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Introduction to

Introduction to
Analog-Digital-Converter
Analog-Digital-Converter
Dr.-Ing. Frank Sill
Department of Electrical Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais,
Av. Antnio Carlos 6627, CEP: 31270-010, Belo Horizonte (MG), Brazil
franksill@ufmg.br
http://www.cpdee.ufmg.br/~frank/
Analog Digital Converter 2 Copyright Sill, 2008
Agenda
Agenda

Introduction

Characteristic Values of ADCs

Nyquist-Rate ADCs

Oversampling ADC

Practical Issues

Low Power ADC Design


Analog Digital Converter 3 Copyright Sill, 2008
Introduction
Introduction

ADC = Analog-Digital-Converter

Conversion of audio signals (mobile micro,


digital music records, ...)

Conversion of video signals (cameras,


frame grabber, ...)

Measured value acquisition (temperature,


pressure, luminance, ...)
Analog Digital Converter 4 Copyright Sill, 2008
ADC - Scheme
ADC - Scheme
Sample
& Hold
Quantization
f
sample
Analog
Digital

Analog input can be voltage or current (in the following


only voltage)

Analog input can be positive or negative (in the following


only positive)
Analog Digital Converter 5 Copyright Sill, 2008
2. Characteristic Values of ADCs
2. Characteristic Values of ADCs

Which values characterize an ADC?

What kind of errors exist?

What is aliasing?
Analog Digital Converter 6 Copyright Sill, 2008
ADC Values
ADC Values

Resolution N: number of discrete values to represent the


analog values (in Bit)

8 Bit = 2
8
= 256 quantization level,

10 Bit = 2
10
= 1024 quantization level

Reference voltage V
ref
: Analog input signal V
in
is related
to digital output signal D
out
through V
ref
with:
V
in
= V
ref
(D
0
2
-1
+ D
1
2
-2
+ + D
N-1
2
-N
)

Example: N = 3 Bit, V
ref
= 1V, D
out
= 011
=> V
in
= 1V ( 2
-2
+ 2
-3
) = 1V (0.25 + 0.125) = 0.375V
ADC
V
in
D
out
= D
0
D
1
D
N-1
V
ref
Analog Digital Converter 7 Copyright Sill, 2008
ADC Values contd
ADC Values contd

V
LSB
: Minimum measurable voltage difference in
ideal case (LSB least significant Bit)

V
LSB
= V
ref
/ 2
N

V
in
= V
LSB
(D
0
2
N-1
+ D
1
2
N-2
+ + D
N-1
2
0
)

Example: N = 3 Bit, V
ref
= 1V, D
out
= 011
=> V
LSB
= 1V / 2
3
= 0.125V
=> V
in
= 0.125V ( 2
1
+ 2
0
) = 0.125V 3 = 0.375V

V: Voltage difference between two logic level

Ideal: all V = V
LSB

V
FSR
: Difference between highest and lowest
measurable voltages (FSR full scale range)
Analog Digital Converter 8 Copyright Sill, 2008
ADC Values contd
ADC Values contd

SNR: Signal to Noise Ratio

Ratio of signal power to noise power

ENOB: Effective Number of Bits

Effective resolution of ADC under observance of all noise and


distortions

SINAD (SIgnal to Noise And Distortion) ratio of fundamental


signal to the sum of all distortion and noise (DC term removed)

Comparison of SINAD of ideal and real ADC with same word


length
02 . 6
76 . 1

SINAD
ENOB
, 10log
signal signal
db
noise noise
P P
SNR SNR
P P
_


,
Analog Digital Converter 9 Copyright Sill, 2008
Ideal ADC
Ideal ADC
000
001
010
011
100
101
110
111
8
ref
V
D
i
g
i
t
a
l

O
u
t
p
u
t

D
o
u
t
Analog Input V
in
7
8
ref
V
4
8
ref
V
V, V
LSB
V
FSR
Analog Digital Converter 10 Copyright Sill, 2008
Further ADC Values
Further ADC Values

