SBIR Phase I: Compression-Based Analog-to-Digital Converters: Reaching New Low Power Limits in Quantization

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project explores the chip implementation of adaptive and intelligent signal-compression-based analog-to-digital converters (ADC) to significantly lower the power consumption compared to traditional ADCs. In traditional analog-to-digital conversion, the signal is ?blindly? converted without any consideration to what the signal type or statistics are. As a result, the conversion process wastes a great deal of power. If the signal type or statistics are used wisely, the ADC power can be pushed to its lower limit. ADCs using a lossless signal compression data conversion technique are proposed, delivering up to an order of magnitude lower power than competing techniques. All these benefits come at no degradation of the effective number of bits (ENOB) and conversion rate compared to the traditional ADCs. Furthermore, the compression ADC needs no pre-knowledge of the signal type. Once signal input is plugged in, the ADC will automatically adapt to the power-optimized state of the input signal. This project?s objectives are to design, simulate and fabricate the compression-based ADC chip to validate its low power capabilities. The broader/commercial impacts of this project are major benefits in extended battery life, lower design costs, higher channel density, and simplified system design in many electronic systems. With compression-based ADCs that consume much less power, several critical objectives can be attained- 1) battery life of portable devices enhanced, 2) the number of channels in a multichannel systems can be increased, 3) system resolution or speed can be enhanced, and 4) device form factor can be reduced due to higher channel density per chip. With these benefits, end-users experience improved device portability, attain more accurate sense and detection, and overcome design challenges in severely power constrained systems. The technology would also enable new applications in low power electronics that were once deemed very challenging. With ADCs found in a high percentage of electronics, compression ADCs will be serving a growing $2.8 billion data converter market, playing multiple applications in medical, wireless, instrumentation, and military technologies.