2-D Electrical Interferometer: A Novel High-Speed Quantizer

In this paper, we propose a 2-D electrical interferometer as a means of high-speed data conversion. The structure is based on wave propagation in 2-D LC lattices. We will discuss the principle behind this technique, which exploits wave propagation and medium manipulation in order to take advantage of different interference patterns. This method of quantization is based on passive LC lattices that can operate at very high frequencies on a conventional CMOS process. We analyze different properties of the structure and propose the design methodology. To show the feasibility of this approach, we design a 20-GS/s 4-bit quantizer consuming 194 mW for quanization and 943 mW for an analog memory. There is good agreement between analysis and simulation.

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