Design Solutions 44 - High Sensitivity Receiver Applications Benefit from Unique Features in 16-Bit 130Msps ADC

Design Solutions 44
October 2005
High Sensitivity Receiver Applications Benefit
from Unique Features in 16-Bit 130Msps ADC
by Alison Smith
RF
BPF
RF IN
IF
BPF
LO1
ADC
DDC/DSP
ADC
Driver
DSOL44F01
Figure 1. Direct IF to Digital Single Conversion Receiver
Wireless receiver design requires extreme care in dealing with noise sources that affect the Analog-to-Digital
Converter (ADC). High sensitivity receivers such as
in satellite or basestation applications demand the
highest dynamic range and therefore need to focus on
minimizing the noise contribution from every possible
source (Figure 1). These include nonlinearities in the
ADC and digital feedback from the data output bus. This
application note will discuss the LTC®2208 (Figure 2), a
16-bit 130Msps high performance pipelined ADC that is
tailored for the most demanding wideband, low noise,
receivers (Figure 3). The LTC2208 ADC addresses the
key requirements for maximizing performance of high
sensitivity receivers. Here we describe the application
of its unique features to simplify receiver design and
improve overall system performance. The first is an
internal dither circuit to address ADC nonlinearity errors and the second is a digital output randomizer that
minimizes digital feedback from the data output bus.
DSOL44F02
DSOL44F03
Figure 2. LTC2208 16-Bit 130Msps ADC
Figure 3. LTC2208 64k FFT
FIN = 15.2MHz, AIN = -1dB, 2.25VP-P
, LTC and LT are registered trademarks of Linear Technology Corporation.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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Information furnished by Linear Technology Corporation is believed to be accurate and reliable. However,
no responsibility is assumed for its use. Linear Technology Corporation makes no representation that
the interconnection of its circuits as described herein will not infringe on existing patent rights.
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Design Solutions 44
Internal Transparent Dither Circuit
Multi-stage converters can potentially contain sources of
error that can significantly affect the ADC’s spurious free
dynamic range (SFDR). The effect of integral non-linearity
errors (INL) can be seen as dips in the SFDR curve at more
than 10 or 20dB below full-scale (Figure 4). LTC2208 has
a linear transfer function with very low INL error; however
at these low level inputs, only a small range of the transfer
curve is utilized such that even slight linearity imperfections will generate unwanted harmonics.
140
130
DITHER OFF
120
110
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
–80 –70 –60 –50 –40 –30 –20 –10 0
INPUT LEVEL (dBFS)
The LTC2208 eliminates the complexity required by external dither circuits that consume valuable ADC bandwidth
and head room. As can be seen in Figure 6, the internal
transparent dither circuit dramatically improves the ADC’s
SFDR response well below 100dBc for low level input
signals, allowing the ADC to maintain its high dynamic
range specification with only a small degradation to the
noise floor.
SFDR (dBc and dBFS)
SFDR (dBc and dBFS)
To maximize SFDR for low level signals, the LTC2208 provides an on-chip dither feature to decorrelate (randomize)
the effects of linearity errors at certain locations along the
transfer curve. By dithering the input using a pseudorandom number generator driving an internal dither DAC
as shown in Figure 5, the ADC is forced to operate over
a wider range of the transfer curve. The pseudo-random
number is then subtracted from the ADC result with only
a small amount of dither leak-through. The correlated
spurious tones are thus converted to random noise that
can be reduced by processing gain.
140
130
DITHER ON
120
110
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
–80 –70 –60 –50 –40 –30 –20 –10 0
INPUT LEVEL (dBFS)
DSOL44F04
Figure 4. SFDR vs Input Level, FIN = 15MHz
LTC2208
ANALOG
SUMMATION
AIN+
ANALOG
INPUT
AIN–
S/H
AMP
∑
CLOCK/DUTY
CYCLE
CONTROL
16-BIT
PIPELINED
ADC CORE
DIGITAL
SUMMATION
PRECISION
DAC
D15
•
•
•
D0
OUTPUT
DRIVERS
MULTIBIT DEEP
PSEUDO-RANDOM
NUMBER
GENERATOR
DSOL44F05
ENC
DITH
ENC
Figure 5. Functional Block Diagram of
Internal Dither Circuit
DITHER ENABLE
HIGH = DITHER ON
LOW = DITHER OFF
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AMPLITUDE (dBFS)
Design Solutions 44
0
–10
–20
–30
–40
–50
–60
–70
–80
–90
–100
–110
–120
–130
swing: low voltage CMOS outputs or LVDS outputs. In
the CMOS digital output mode, the drivers can operate on
supply voltages as low as 0.5V without any speed penalty.
In the LVDS output mode each output bit is a differential
pair with a 0.35VP-P swing.
0
10
50
20
40
30
FREQUENCY (MHz)
60
DSOL44F06a
AMPLITUDE (dBFS)
Figure 6a. A 70MHz Low Level Signal with Internal
Dither Off. Low Level Tones Are Caused by Small INL
Errors in the ADC.
In situations where LVDS or low voltage CMOS are still not
enough, the LTC2208 provides an optional output digital
randomizer to encode the data, the second unique feature
offered by the LTC2208. The least significant bit (LSB) is
combined using an exclusive-OR function with the other
outputs before transmission. The received digital output
bus can then be easily decoded by performing the reverse
operation in the FPGA. Using this data encode scheme
reduces the residual tone caused by digital feedback by
10dB to 15dB.
