A 16-bit low-voltage CMOS A/D converter

A/D converters used in telemetry, instrumentation, and measurements require high accuracy, excellent linearity, and negligible DC offset, but need not be fast. A simple and robust instrumentation A/D converter, fabricated in a low-voltage 4-/spl mu/m CMOS technology, is described. The measured overall accuracy was 16 bits. Using a digital compensation for parasitic effects, both offset and nonlinearity were below 12 /spl mu/V. With analog compensation, the offset was 60 /spl mu/V and the nonlinearity below 15 /spl mu/V. These results indicate that even higher accuracy can be achieved using higher voltage technology.