A triple-mode feed-forward sigma-delta modulator design for GSM / WCDMA / WLAN applications

This paper presents a cascaded 2-2-2 reconfigurable sigma-delta modulator that can handle GSM, WCDMA and WLAN standards. The modulator makes use of a low-distortion swing suppression topology which is highly suitable for wide band applications. In GSM mode, only the first stage (2^nd order ∑-Δ ADC) is turned on to achieve 88dB dynamic range with over-sampling ratio of 160 for a bandwidth of 200KHz; in WCDMA mode a 2-2 cascaded structure (4^th order) is turned on with 1-bit in the first stage and 2-bit in the second stage to achieve 74 dB dynamic range with over-sampling ratio of 16 for a bandwidth of 2MHz and a 2-2-2 cascaded MASH architecture with a 4-bit in the last stage to achieve a dynamic range of 58dB for a bandwidth of 20MHz. The novelty lies in the fact that unused blocks of second and third stages can be switched off taking into considerations like power consumption. The modulator is designed in TSMC 0.18um CMOS technology and operates at 1.8 supply voltage.