Digital signal processing for data converters

Due to the increasing performance gap between analog and digital circuits, digital signal processing for data converters has become increasingly attractive. Moreover, the further integration of mixed-signal systems and the increasing demands on the bandwidth, the dynamic range, and the power consumption of converters make digital signal processing for advanced signal conditioning indispensable. The knowledge about the principle limits of digital signal processing for data converters and the corresponding technology trade-offs can be essential for the development of next-generation communications systems. The goal of the proposed research is to investigate signal processing aspects of digitally assisted and digitally guided data converters. To this end, the information theoretical and practical limits of digital correction in digitally assisted data converters will be analyzed. By developing general models of digitally assisted data converters and correction algorithms for them, these limits should be found, where the focus will be on technology trends rather than on particular hardware designs and implementation techniques. Furthermore, parallel sigma-delta converters as a primary example for digitally guided data converters will be investigated. Therefore, different parallel sigma- delta data converter architectures will be analyzed concerning their analog and digital design trade-offs. Moreover, the potential of digital correction for parallel sigma-delta architectures will be incorporated in this analysis, which will merge the concepts of digitally assisted and digitally guided data converters. The interdisciplinary characteristics of the intended research goals call for consultation and cooperation with experts from the fields of signal processing, information theory, and mixed-signal design. Prof. Hans-Andrea Loeliger and his research group at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich) will work with me on the signal processing and information theoretic aspects of the proposed research. Prof. Qiuting Huang will support my research at the ETH Zurich in all questions concerning circuit design and technology scaling.