The Structure of Quantization Noise from Sigma-Delta Modulation

When the sampling rate of a sigma-delta modulator far exceeds the frequencies of the input signal, its modulation noise is highly correlated with the amplitude of the input. We derive simple algebraic expressions for this noise and its spectrum in terms of the input amplitude. The results agree with measurements taken on a breadboard circuit. This work can be useful for designing oversampled analog to digital converters that use sigma-delta modulation for the primary conversion.