Uniform Quantization Theory-Based Linearity Calibration for Split Capacitive DAC in an SAR ADC

Abstract

This brief presents a uniform quantization theory (UQT)-based digital-to-analog converter (DAC) linearity calibration for a successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter. According to the uniform quantization noise property, the nonlinearity due to the parasitics in an LSB array of the split-DAC structure is estimated and corrected in the digital domain. The calibration requires that the characteristic of the input signal must fulfill the prerogative of the quantization theory. The advantages lie in its low design complexity with no additional analog circuit modification. The proposed calibration is verified by both behavioral simulations and measured results in an SAR ADC. The measurements are based on a prototype implemented with large nonlinear split-DACs, which demonstrate that the UQT-based linearity calibration can effectively improve the Signal to Noise and Distortion (SNDR) from 56.9 to 63.3 dB at dc input with a sampling frequency of 120 MS/s.