Bandwidth: Maximum measurable frequency of the input


signal

Power dissipation

Conversion Time: Time for conversion of an analog


value into a digital value (interesting in pipeline and
parallel structures)

Sampling rate (f
samp
): Rate at which new digital values
are sampled from the analog signal (also: sample

Errors: Quantization, offset, gain, INL, DNL, missing


codes, non-monotonicity
Analog Digital Converter 11 Copyright Sill, 2008
Quantization Error
Quantization Error

000
001
010
011
100
101
110
111
in
V
2
LSB
V
2
LSB
V

7
8
ref
V
D
o
u
t

2 2
LSB LSB
V V
<
Analog Digital Converter 12 Copyright Sill, 2008
Quantization Error (3-Bit Flash)
Quantization Error (3-Bit Flash)
Eugenio Di Gioia, Sigma-Delta-A/D-Wandler, 2007
sample
sample
A
m
p
l
i
t
u
d
e
E
r
r
o
r
Analog Digital Converter 13 Copyright Sill, 2008
Offset Error
Offset Error

Parallel shift of the whole curve

E.g. caused by difference in ground line voltages


offset
000
001
010
011
100
101
110
111
8
ref
V
4
8
ref
V
7
8
ref
V
D
o
u
t
in
V
Analog Digital Converter 14 Copyright Sill, 2008
Gain Error
Gain Error

Corresponds to too small or to large but equal V

E.g. caused by too small or too large V


ref
gain
000
001
010
011
100
101
110
111
8
ref
V 4
8
ref
V
7
8
ref
V
D
o
u
t
in
V
Analog Digital Converter 15 Copyright Sill, 2008
Differential Non-Linearity (DNL)
Differential Non-Linearity (DNL)

Deviation of V from V
LSB
value (in V
LSB
)

Defined after removing of gain

E.g. Caused by mismatch of the reference elements


000
001
010
011
100
101
110
111
8
ref
V 4
8
ref
V
7
8
ref
V
D
o
u
t
in
V
1
2
LSB
DNL V
1
2
LSB
DNL V
V
LSB
V
LSB
1 1

2 2
LSB LSB
DNL V V V
1
1.5
2
LSB LSB
DNL V V V
Analog Digital Converter 16 Copyright Sill, 2008
Integral Non-Linearity (INL)
Integral Non-Linearity (INL)

Deviation from the straight line (best-fit or end-point) (in V


LSB
)

Defined after removing of gain and offset

E.g. caused by mismatch of the reference elements


000
001
010
011
100
101
110
111
8
ref
V 4
8
ref
V
7
8
ref
V
D
o
u
t
in
V
1
2
LSB
INL V
1
4
LSB
INL V
Analog Digital Converter 17 Copyright Sill, 2008
Missing Codes
Missing Codes

Some bit combinations never appear

Occurs, if maximum DNL > 1 V


LSB
or maximum INL > 0.5 V
LSB
000
001
010
011
100
101
110
111
8
ref
V
4
8
ref
V
7
8
ref
V
D
o
u
t
in
V
Missing Code
Analog Digital Converter 18 Copyright Sill, 2008
Non-Monotonicity
Non-Monotonicity

Lower conversion result for a higher input voltage

Includes that same conversion may result from two


separate voltage ranges
000
001
010
011
100
101
110
111
8
ref
V
4
8
ref
V
7
8
ref
V
D
o
u
t
in
V
Non-Monotonicity
Ideal
curve
Analog Digital Converter 19 Copyright Sill, 2008
Aliasing
Aliasing

Too small sampling rate f


samp
(under-sampling) can lead to
aliasing ( = frequency of reconstructed signal is to low)

Nyquist criterion:

f
samp
more than two times higher than highest frequency
component f
in
of input signal: f
samp
> 2f
in
Input signal
(with f
in
)
Reconstructed
output signal
Measured data points
(sample rate: f
samp
)
Analog Digital Converter 20 Copyright Sill, 2008
3. Nyquist-Rate ADCs
3. Nyquist-Rate ADCs

How can Nyquist-rate ADCs be grouped?

