An efficient calibration technique for systematic current-mismatch of D/A converters

Abstract

This paper presents a current calibration technique for systematic mismatch in current-cell array. The proposed technique is suitable for GHz-range current-steering D/A converters because of an efficient and totally independent calibration operation. Behavioral simulation and measurement results show that static and yield performance of a D/A converter can be enhanced significantly by using the proposed technique. A measured reduction in INL and DNL errors before and after calibration is from +33.2/-60.1 LSB to +1.28/-1.28 LSB and from +10.2/-12.8 LSB to +2.56/-1.28 LSB in 12-bit resolution.