English

Every autumn semester

This course gives the PhD student a basic knowledge about two kinds of fundamental mixed-signal circuits, i.e. A/D and D/A converters, which are becoming increasingly important in modern electronic systems. While the largest part of signal processing is undoubtedly performed in the digital domain, very often the input and/or the output of the system is analog: as examples, we can mention the power amplifiers in digital audio, screens and monitors in digital video, and the antenna in radio communications, all applications that typically require high performance A/D and D/A converters. In fact, very diverse fields such as radio communications, wireline communications, hearing aids, and, in general, all kinds of embedded systems, are experiencing a very strong push to move the converters closer and closer to the user interface, in an effort to enter the robust and design-friendly digital domain as soon as possible. As a consequence, the performance of the A/D and D/A converters is a key parameter in the overall quality of many commercial ICs in terms of conversion speed, signal range, power consumption, and area.

Theoretical background of A/D and D/A conversion; specifications for A/D and D/A converters; most common architectures for A/D and D/A converters; Nyquist-rate and oversampled A/D and D/A converters; circuits for A/D and D/A converters; state-of-the-art of A/D and D/A converters from current applications.

be able to describe the theoretical basis of A/D and D/A converters, and particularly sampling and quantization;
be able to describe the most important specifications for A/D and D/A converters,
be able to describe different architectures and their advantages and disadvantages;
be able to describe key components and circuits, and how they are implemented;
be able to describe the main factors limiting a converter performance, and discuss alternative solutions to improve it.

be able to design an A/D or D/A converter for a practical application, simulating it thoroughly at the component level with advanced CAD tools.

be able to orally communicate the results obtained from the laboratory experiments;
be able to contribute sufficient fundamental information, so that a competent person in this area can document ideas, problems, and solutions.
be able to sift through an extensive amount of material, as e.g. presented in books and manuals, and extract the most important data.

Lectures

Seminars

Laboratory exercises

Exercises

Written report

Attending at least 10 lectures, approved labs and approved written lab reports are required to pass the course.

Failed, pass

F, M.: Data Converters. ISBN 9780387324852.

Course Coordinator: Pietro Andreani, pietro.andreani@eit.lth.se

ETIN55F

 -01-13

FN1/Anders Gustafsson