A Continuous-Time Zoom ADC for Low-Power Audio Applications

This article presents a continuous-time zoom analog to digital converter (ADC) for audio applications. It employs a high-speed asynchronous SAR ADC that dynamically updates the references of a continuous-time delta–sigma modulator (CTDSM). Compared to previous switched-capacitor (SC) zoom ADCs, its input impedance is essentially resistive, which relaxes the power dissipation of its reference and input buffers. Fabricated in a 160-nm CMOS process, the ADC occupies 0.27 mm2 and achieves 108.1-dB peak SNR, 106.4-dB peak signal to noise and distortion ratio (SNDR), and 108.5-dB dynamic range in a 20-kHz bandwidth while consuming 618 $\mu \text{W}$ . This results in a Schreier figure of merit (FoM) of 183.6 dB.