What is a dual slope ADC?

What is a successive approximation ADC?

What is an algorithmic ADC?

What is a flash ADC?

What is a pipelined ADC?

What are the pros and cons of the


Nyquist-rate ADCs?
Analog Digital Converter 21 Copyright Sill, 2008
Nyquist-Rate ADCs
Nyquist-Rate ADCs

Sampling frequency f
samp
is in the same range as
frequency f
in
of input signal

Low-to-medium speed and high accuracy ADCs

Integrating

Medium speed and medium accuracy ADCs

Successive Approximation

Algorithmic

High speed and low-to-medium accuracy ADCs

Flash

Two-Level Flash

Pipelined
Analog Digital Converter 22 Copyright Sill, 2008
Integrating (Dual Slope) ADCs
Integrating (Dual Slope) ADCs

Phase 1: Integration (capacitor C1) of V


in
in known time T
load

Q
load
= V
in
/ R1 T
load

Phase 2: Integration of reference voltage -V


ref
until V
out
= 0 and
estimation of time T

Q
ref
= -V
ref
/ R1 T = -Q
load
=> V
in
= V
ref
T / T
load

Independent of R1 und C1!


V
in
-V
ref
S1
S2
C1
Control
logic
Counter
Comparator
D
0
D
1
D
2
D
3
D
N-1
Integrator
V
out
R1
Analog Digital Converter 23 Copyright Sill, 2008
Integrating (Dual Slope) ADCs contd
Integrating (Dual Slope) ADCs contd
V
o
l
t
a
g
e
Time
V
in3
V
in2
V
in1
Phase 1 Phase 2
T
1
T
2
T
3
T
load
constant
slope
slope depends
on V
in
Analog Digital Converter 24 Copyright Sill, 2008
Integrating ADCs: pros and cons
Integrating ADCs: pros and cons
Simple structure (comparator and
integrator are the only analog
components)
Low Area / Low Power
Slow
Time intervals are not constant
Analog Digital Converter 25 Copyright Sill, 2008
Successive Approximation ADC
Successive Approximation ADC

Generate internal analog signal V


D/A

Compare V
D/A
with input signal V
in

Modify V
D/A
by D
0
D
1
D
2
D
N-1
until closest possible value
to V
in
is reached
S&H
Logic
DAC
D
0
D
1
D
N-1
V
in
V
ref
V
D/A
Analog Digital Converter 26 Copyright Sill, 2008
Successive Approximation ADC contd
Successive Approximation ADC contd
S&H
Logic
DAC
D
0
D
1
D
N-1
V
in
V
ref
V
D/A
Comparsion of V
D/A
with
2
V
ref
2
in
V
ref
V >
2
in
V
ref
V <
Comp. w.
4
V
ref
Comp. w.
3
4
V
ref
4
in
V
ref
V >
4
in
V
ref
V <
4
in
V
ref
V >
4
in
V
ref
V <
Analog Digital Converter 27 Copyright Sill, 2008
Successive Approximation ADC contd
Successive Approximation ADC contd
P. Fischer, VLSI-Design - ADC und DAC, Uni Mannheim, 2005
Iterations
in
V
8
ref
V
4
8
ref
V
7
8
ref
V
1. 2. final
result
V
D/A
100
110
010
111
101
011
001
111
110
101
100
011
010
001
000
3.
Analog Digital Converter 28 Copyright Sill, 2008
Successive Approx.: pros and cons
Successive Approx.: pros and cons
Low Area / Low Power
High effort for DAC
Early wrong decision leads to false result
Analog Digital Converter 29 Copyright Sill, 2008
Algorithmic ADC
Algorithmic ADC

