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

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目探索了基于自适应和智能信号压缩的模数转换器(ADC)的芯片实现，与传统ADC相比，显著降低了功耗。在传统的模数转换中，信号是盲目的。在不考虑信号类型或统计数据的情况下进行转换。因此，转换过程浪费了大量的电力。如果合理使用信号类型或统计数据，可以将ADC功率推到其下限。提出了使用无损信号压缩数据转换技术的ADC，提供比竞争技术低一个数量级的功耗。与传统ADC相比，所有这些好处都不会降低有效位数(ENOB)和转换率。此外，压缩ADC不需要预先知道信号类型。一旦插入信号输入，ADC将自动适应输入信号的功率优化状态。S项目的目标是设计、模拟和制造基于压缩的模数转换芯片，以验证其低功耗能力。该项目的广泛/商业影响是在许多电子系统中延长电池寿命、降低设计成本、提高通道密度和简化系统设计方面的主要好处。使用功耗低得多的基于压缩的ADC，可以实现几个关键目标-1)增强便携式设备的电池寿命，2)增加多通道系统中的通道数量，3)提高系统分辨率或速度，4)由于每个芯片的通道密度更高，可以减少设备的外形尺寸。有了这些好处，最终用户可以体验到更好的设备便携性，获得更准确的感知和检测，并在电力严格受限的系统中克服设计挑战。这项技术还将使低功耗电子产品的新应用成为可能，而这些应用曾经被认为是非常具有挑战性的。随着ADC在电子产品中的比例很高，压缩ADC将服务于不断增长的28亿美元的数据转换器市场，在医疗、无线、仪器仪表和军事技术中发挥多种应用。

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.