An Energy-Efficient Low Frequency-Dependence Switching Technique for SAR ADCs

Abstract

This brief presents a highly energy-efficient switching scheme for successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converters that achieves a 95% reduction in switching energy over the conventional SAR. The switching energy has been calculated by taking into account both the power drawn from reference and the power consumed by the switches themselves. The frequency dependence of the switching energy has been studied and the proposed technique presents ways to maintain high energy efficiency over the entire frequency range of operation. The results have been verified through behavioral and SPICE simulations.