Same idea as successive approximation ADC

Instead of modifying V
ref
doubling of error
voltage (V
ref
stays constant)
V
in S&H
S&H
X2
S1
V
ref
/4
-V
ref
/4
S2
D
0
D
1
D
N-1
Shift register
Analog Digital Converter 30 Copyright Sill, 2008
Algorithmic ADC cont
Algorithmic ADC cont
Start
Sample V = V
in
, i = 1
D
i
= 1
V > 0
D
i
= 0
V = 2(V - V
ref
/4) V = 2(V + V
ref
/4)
i = i+1
i > N
Stop
yes
no
yes
V
in
S&H
X2
S1
V
ref
/4
-V
ref
/4
S2
D
0
D
1
D
N-1
Shift register
no
S&H
D.A.. Johns, K. Martin, Analog Integrated Circuit design, John Wiley & Sons, 1997
Analog Digital Converter 31 Copyright Sill, 2008
Algorithmic ADC: pros and cons
Algorithmic ADC: pros and cons
Less analog circuitry than Succ. Approx.
ADC
Low Power / Low Area
High effort for multiply-by-two gain amp
Analog Digital Converter 32 Copyright Sill, 2008
Flash ADC
Flash ADC
V
in
V
ref
Over range
D
0
D
1
D
N-1
(2
N
-1) to N
encoder
R/2
R
R/2
R
R
R
R
R
R

V
in
connected with 2
N

comparators in parallel

Comparators connected
to resistor string

Thermometer code

R/2-resistors on bottom
and top for 0.5 LSB
offset
Analog Digital Converter 33 Copyright Sill, 2008
Some Flash ADC design issues
Some Flash ADC design issues

Input capacitive loading on V


in

Switching noise if comparators switch at the


same time

Resistors-string bowing by input currents of


bipolar comparators (if used)

Bubble errors in the thermometer code based on


comparators metastability
Analog Digital Converter 34 Copyright Sill, 2008
Flash ADC: pros and cons
Flash ADC: pros and cons
Very fast
High effort for the 2
N
comparators
High Area / High Power
Recommended for 6-8 Bit and less
Analog Digital Converter 35 Copyright Sill, 2008
Two-Level Flash ADC
Two-Level Flash ADC

Conversion in two steps:


1. Determination of MSB-Bits and reconverting of
digital signal by DAC
2. Subtraction from V
in
and determination of LSB-Bits

F.e. 8-Bit-ADC: Flash: 2


8
=256 comparators, Two-level:
22
4
= 32 comparators
N/2-Bit
Flash ADC
x2
N
MSB (D
0
D
N/2-1
) LSB (D
N/2
D
N-1
)
N/2-Bit
Flash ADC
gain amp
V
in
N/2-Bit
DAC
Analog Digital Converter 36 Copyright Sill, 2008
Two-Level Flash ADC: pros and cons
Two-Level Flash ADC: pros and cons
Same throughput as Flash ADC
Less area, less power, less capacity loading
than Flash ADC
Easy error-correction after first stage
Larger latency delay than Flash ADC
Design of N/2-Bit-DAC
Currently most popular approach for high-
speed/medium accuracy ADCs
Analog Digital Converter 37 Copyright Sill, 2008
Pipelined ADCs
Pipelined ADCs

Extension of two-level architecture to multiple stages (up-


to 1 Bit per stage)

Each stage is connected with CLK-signal


Pipelined conversion of subsequent input signals
First result after m CLK cycles (m - amount of
stages)

Stages can be different


Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage m
V
in,0
V
in,1
V
in,m-1
CLK
D
0
D
k-1
D
k
D
2k-1 D
mk
D
N-1
Analog Digital Converter 38 Copyright Sill, 2008
Pipelined ADCs: Scheme
Pipelined ADCs: Scheme
k-Bit
ADC
k-Bit
DAC
x2
k
k Bits
V
in,i
Stage 1
S&H
Stage 2 Stage m
V
in,0
V
in,i+1
V
in,1
V
in,m-1
Time Alignment & Digital Error Correction
D
0
D
1
D
N-1
CLK
CLK
Analog Digital Converter 39 Copyright Sill, 2008
Pipelined ADC: pros and cons
Pipelined ADC: pros and cons
High throughput
Easy upgrade to higher resolutions
High demands on speed and accuracy on gain
amplifier
High CLK-frequency needed
High Power
Analog Digital Converter 40 Copyright Sill, 2008
4. Oversampling ADCs
4. Oversampling ADCs

What are the problems of the quantization


noise?

