Signal-dependent analog-to-digital converter based on MINIMAX sampling

This paper presents a physical implementation of a signal-dependent analog-to-digital converter (ADC), called MINIMAX ADC. This ADC captures a sample every time an analog signal reaches its local maximum or minimum value. In this ADC, sampling naturally adapts to input signal frequency, which enables high data compression rate and power reduction to be achieved. A 8-bit MINIMAX ADC was implemented in 180nm CMOS technology. Measurement results show that the proposed MINIMAX ADC consumes lower power for less active signals, and the power reduction from conventional synchronous ADC is up to 20%.