3 GS/s S-Band 10 Bit ADC on SiGeC Technology

Abstract

In advanced applications such as digital radar, Ultra Wide Bandwidth communications and software defined radio, the need for instantaneous bandwidth often drives system design decisions. Access to high speed data converters enabling up and down conversion directly in the L Band and S Band removes the limit imposed by bandwidth scarcity and allows the design of flexible and simplified system architectures. Broadband ADC's (Analogue to Digital Converters) are key enabling components which open up new design opportunities for digital Receiver systems. In this regard, this paper describes a new 10bit 3GS/s ADC with 5 GHz Bandwidth, based on a 200 GHz SiGeC bipolar Technology, which enables the direct digitizing of 1GHz arbitrary broadband waveforms directly in the high IF region closer to the Antenna (L-Band or S-Band).