A 0.5 V 10 b 3 MS/s 2-Then-1b/Cycle SAR ADC With Digital-Based Time-Domain Reference and Dual-Mode Comparator

Abstract

This paper presents a low-power asynchronous 10-bit 2-then-1b/cycle successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter (ADC). With partial adoption of 2b/cycle mode only for higher-order bit conversions, additional area and power consumption could be minimized while maintaining fast conversion rate. Moreover, unlike the previous 2b/cycle conversion architecture, where two capacitive digital-to-analog converters (C-DACs) and multiple analog comparators are unavoidable, the proposed 2-then-1b/cycle conversion is implemented with only one C-DAC and one analog comparator by utilizing a digital-based time-domain reference. The speed of 1b/cycle conversion for lower-order bits is improved with a dual-mode comparator. With the aforementioned techniques, the prototype 10-bit SAR ADC is fabricated in 65 nm CMOS process. The ADC core occupies an active area of 0.0142 mm2 and consumes power of 3.8 μW at 0.5 V supply voltage and 3 MS/s conversion rate. The SNDR measured at a Nyquist-rate input frequency is 56.41 dB, resulting in a figure of merit (FoM) is 2.33 fJ/c.-s.