2-μm, 1.6-mW gated-gm sampler with 72-dB SFDR for f s=160 Ms/s and fin=320.25 MHz

The sampler is often the limitation in determining how early in the signal chain the conversion to discrete time can be done. We have fabricated a novel high-speed, wideband sampler core based upon a charge-domain gated-g_m cell that has a measured spurious free dynamic range (SFDR) of 72 db for a sample rate of 160 Ms/s and an input frequency of 320.25 MHz. The sampling bandwidth is ~880 MHz. This performance is achieved at ~1% of the power and ~1% of the core area of a state-of-the-art track-and-hold circuit implemented in a much more advanced IC technology. Simulations indicate that far higher performance is possible in a more advanced process and with minor circuit optimization