0
–10
–20
–30
–40
–50
–60
–70
–80
–90
–100
–110
–120
–130
CLKOUT
CLKOUT
OF
OF
D15
D15/D0
D14
0
10
50
20
40
30
FREQUENCY (MHz)
D14/D0
60
DSOL44F06b
D2
Figure 6b. The Same Conditions with Internal
Dither On. Correlated Spurious Tone Energy Has Been
Converted to Random Noise
Digital Output Randomizer
Another way to improve dynamic range performance is
to eliminate the generation of unwanted tones caused by
digital feedback from the ADC outputs. Digital feedback
may occur due to capacitive coupling, ground currents or
inductive coupling. While good layout can help reduce the
effects of digital coupling, it may not be enough to eliminate
the problem. One solution is to reduce the digital output
voltage swing that will correspondingly reduce digital
noise coupled into the analog circuitry. The LTC2208
offers two output modes that have reduced digital output
D2/D0
D1
RAND = HIGH,
SCRAMBLE
ENABLED
D1/D0
RAND
D0
D0
DSOL44F07
Figure 7. Functional Equivalent of Digital Output
Randomizer
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Design Solutions 44
Wide Digitizing Bandwidth
In an IF sampling receiver, the sample and hold circuit in
the ADC must have enough bandwidth and low distortion
at the Intermediate Frequency (IF) to allow the entire band
to be converted. By directly sampling an IF signal, the ADC
acts like a mixer to eliminate the second analog down
conversion stage, improving costs, system reliability and
power dissipation. The LTC2208 is designed for high IF
sampling, with an analog input bandwidth of 700MHz and
can sample IF frequencies up to 250MHz while keeping
distortion products below 83dBc.
For wideband receiver applications the LTC2208 can be
used to capture and digitize the entire cellular band (30
MHz wide) as a single block of data. This wide-band
input is likely to contain unwanted multi-carrier signals
transmitted by other wireless systems. The LTC2208’s
exceptional distortion performance and wide dynamic
range enable it to resolve low level signals in the presence of these large interferers and blockers.
The high sampling rate of the LTC2208 provides an advantage when used in oversampling applications, using
processing gain to improve the receiver’s SNR performance. Capturing a signal bandwidth of 30MHz requires
an ADC with a sample rate of at least 60Msps. However
if the signal was sampled at a higher rate of 120Msps the
broadband noise floor is reduced by 3dB as given by the
following equation
SNR Improvement (dB) =
10 x log (Sampling Rate/2x Signal Bandwidth)
This SNR improvement through processing gain is added
to the SNR specified by the ADC.
With a sample rate of 130Msps the LTC2208 is currently
the fastest 16-bit ADC, easing stringent anti-aliasing filter
requirements and improving system performance through
processing gain.
PGA Input Drive
For direct sampled IF receiver systems, the required input
drive level is an important consideration. The LTC2208
features a programmable gain amplifier (PGA) front-end
that allows the designer to select a 1.5VP-P input range
and trade a little reduction in noise performance for lower
input drive, which in turn can save substantial power in
the input drive circuitry. The PGA allows the ADC reference voltage to remain at a constant voltage so that the
input range can be reduced with minimal impact to SNR.
Selecting the wider 2.25VP-P range will however maximize
the SNR performance of the ADC.
Additional Benefits and Features
Figure 8 shows the basic features of the LTC2208. The
part is packaged in a small 9mm x 9mm QFN package and
has some integrated bypass capacitance, freeing PCB real
estate that would usually be consumed by large and costly
decoupling capacitors. In addition, the power dissipation
at 130Msps is at a comparatively low 1250mW, avoiding
the need for heat sinking.
3.3V
SENSE
VCM
2.2µF
AIN+
1.25V
COMMON MODE
BIAS VOLTAGE
+
ANALOG
INPUT
AIN–
16-BIT
PIPELINED
ADC CORE
S/H
AMP
–
OVDD
INTERNAL ADC
REFERENCE
GENERATOR
0.5V TO 3.3V
1µF
OF
CLKOUT
D15
CMOS
•
OR
•
LVDS
•
D0
OUTPUT
DRIVERS
CORRECTION
LOGIC AND
SHIFT REGISTER
OGND
CLOCK/DUTY
CYCLE
CONTROL
GND
ENC
ENC
3.3V
VDD
PGA
SHDN
DITH
MODE
LVDS
1µF
1µF
1µF
RAND
ADC CONTROL INPUTS
DSOL44F08
Figure 8. LTC2208 Block Diagram
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Design Solutions 44
Designed for ease of use, it requires only a single 3.3V
supply for operation and comes with a clock duty cycle
stabilizer for maintaining the ADC performance over varying duty cycles. The LTC2208 can accept high frequency,
wide dynamic range signals, offering a wide analog input
bandwidth of 700MHz.
The LTC2208 family includes speed grades of 130Msps,
105Msps, 80Msps, 65Msps, 40Msps, 25Msps and 10Msps
all with superior SFDR and SNR performance. In addition to the 16-bit ADCs, 14-bit versions of this family will
also be available. All devices are supported with demo
boards for quick device evaluation. The display from
Linear Technology’s user friendly PScope ADC software
evaluation tool is shown in Figure 9.
Conclusions
We have examined the ADC characteristics that often
pose difficulties for high-sensitivity digital receivers and
have shown how the LTC2208 delivers the solutions to
those problems. The LTC2208 brings a new level of performance and an extensive feature-set that will help make
even higher performance digital receivers possible. This
new 16-bit family truly simplifies design and provides the
flexibility to improve the dynamic range performance of
the receiver system.
Figure 9. PScope ADC QuickEval Tool–LTC2208 Evaluation
DSOL44F09
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