into multiple stages (first-stage quantizer, second-stage quantizer, noise cancellation filter) that process signals sequentially. Each stage performs partial conversion and noise shaping, eliminating the need for a single high-gain amplifier while achieving comparable or better signal-to-noise ratio through cumulative noise reduction across stages.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the operating parameters by using low supply voltage (e.g., 1.2V or lower) combined with passive error extraction and amplification techniques. This allows the system to achieve high signal-to-noise ratio without requiring high-gain operational amplifiers that would consume excessive power at low voltages.
2Measurement precision
If high-gain operational amplifiers are used in conventional analog-to-digital converters, then signal-to-noise ratio is improved, but conversion bandwidth is limited
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the conversion process into multiple stages with intermediate digital processing, the system achieves high signal-to-noise ratio without requiring a single high-gain amplifier that would limit bandwidth. Each stage operates with moderate gain, preserving conversion bandwidth while cumulative noise shaping improves signal-to-noise ratio.
3Measurement precision
If conventional analog-to-digital converter architectures are used, then high signal-to-noise ratio is achieved, but implementation in deeply-scaled nanoscale process technologies is challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The invention adapts the converter architecture to low supply voltage environments (e.g., 1.2V or lower) suitable for deeply-scaled nanoscale processes. By using passive error extraction and amplification instead of high-gain operational amplifiers, the design becomes manufacturable in advanced nanoscale technologies while maintaining high signal-to-noise ratio performance.
4Use of energy by moving object
If low supply voltage is used in nanoscale process technologies, then power consumption is reduced, but implementing high-gain operational amplifiers becomes challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The system operates at low supply voltage to reduce power consumption while using passive error extraction and amplification techniques to achieve the necessary signal amplification. This avoids the need for high-gain operational amplifiers that cannot be implemented at low voltages, instead using multiple stages with moderate gain that are compatible with low-power nanoscale processes.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are provided for implementing an analog-to-digital converter. In some embodiments, the analog-to-digital converter comprises a first-stage quantizer, a second-stage quantizer, and a noise cancellation filter. The first-stage quantizer is configured to receive an analog input signal and generate a first-stage digital output signal based on the analog input signal and a residual signal based on the first-stage digital output signal and the analog input signal. The second-stage quantizer is configured to receive the residual signal, to determine a first-stage quantization error based on the residual signal, to digitize the first-stage quantization error, and to generate a second-stage digital output signal based on the first-stage quantization error. The noise cancellation filter is configured to receive the first-stage digital output signal and the second-stage digital output signal and to generate a noise-cancellation output signal comprising a quantization error component less that the first-stage quantization error.