A 14-b, 100-MS/s CMOS DAC designed for spectral performance

A 14-bit, 100-MS/s CMOS digital-to-analog converter (DAC) designed for spectral performance corresponding more closely to the 14-bit specification than current implementations is presented. This DAC utilizes a nonlinearity-reducing output stage to achieve low output harmonic distortion. The output stage implements a return-to-zero (RZ) action, which tracks the DAC once it has settled and then returns to zero. This RZ circuit is designed so that the resulting RZ waveform exhibits high dynamic linearity. It also avoids the use of a hold capacitor and output buffer as in conventional track/hold circuits. At 60 MS/s, DAC spurious-free dynamic range is 80 dB for 5.1-MHz input signals and is down only to 75 dB for 25.5-MHz input signals. The chip is implemented in a 0.8-μm CMOS process, occupies 3.69×3.91 mm ² of die area, and consumes 750 mW at 5-V power supply and 100-MS/s clock speed