A new type of Asynchronous Analog to Digital Interface
Résumé
We present a new class of Asynchronous Analog to Digital Converters (A-ADCs), based on an irregular sampling of the analog signal, and an asynchronous design. Because these ADCs are not conventional, a design methodology is also presented. It determines their characteristics given the required Effective Number of Bits and the properties of the analog signal to convert. A prototype has been designed for speech applications, using the 0.18-Ým CMOS technology from STMicroelectronics. Electrical simulations prove that the Figure of Merit (FoM) is increased by more than one order of magnitude compared to synchronous Nyquist ADCs. Moreover, behavioural simulations prove that the activity of the A-ADC is reduced by two orders of magnitude compared to its synchronous counterpart