An empirical approach to finding energy efficient ADC architectures

Abs tra c t—The problem of selecting an optimally efficient ADC architecture at different resolutions is treated using a mainly empirical approach. By analyzing a large amount of measured performance data reported in the literature, the power efficiency of different ADC architectures is investigated. An efficiency hierarchy of ADC architectures is identified, and the low-power enabling features instate-of-the-art designs are summarized. The work shows that there are significant differences between architectures, and also the feasibility of an empirical approach to design optimization.

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