An Over-60 dB True Rail-to-Rail Performance Using Correlated Level Shifting and an Opamp With Only 30 dB Loop Gain

Correlated level shifting (CLS) is introduced as a new switched-capacitor technique to provide true rail-to-rail performance while reducing errors from finite opamp gain. There is negligible kT/C noise increase and in many cases a speed advantage compared to using a high gain opamp. The gain enhancement is quantified with formulas and the general technique is compared to correlated double sampling (CDS). Results are presented from a 0.18 mum CMOS testchip of a 20 MHz, 12-bit pipelined A/D converter using CLS to reduce errors from finite opamp dc gain and limited opamp swing. It achieves 10.5 ENOB operating beyond the supply rails using an opamp circuit with 30 dB loop gain and 0.9 V supply.