Effect Of Component Non-idealities On Optical Oversampled Analog-to-digital Converter Resolution

Abstract

An optical implementation of an oversampled analog-todigital converter has been proposed by Shoop and Goodman [ 11, which comprises two subtraction nodes and a combined signal comparator and output quantiser. This paper discusses the limitations on system resolution due to non-idealities in the circuit components. The subtracter's layout is discussed and a model of its operation presented. The effect of subtraction node white noise on system performance is also investigated. The comparator/quantiser is described and the effect of its finite contrast ratio on system performance simulated.