High-speed digital to analog converters

High-speed Digital-to-Analog Converters (DAC) are used in single- and multi-carrier communication applications because they simplify the number of mixing and filtering operations in the analog domain. In these applications, CMOS realizations that offer high-frequency linearity over broad bandwidths are required. The Current Steering architecture is the most suitable candidate, however, many nonlinear mechanisms limit its linearity: high sampling rates are possible, but good linearity is achieved only at small fractions of the Nyquist band, or at a large power and area penalty. Here, a rational design process will be described which demonstrates that high frequency linearity can be achieved at a low cost in power consumption and silicon area.