High Speed A/D Converters: Understanding Data Converters Through SPICE

The analog to digital converters represent one half of the link between the world we live in - analog - and the digital world of computers, which can handle the computations required in digital signal processing. These devices are mathematically very complex due to their nonlinear behaviour and thus fairly difficult to analyze without the use of simulation tools. This book presents the subject from the practising engineer's point of view rather than that of the academic, therefore a practical approach is emphasized. It is intended as a learning tool by providing building blocks that can be stacked on top of each other to build higher order systems. The book provides a guide to understanding the various topologies used in A/D converters by suggesting simple methods for the blocks used in an A/D converter. The converters discussed throughout the book constitute a class of devices called undersampled or Nyquist converters.