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A 100 KS/s 8-10-Bit Resolution-Reconfigurable SAR ADC for Biosensor Applications
Yunfeng Hu1, Lexing Hu1, Bin Tang1
1University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Zhongshan Institute, Zhongshan 528402, China.
Micromachines
|November 11, 2022
Summary
A novel digital-to-analog converter (DAC) switching scheme significantly enhances energy efficiency and resolution reconfigurability for successive approximation analog-to-digital converters (SAR ADCs). This design offers substantial power savings for biosensor applications.
Area of Science:
- Electrical Engineering
- Microelectronics
- Sensor Technology
Background:
- Energy efficiency and resolution reconfigurability are critical challenges in SAR ADC design.
- Conventional switching schemes often compromise one aspect for the other.
- Biosensor applications demand high-performance ADCs with adaptable resolution and low power consumption.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a novel DAC switching scheme that integrates energy efficiency with resolution reconfigurability.
- To design and validate an 8-10-bit reconfigurable SAR ADC for biosensor applications based on the proposed scheme.
- To evaluate the performance metrics including energy saving, SNDR, SFDR, and power consumption.
Main Methods:
- A new DAC switching scheme was developed, focusing on energy efficiency and reconfigurability.
- An 8-10-bit resolution-reconfigurable SAR ADC was designed using a binary-weighted capacitive DAC, a two-stage full dynamic comparator, sampling switch, and SAR logic.
- Simulations were conducted using a 180 nm CMOS process at a 100 kS/s sampling rate.
Main Results:
- The proposed switching scheme achieved significant energy savings: 93.8% (8-bit), 96.1% (9-bit), and 97.3% (10-bit).
- The designed SAR ADC demonstrated competitive performance: SNDR of 46.80/53.89/60.14 dB and SFDR of 55.22/62.51/73.09 dB across 8-10 bit modes.
- Achieved low power consumption: 0.81/0.91/1.01 μW in 8/9/10-bit modes, respectively.
Conclusions:
- The proposed DAC switching scheme effectively balances energy efficiency and resolution reconfigurability.
- The developed 8-10-bit SAR ADC is suitable for power-sensitive biosensor applications.
- This work presents a significant advancement in reconfigurable ADC design for low-power sensing.