How does oversampling work?

What is noise shaping?

What is a sigma-delta ADC?


Analog Digital Converter 41 Copyright Sill, 2008
Quantization Error
Quantization Error


(recap)
(recap)
000
001
010
011
100
101
110
111
in
V
2
LSB
V
2
LSB
V

7
8
ref
V
D
o
u
t

2 2
LSB LSB
V V
<
Analog Digital Converter 42 Copyright Sill, 2008
Quantization Noise
Quantization Noise

Quantization error with probability density p() can be


approximated as uniform distribution


( )
/ 2
/ 2
1
1

LSB
LSB
V
V
LSB
p d
p
V

p()
2
LSB
V

2
LSB
V

p
Analog Digital Converter 43 Copyright Sill, 2008
Quantization Noise contd
Quantization Noise contd

Quantization noise reduces Signal-Noise-Ration (SNR) of


ADC

Estimation of SNR with Root Mean Square (RMS) of input


signal (V
in_RMS
) and of noise signal (V
qn_RMS
)
SNR = V
in_RMS
/ V
qn_rms

Every additional Bit halves V


LSB
V
qn_RMS
decreases by 6
dB with every new Bit

F.e. V
in
is sinusoidal wave SNR = (6.02 N + 1.76) dB
( )
1/ 2
1/ 2
/ 2
2 2
_
/ 2
1
12
LSB
LSB
V
LSB
qn RMS
LSB
V
V
V p d d
V

+

1
1

1
1
1 ]
]

Analog Digital Converter 44 Copyright Sill, 2008
Quantization Noise contd
Quantization Noise contd

Quantization noise can be approximated as white noise

Spectral density S

(f) of quantization noise is constant


over whole sampling frequency f
s

Quantization noise power


S

(f)
2
s
f

2
s
f
f
1
12
LSB
s
V
S
f

( )
/ 2
2
2
/ 2
12
s
s
f
LSB
f
V
P S f df

+

Analog Digital Converter 45 Copyright Sill, 2008


Quantization Error (3-Bit Flash, recap)
Quantization Error (3-Bit Flash, recap)
Eugenio Di Gioia, Sigma-Delta-A/D-Wandler, 2007
sample
sample
A
m
p
l
i
t
u
d
e
E
r
r
o
r
Analog Digital Converter 46 Copyright Sill, 2008
Oversampling (OS)
Oversampling (OS)

Quantized signal is low-pass filtered to frequency f


0

elimination of quantization noise greater than f


0

Oversampling rate (OSR) is ratio of sampling frequency f


s
to
Nyquist rate of f
0


2
s
f

2
s
f
f
H(f)
|H(f)|
0
2
f
0
2
f

1
V
in
(f)
0
2
s
f
OSR
f

Analog Digital Converter 47 Copyright Sill, 2008


OS in Frequency Domain
OS in Frequency Domain
P
o
w
e
r
f
s
/2 = OSRf
0
/2
f
0
/2 f
Digital filter response
Oversampling
P
o
w
e
r
f
0
/2 f
Signal
amplitude
Average
quantization noise
Analog Digital Converter 48 Copyright Sill, 2008
Oversampling contd
Oversampling contd

Quantization noise power P

results to:
Doubling of f
s
increases SNR by 3 dB

Equivalently to a increase of resolution by 0.5 Bits

F.e. V
in
is sinusoidal wave

SNR = (6.02 N + 1.76 + 10log [OSR]) dB


0
0
/ 2 / 2
2
2
2 2
/ 2 / 2
1
( ) ( )
12
s
s
f f
LS
f
B
f
V
P S f H f df S df
OSR

+ +

_


,

Analog Digital Converter 49 Copyright Sill, 2008
OS signal reconstruction
OS signal reconstruction

Signal results from relation of 0s and 1s


n
Nyquist -ADC
Oversampling - ADC
1V
0.66 V
0.33 V
Nyquist - ADC
Oversampling
00000011111111110000000
0.33
0.33
x[n]
2 2
_
0.33 0.33
2
RMS Nyquist
V
+

