A DC-to-1GHz tunable RF ΔΣ ADC achieving DR = 74dB and BW = 150MHz at f0 = 450MHz using 550mW

The ultimate ADC for receiver applications would be one that converts any desired RF signal directly into digital form so that the rest of the signal chain enjoys accurate and flexible digital signal processing and CMOS scaling. Flexibility in center frequency (f₀), bandwidth (BW), sampling frequency (f_S), full-scale (FS), dynamic range (DR) and power consumption (P) would allow the ADC to handle multiple standards and adapt to the RF environment [1-4]. The ADC reported in this paper is a step toward this Holy Grail of ADCs, supporting fο = 0 to 1 GHz, BW = 35 to 150MHz, f_S = 2 to 4GHz and FS = -18dBm to +18dBm. At f₀ = 450MHz, BW = 150MHz, f_S = 4GHz and FS = +6dBm, the ADC achieves instantaneous DR = 74dB and peak SNR = 69dB with P = 550mW.