Digitally assisted multi-Bit ΣΔ modulator

A fully digital feedforward ΣΔ modulator is described. The technique, here applied to a second order low-pass modulator, strongly reduces the operational amplifiers output swing, thus allowing the use of power effective single stage architectures. The method enables reduced slew-rate requirements and allows operation at lower power supply voltages. The proposed technique has better or comparable performance than more power hungry conventional analog and digital feedforward solutions. Behavioral simulations and a sensitivity analysis demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach.