Adaptive Correction of Errors in Residue Coupled MASH ΔΣ Modulators

MASH delta-sigma (ΔΣ) modulators consist of a cascade of several lower order single-loop modulators. In an ideal cascade, the quantization error from all but the last stage are digitally canceled. The drawback with a cascaded design is the requirement of precise matching of contributions from different quantizers to cancel lower order quantization noise from intermediate delta-sigma stages. This paper presents a new, adaptive improvement to the residue coupled MASH delta sigma modulator. The adaptive corrections significantly reduce the sensitivity to analog imperfections. The result is a simple MASH delta-sigma modulator with high precision. Simulations of a 1-1 MASH circuit structure with errors and corrections are included to confirm the theory.