The Zoom ADC: An Evolving Architecture

Zoom ADCs combine a coarse SAR ADC with a fine delta-sigma modulator (?SM) to efficiently obtain high energy efficiency and high dynamic range. This makes them well suited for use in various instrumentation and audio applications. However, zoom ADCs also have drawbacks. The use of over-ranging in their fine modulators may limit SNDR, large...

A 440-μW, 109.8-dB DR, 106.5-dB SNDR Discrete-Time Zoom ADC With a 20-kHz BW

This article describes a discrete-time zoom analog-to-digital converter (ADC) intended for audio applications. It uses a coarse 5-bit SAR ADC in tandem with a fine third-order delta-sigma modulator (ΔΣM) to efficiently obtain a high dynamic range. To minimize its over-sampling ratio (OSR) and, thus, its digital power consumption, the...

A Continuous-Time Zoom ADC for Low-Power Audio Applications

This article presents a continuous-Time zoom analog to digital converter (ADC) for audio applications. It employs a high-speed asynchronous SAR ADC that dynamically updates the references of a continuous-Time delta-sigma modulator (CTDSM). Compared to previous switched-capacitor (SC) zoom ADCs, its input impedance is essentially resistive,...

A 15-nW per Sensor Interference-Immune Readout IC for Capacitive Touch Sensors

This paper presents a readout IC that uses an asynchronous capacitance-to-digital-converter (CDC) to digitize the capacitance of a touch sensor. A power-efficient tracking algorithm ensures that the CDC consumes negligible power consumption in the absence of touch events. To facilitate its use in wake-on-touch applications, the CDC can be...

A 15nW per Button Noise-Immune Readout IC for Capacitive Touch Sensor

This paper presents a readout IC that uses an asynchronous charge-redistribution-based capacitance-to-digital-converter (CDC) to digitize the capacitance of a touch sensor. Thanks to the power efficient tracking algorithm, the CDC consumes negligible power consumption in the absence of touch events. To facilitate stand-alone or wake-on-touch...

A 280 μW Dynamic Zoom ADC With 120 dB DR 118 dB SNDR in 1 kHz BW

This paper presents a dynamic zoom analog-to-digital converter for use in low-bandwidth (<1 kHz) instrumentation applications. It employs a high-speed asynchronous successive approximation register (SAR) ADC that dynamically updates the references of a fully differential Δ Σ ADC. Compared to previous zoom ADCs,...