For continuous-time multi-stage noise shaping analog to digital converters (CT MASH ADCs), quantization noise cancellation often requires estimation of transfer functions, e.g., a noise transfer function of the front end modulator. To estimate the noise transfer function, a dither signal can be injected in the front end modulator. However, it is not trivial how the dither signal can be injected, since the dither signal can potentially leak to the back end modulator and cause overall noise degradation. To address some of these issues, the dither signal is injected post the flash analog to digital converter (ADC) of the front end modulator. Furthermore, dummy comparator structures can be used to synchronize the dither with the quantization noise of the targeted flash ADC.

For continuous-time multi-stage noise shaping analog-to-digital converters (CT MASH ADCs), quantization noise cancellation often requires accurate estimation of transfer functions, e.g., a noise transfer function of the front end modulator and a signal transfer function of the back end modulator. To provide quantization noise cancellation, digital quantization noise cancellation filters adaptively tracks transfer function variations due to integrator gain errors, flash-to-DAC timing errors, as well as the inter-stage gain and timing errors. Tracking the transfer functions is performed through the direct cross-correlation between the injected maximum length linear feedback shift registers (LFSR) sequence and modulator outputs and then corrects these non-ideal effects by accurately modeling the transfer functions with programmable finite impulse response (PFIR) filters.

A digital/analog conversion apparatus to convert a digital signal into an analog signal. The digital/analog conversion apparatus can generate a high-quality analog signal, even when elements configuring the digital/analog conversion apparatus have variance, with high resolution and a small circuit size. The data conversion apparatus is provided with a first data converter to reduce the number of bits of an input signal, a second data converter to convert the format of the first output signal, and a third data converter for conversion into a code which corresponds to the history of the output from the second data converter.

An analog-to-digital converter circuit module utilizing dither to reduce multiplicative noise. A dither generation circuit generates a noise-shaped analog dither signal having lower amplitudes at frequencies below a cutoff frequency than at frequencies above the cutoff frequency. The noise-shaped analog dither signal is added to the input analog signal to be converted and the summed signal applied to an analog-to-digital converter The dither generation circuit may be implemented as an analog dither generator followed by an analog high-pass filter. The dither generation circuit may alternatively be implemented digitally, for example with a digital noise-shaping filter applying a high-pass digital filter to a pseudo-random binary sequence. The digital dither generation circuit may alternatively be implemented by one or more 1-bit sigma-delta modulators, each generating a bit of a digital dither sequence that is converted to analog.

Disclosed herein are systems and methods that describe a noise-shaping (NS) SAR architecture that can be simple, effective, and low power. In an aspect, a method includes the operation of receiving a first analog input; determining a first digital output based on the first analog input; obtaining a first quantization error for the first digital output; integrating the first quantization error; receiving a second analog input; and determining a second digital output based on the summation of the second analog input and the first integrated quantization error to perform noise-shaping.

Provided are, among other things, systems, apparatuses methods and techniques for attenuating the level of unwanted noise and/or distortion in a particular frequency band, without similarly attenuating the level of a desired signal in the same frequency band. One such apparatus includes a distributed network comprising a plurality of reactive impedance segments and gain cells that form transmission paths, over which continuous and quantized versions of an input signal propagate before combining with the input signal itself.

A method and apparatus for adjusting a bandwidth of a sigma delta converter by adjusting a reference voltage provided to the sigma delta converter. The apparatus includes a switched capacitor digital-to-analog converter in the feedback loop of the sigma delta modulator. The sigma delta modulator determines the bandwidth mode of the converter and adjusts the reference voltage to deliver high performance functionality. In one embodiment, a multi-bit digital signal is received by the digital-to-analog converter. The reference voltage is provided to multiple capacitive circuits of the digital-to-analog converter and the capacitive circuits are activated and deactivated based on the multi-bit digital signal. The digital-to-analog converter, thus, provides a feedback analog signal using dynamic element matching.

A dual delta-sigma modulator includes a first modulator, a second modulator, and a shared amplifier coupled to the first and second modulators. The first modulator includes an integrator configured to generate a first modulator output signal. The second modulator includes a second integrator configured to generate a second modulator output signal. The shared amplifier is configured to assist the first integrator integrating a difference between a first analog input signal and a first modulator output signal from the first modulator during a first period of time and to assist the second integrator integrate a difference between a second analog input signal and a second modulator output signal from the second modulator during a second period of time.

The invention provides a system for conversion between analog domain and digital domain with mismatch error shaping, including a DAC, a first injection circuit couple to the DAC, and a second injection circuit coupled to the DAC. The DAC generates a first analog value in response to a first digital value, and generates a second analog value in response to a second digital value. The first injection circuit enables an analog injection value to be injected to the second analog value when the DAC generates the second analog value, wherein the analog injection value is converted from a digital injection value formed by a subset of bits of the first digital value. The second injection circuit combines the digital injection value and one of the following: the second digital value and a related value obtained according to the second analog value.

In accordance with an embodiment, a continuous-time delta-sigma analog-to-digital converter (ADC) includes: a continuous-time loop filter having an input coupled to an input of the continuous-time delta-sigma ADC; a multi-bit quantizer coupled to an output of the continuous-time loop filter; a 1-bit or 1.5 bit digital delta-sigma modulator having an input coupled to an output of the multi-bit quantizer and an output coupled to an input of the continuous-time loop filter; and a multi-bit digital delta-sigma modulator configured to requantize quantization error of the 1-bit or 1.5-bit digital delta-sigma modulator and having an output coupled to the input of the continuous-time loop filter and to an input of the 1-bit or 1.5-bit digital delta-sigma modulator.