1

Introduction
to Data Conversion
and Processing

The proliferation of digital computing and signal processing in electronic sys-

tems is often described as "the world is becoming more digital every day."
Compared with their analog counterparts, digital circuits exhibit lower sen-
sitivity to noise and more robustness to supply and process variations, allow
easier design and test automation, and offer more extensive programmability.
But, the primary factor that has made digital circuits and processors ubiqui-
tous in all aspects of our lives is the boost in their performance as a result of
advances in integrated circuit technologies. In particular, scaling properties
of very large scale integration (VLSI) processes have allowed every new gen-
eration of digital circuits to attain higher speed, more functionality per chip,
lower power dissipation, or lower cost. These trends have also been aug-
mented by circuit and architecture innovations as well as improved analysis
and synthesis computer-aided design (CAD) tools.
While the above merits of digital circuits provide a strong incentive to
make the world digital, two aspects of our physical environment impede such
globalization: (1) naturally occurring signals are analog, and (2) human beings
perceive and retain information in analog form (at least on a macroscopic
scale). Furthermore, when digital signals are corrupted by the medium such
that they become comparable with noise, it is often necessary to treat them
as analog signals. For example, according to information theory, for a digital
signal buried in noise, amplitude digitization and subsequent decoding ("soft
decision decoding") can improve the bit error rate.
2 Introduction to Data Conversion and Processing Chap. I

In order to interface digital processors with the analog world, data acqui-
sition and reconstruction circuits must be used: analog-to-digital converters
CADes) to acquire and digitize the signal at the front end, and digital-to-analog
converters (DACS) to reproduce the signal at the back end. This is illustrated in
Figure 1.1.

011 1 0 1
1 0 1 000
AnalogIDigltal 0 0 0 Digital t -011
--- ~I Digital/Analog
Conversion Processor Conversion

Fig.1.1 Interface between analog world and a digital processor.

Data conversion interfaces find application in consumer products such as

compact disc players, camera recorders (camcorders), telephones, modems,
and high-definition television (HDTV), as well as in specialized systems such
as medical imaging, speech processing, instrumentation, industrial control,
and radar. We study one of these applications to illustrate the importance of
both data conversion and digital processing in a typical product.
Figure 1.2 is a simplified block diagram of portable camcorder electron-
ics [1]. The imaging front end consists of an array of charge-coupled devices
(CCDs) that produce a charge output proportional to the light intensity. The
charge packets from all the CCDs are sensed serially and converted to voltage,
and the resulting signal is digitized by the ADC. Subsequently, operations such
as autofocusing, image stabilization, luminance/chrominance (Y / C) process-
ing, and zooming are performed using one or more digital signal processors
(DSPs). The processed video signal is then converted to analog form and
recorded on the tape.
While adding many features to the recorder and improving its user in-
terface, the signal processing functions in Figure 1.2 are far too complex to be
implemented in the analog domain. In fact, most of these functions have been
added to camcorders simply because the ADC already provides the signals in
digital form.
The performance required of the data conversion circuits used in video
systems such as that of Figure 1.2 varies from one application to another.
In portable camcorders, a conversion rate of a few tens of megahertz with
lO-bit resolution is adequate, but the power dissipation (and preferably the
Chap. I Introduction to Data Conversion and Processing 3

Autofocus

~._Video
Image Stabilization
CCO
Array
II - AOC and
~OutPut
YIC Processing

I Zooming I
Fig. 1.2 Simplified block diagram of a portable camera recorder electronics.

supply voltage) must be minimized. In HDTV, speeds as high as 70 MHz are

desirable, whereas in high-quality studio recording, resolutions of 12 to 14
bits are necessary.
Since data conversion interfaces must deal with both analog and digital
signals, their design becomes increasingly difficult if they are to maintain
comparable performance with their corresponding digital systems, Le., not
appear as a bottleneck in the signal path. This is because the primary trade-
off in digital circuits is between speed and power, whereas that in analog
circuits is between any two of speed, power, and precision (including res-
olution, dynamic range, and linearity). Furthermore, the operation of both
analog and digital circuits on the same chip leads to coupling of the noise
generated by the digital section to the sensitive signals in the analog section.
This coupling occurs via shared supply lines, substrate currents, or cross talk
between adjacent lines.
High-performance data conversion systems have often been built as hy-
brid structures, wherein different parts of the system are designed in different
technologies and placed and interconnected on a common (nonconducting)
substrate. This flexibility usually allows hybrids to achieve a higher speed
than their monolithic counterparts-the key to their survival. However, issues
such as cost, reliability, and power dissipation have created a trend toward im-
plementing these interfaces in monolithic (VLSI) technologies and ultimately
integrating an entire data processing system on a single chip. Most of the ar-
chitectures and design concepts described in this book are used in both hybrid
and monolithic applications, but the emphasis is on the latter type.
The integration of data conversion systems in VLSI technologies entails
difficulties due to scaling, the very technique adopted to improve the per-
formance of digital circuits. As supply voltages and device dimensions are
reduced, many effects occur that are not predicted by the ideal scaling theory.
For example, dynamic range becomes more limited, intrinsic gain of devices
degrades, and device mismatch increases. In addition to these problems,
many other analog design issues such as device noise and accurate control
4 Introduction to Data Conversion and Processing Chap. 1

