Second-order sigma-delta modulation for digital-audio signal acquisition

The authors compare the second-order sigma-delta (ΣΔ) modulator to several alternative modulator architectures in the context of digital-audio signal acquisition. Design details and experimental results are presented for a 1 μm CMOS implementation that does not require error correction or component trimming to achieve virtually ideal 16 b performance at a conversion rate of 50 kHz. The experimental modulator is a fully differential circuit that operates from a single 5 V power supply and does not require the use of precision sample-and-hold circuitry. With an oversampling ratio of 256 and a clock rate of 12.8 MHz, the modulator achieves a 98 dB dynamic range and a peak signal-to-(noise+distortion) ratio (SNDR) of 94 dB. Measurements and simulations of discrete noise peaks in the output spectrum that result from limit-cycle oscillations are also presented and discussed