( ) ( )
2 2 2 2
_
5 1 7 0 5 1 7 0
24
RMS Oversampling
V
+ + +

Analog Digital Converter 50 Copyright Sill, 2008


Noise Shaping (NS)
Noise Shaping (NS)

Next trick: feedback loop

Quantization noise signal is negative coupled with input

Based on high gain of closed-loop at low frequencies:

Quantization noise reduced at low frequencies

Quantization noise is shaped = moved to higher frequencies


H(z)
Integrator Quantizer
DAC
X Y
E
( )
1
1
1 1
H
Y X E X H
H H
+ >>
+ +
Analog Digital Converter 51 Copyright Sill, 2008
Noise Shaping contd
Noise Shaping contd

Oversampling and noise shaping:


Doubling of f
s
increases SNR by 9 dB

Equivalently to a increase of resolution by 1.5 Bits


F.e. V
in
is sinusoidal wave

SNR = (6.02 N + 1.76 5.17 + 30log [OSR]) dB

up to f
in
= 100 kHz (and more)

1-Bit Quantizer (Comperator)

1-Bit DAC
Analog Digital Converter 52 Copyright Sill, 2008
OS and NS in Frequency Domain
OS and NS in Frequency Domain
P
o
w
e
r
f
s
/2 = OSRf
0
/2
f
0
/2 f
Digital filter response
Oversampling
P
o
w
e
r
f
s
/2 f
0
/2 f
Oversampling and noise shaping
P
o
w
e
r
f
0
/2 f
Signal
amplitude
Average
quantization noise
Analog Digital Converter 53 Copyright Sill, 2008
DAC
Comparator
V
ref
= 2.5 V
V
in
= 1.2 V
( ) ( )
in
v t t dt

( ) ( )
in
v t t
Sigma Delta ADC Example
Sigma Delta ADC Example
1.2
-1.3
3.7
-1.3
1.2
-0.1
3.6
2.3
1
0
1
1
2.5
-2.5
2.5
2.5
Analog Digital Converter 54 Copyright Sill, 2008
Sigma Delta ADC Example (Curves)
Sigma Delta ADC Example (Curves)
http://www.beis.de/Elektronik/DeltaSigma/DeltaSigma_D.html
H(z)
I
n
t
e
g
r
a
t
o
r
1
B
i
t

-
Q
u
a
n
t
i
z
e
r
CLK
D
A
C
Analog Digital Converter 55 Copyright Sill, 2008
Sigma Delta ADC: pros and cons
Sigma Delta ADC: pros and cons
High resolution
Less effort for analog circuitry
Low speed
High CLK-frequency
Currently popular for audio applications
Analog Digital Converter 56 Copyright Sill, 2008
5. Practical issues
5. Practical issues

What are the performance limitations of


ADCs?

What are the differences between PCB-


and IC-designs?

Are there hints to improve the ADC


design?

What are S&H circuits?


Analog Digital Converter 57 Copyright Sill, 2008
Performance Limitations
Performance Limitations
Analog circuit performance limited by:

High-frequency behavior of applied components

Noise

Crosstalk (analog analog, analog digital)

Power supply coupling

Thermal noise (white noise)

Parasitic components (capacitances, inductivities)

Wire delays
Analog Digital Converter 58 Copyright Sill, 2008
Parasitic Component Example
Parasitic Component Example

Effect of 1pF capacitance on inverting input of an


opamp:
Mancini, Opamps for everyone, Texas Instr., 2002
Analog Digital Converter 59 Copyright Sill, 2008
Noise Demands Examples
Noise Demands Examples

Example 1: V
ref
= 5V, 10 Bit resolution
V
LSB
= 5V / 2
10
= 5V / 1024 = 4.9 mV
Every noise must be lower than 4.9 mV

Example 2: V
ref
= 5V, 16 Bit resolution
V
LSB
= 5V / 2
16
= 5V / 65536 = 76 V
Every noise must be lower than 76 V
Analog Digital Converter 60 Copyright Sill, 2008
PCB- versus IC-Design
PCB- versus IC-Design

