Comparison of DEM and BEET linearization techniques for flash analog-to-digital converters using a SFDR metric

Data converter linearization has been a subject of some interest for most of the past decade. New methods of linearizing analog-to-digital converters (ADC) continue to be developed. Various linearization methods are available but their comparative strengths and weaknesses are not easily recognizable, making it somewhat difficult to determine which compensator would provide maximum benefit for a specific device. This paper provides a performance comparison of two promising real-time linearization methods for flash ADCs: the in-device DEM method, and the peripherally-implemented BEET method. SFDR is used as the primary performance metric. It is found that BEET is the superior compensator for devices with INL values larger than 0.25 LSB and DNL values larger than 0.25 LSB. DEM is the better-performing compensator for devices with INL/DNL values below the BEET-preferred region.