of device characteristics are usually ignored in optimizing VLSI technolo-

gies, and modeling of devices is typically performed with little concern for
parameters important to analog design. Consequently, obtaining the required
precision becomes the primary concern in analog and mixed analog-digital
circuits, often necessitating conservative design and sacrifice in speed and
power dissipation.
Let us now closely examine the data conversion interfaces of Figure 1.1.
The analog-to-digital (AID) interface converts a continuous-amplitude,
continuous-time input to a discrete-amplitude, discrete-time signal. Shown in
Figure 1.3 is this interface in more detail. First, an analog low-pass filter lim-
its the input signal bandwidth so that subsequent sampling does not alias any
unwanted noise or signal components into the actual signal band. Next, the
filter output is sampled so as to produce a discrete-time signal. The amplitude
of this waveform is then "quantized," i.e., approximated with a level from a
set of fixed references, thus generating a discrete-amplitude signal. Finally, a
digital representation of that level is established at the output.

i-. friTl
i v. JL.1rnl 1\ !nll o
o
1 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 1 0

Low-Pass Sampling
Quantizer Decoder
Filter Circuit

Fig. 1.3 Detailed analog-to-digital interface of Figure 1.1.

The ratio of the sampling rate f s to the signal bandwidth distinguishes

two classes of AID converters. In "Nyquist-rate" ADCs, the sampling fre-
quency is, in principle, slightly higher than twice the analog signal bandwidth
to allow accurate reproduction of the original data. In "oversampling" con-
verters, on the other hand, the signal is sampled at many times the Nyquist
rate and subsequent digital filtering is utilized to remove the noise outside the
signal bandwidth. These two classes require vastly different architectures and
design techniques. In this book, we consider only Nyquist-rate converters.
For oversampling data conversion, the reader is referred to the literature [2, 3].
The digital-to-analog (DI A) interface at the back end of the system shown
in Figure 1.1 must convert a discrete-amplitude, discrete-time signal to a
Chap. I References 5

continuous-amplitude, continuous-time output. This interface is depicted in

more detail in Figure 1.4. First, a 01A converter selects and produces an
analog level from a set of fixed references according to the digital input. If
the DAC generates large glitches during switching from one code to another,
then a "deglitching" circuit (usually a sample-and-hold amplifier) follows to
mask the glitches. Finally, since the reconstruction function performed by the
DAC introduces sharp edges in the waveform as well as a sine envelope in the
frequency domain, an inverse-sine filter and a low-pass filter are required to
suppress these effects. Note that the deglitcher may be removed if the DAC
is designed so as to have small glitches. Also, the inverse sine filtering may
be performed before D/A conversion, i.e., in the digital domain.

1 110
001 1
1 0 0 1 J\
.
Jl
D/A
Converter
r--:.... o lit h
eg c er
J-- Inverse Sincl Low-Pass
Filter -

Fig. 1.4 Detailed digital-to-analog interface of Figure 1.1.

Figures 1.3 and 1.4 indicate that acquisition and reconstruction of data
entail a great deal of mixed-signal processing: filtering, sampling, quantiza-
tion, and digital encoding at the front end, and D/A conversion, sampling, and
filtering at the back end. The design of data conversion interfaces demands a
good understanding of various trade-offs in these operations as well as archi-
tecture and circuit techniques that improve the performance by relaxing these
trade-offs.
In this book, we study sampling concepts and techniques in Chapters 2
and 3, D/A conversion in Chapters 4 and 5, and AID conversion in Chapter 6.
The important building blocks needed in performing these operations are
described in Chapter 7, and methods of achieving high resolution in Chapter 8.
Testing and characterization are the subject of Chapter 9.

REFERENCES
[I] A. Matsuzawa, "Low-Voltage and Low-Power Circuit Design for Mixed
AnalogIDigital Systems in Portable Equipment," IEEE J. Solid-State Cir-
cuits, vol. SC-29, pp. 470-480, Apri11994.
6 Introduction to Data Conversion and Processing Chap. 1

[2] J. C. Candy and G. C. Ternes, Editors, Oversampling Delta-Sigma Data

Converters, IEEE Press, New York, 1992.
[3] S. Norsworthy, R. Schreier, and G. C. Ternes, Editors, Delta-Sigma Con-
verters, IEEE Press, New York, 1994.