PCB: Printed Circuit Board, IC: Integrated Circuit

Noise in PCB-circuits much higher than in ICs

Influences of parasitics in PCB-circuits much


higher than in ICs

High-frequency behavior of PCB-circuits much


worse than of ICs

Wire delays in PCB much higher than in ICs


High accuracy, high speed, high
bandwidth ADCs only possible in ICs!
Analog Digital Converter 61 Copyright Sill, 2008
For PCB and IC:

Keep ground lines separate!

Dont overlap digital and analog signal wires!

Dont overlap digital and analog supply wires!

Locate analog circuitry as close as possible to the I/O


connections!

Choose right passive components for high-frequency


designs! (only PCB)
Some Hints for Mixed Signal Designs
Some Hints for Mixed Signal Designs

Mancini, Opamps for everyone, Texas Instr., 2002
Analog Digital Converter 62 Copyright Sill, 2008
Sample and Hold Circuits
Sample and Hold Circuits

S&H circuits hold signal constant for conversion

A sample and a hold device (mostly switch and capacitor)

Demands:

Small RC-settling-time (voltage over hold capacitor has to be


fast stable at < 1 LSB)

Exact switching point (else aperture-error)

Stable voltage over hold capacitor (else droop error)

No charge injection by the switch


Analog Digital Converter 63 Copyright Sill, 2008
6. Low Power ADC Design
6. Low Power ADC Design

What are the main components of power


dissipation?

How can each component be reduced?

What are the differences between power


and energy?
Analog Digital Converter 64 Copyright Sill, 2008
Power Dissipation
Power Dissipation
Two main components:

Dynamic power dissipation (P


dyn
)

Based on circuits activity

Square dependency on supply voltage V


DD
2

Dependent on clock frequency f


clk

Dependent on capacitive load C


load

Dependent on switching probability


P
dyn
= V
DD
2
C
load
f
clk

Static power dissipation (P


static
)

Constant power dissipation even if circuit is inactive

Steady low-resistance connections between VDD und GND


(only in some circuit technologies like pseudo NMOS)

Leakage (critical in technologies 0.18 m)


Analog Digital Converter 65 Copyright Sill, 2008
Low Power ADC Design
Low Power ADC Design

Reduction of V
DD
:

Highest influence on power (P ~ V


DD
2
)

Sadly, delay increases (t


d
~ 1/V
DD
)

Sadly, loss of maximal amplitude SNR goes down

Possible solutions:

Different supply voltages within the design

Dynamic change of V
DD
depending on required
performance

Reduction of f
clk
:

Dynamic change of f
clk
Analog Digital Converter 66 Copyright Sill, 2008
Low Power ADC Design contd
Low Power ADC Design contd

Reduction of C
load
:

C
load
depends on transistor count and transistor size,
wire count and wire length

Possible Solutions:

Reduction of amount evaluating components

Sizing of the design = all transistor get minimum


size to reach desired performance

Intelligent placing and routing


Analog Digital Converter 67 Copyright Sill, 2008
Low Power ADC Design contd
Low Power ADC Design contd

Reduction of :

Activity = possibility that a signal changes within one


clock cycle

Possible Solutions:

Clock gating no clock signal to inactive blocks

High active signals connected to the end of blocks

Asynchronous designs
Analog Digital Converter 68 Copyright Sill, 2008
Which ADC for Low Power?
Which ADC for Low Power?

