MASH ΣΔ modulators with a noise-shaped two-step ADC in the second stage

In this paper, a multi-stage noise-shaping (MASH) sigma-delta (ΣΔ) modulator is proposed to be used in low oversampling ratio (OSR) applications. It utilizes a noise-shaped two-step (NSTS) analog-to-digital converter (ADC) in the second stage and benefits its inter-stage gain to provide an extra attenuation of the quantization noise such that the same specifications of a traditional modulator are achieved but with a lower order of noise-shaping. Furthermore, large number of bits is resolved in the second stage while equal number of comparators is used. Compared to the single-loop NSTS ADC, in the proposed structure, the complexity problem of the feedback path and coefficient spreading are eliminated. As an example, a MASH 2-1 sigma-delta modulator has been designed and simulated in a 90 nm CMOS process using Spectre. The achieved resolution is 13.44 effective number of bits in 6.25 MHz signal bandwidth while consuming 19.6 mW power from a single 1 V supply. The sampling frequency is 100 MHz and the simulated figure of merit is 141 fJ/conv-step which shows the efficiency of the proposed modulator.