If low speed: Dual Slope ADC

Area is independent of resolution

Less components

Problem: Counter

If medium / high speed: mixed solutions

Popular: pipelined ADC with SAR

Pipelined solutions allows reduction of V


DD

Long latency but high throughput


Analog Digital Converter 69 Copyright Sill, 2008
Power vs. Energy
Power vs. Energy

Power consumption in Watts

Power = voltage current at a specific time point

Peak power:

Determines power ground wiring designs and


Packaging limits

Impacts of signal noise margin and reliability


analysis

Energy consumption in Joules

Energy = power delay (joules = watts * seconds)

Rate at which power is consumed over time

Lower energy number means less power to perform a


computation at the same frequency
Analog Digital Converter 70 Copyright Sill, 2008
Power vs. Energy contd
Power vs. Energy contd
Watts
time
Power is height of curve
Watts
time
Energy is area under curve
Approach 1
Approach 2
Approach 2
Approach 1
Analog Digital Converter 71 Copyright Sill, 2008
Power vs. Energy: Simple Example
Power vs. Energy: Simple Example
V
DD
I (each gray block) Delay Power Energy
Flash 1 V 1 A 1 ns 4 W 4 fJ
2L-Flash 1 V 1 A 2.5 ns 2 W 5 fJ
V
DD
V
in
I
V
in
V
DD
I
Flash
2L-Flash

Shaded blocks are ignored

Dissipation for one input signal:


Analog Digital Converter 72 Copyright Sill, 2008
Low Power ADCs Conclusion
Low Power ADCs Conclusion

There is no patent solution for low power ADCs!

Every solution depends on the specific task.

Before optimization analyze the problem:

Which resolution?

Which speed?

What are the constraints (area, energy, V


DD
, V
in
,)?

Which technology can be used?

Think also about unconventional solutions


(dynamic logic, asynchronous designs, ).
Analog Digital Converter 73 Copyright Sill, 2008
Open Questions
Open Questions

Is there another way to design low power ADCs?

Is it recommended to reduce the analog part and


put more effort in the digital part?

How do I achieve a high SNR with low power


ADCs?

Is it better to have only one block with high


frequency or many blocks with low frequency?

How can asynchronous designs help me?

How do I realize a low power ADC in sub-micron


technologies?
Analog Digital Converter 74 Copyright Sill, 2008
Basic ADC Literature
Basic ADC Literature
[All02] P. E. Allen, D. R. Holberg, CMOS Analog Circuit Design,
Oxford University Press, 2002
[Azi96] P.M. Aziz, H. V. Sorensen, J. Van der Spiegel, "An
Overview of Sigma-Delta Converters" IEEE Signal
Processing Magazine, 1996
[Eu07] E. D. Gioia, Sigma-Delta-A/D-Wandler, 2007
[Fi05] P. Fischer, VLSI-Design 0405 - ADC und DAC, Uni
Mannheim, 2005
[Man02] Mancini, Opamps for everyone, Texas Instr., 2002
[Joh97] D. A. Johns, K. Martin, Analog Integrated Circuit design,
John Wiley & Sons, 1997
[Tan00] S. Tanner, Low-power architectures for single-chip digital
image sensors, dissertation, University of Neuchatel,
Switzerland, 2000.

More Questions?
More Questions?
Analog Digital Converter 76 Copyright Sill, 2008
Signal Reconstruction
Signal Reconstruction

Continuous time (input signal):

Discrete (reconstructed by ADC):



/ 2
2
_
/ 2
( )
T
RMS ct
T
v t
V dt
T

v(t)
time
2
0
_
[ ]
n
i
RMS discrete
x n
V
n

x[n]
n
RMS: root mean square
Analog Digital Converter 77 Copyright Sill, 2008
Voltage supply reduction
Voltage supply reduction
[Tan00]
[Tan00]

For analog design, it is


shown that a voltage
supply reduction does not
always lead to a power
consumption reduction for
several reasons:

Threshold of MOS
transistors.

Loss of maximal amplitudes


(SNR degradation).

Limits of conduction in
analog switches.

Low speed of MOS


transistors.

Limited stack of transistors.


0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Supply Voltage [V]
P
o
w
e
r

D
i
s
s
i
p
a
t
i
o
n

[
m
W
/
M
S
/
s
]
Power consumption of 10-bit S-C
1.5 bit/stage pipelined ADCs in
function of the voltage supply.
[Tan00] S. Tanner, Low-power architectures for
single-chip digital image sensors, dissertation,
University of Neuchatel, Switzerland, 2000.

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