[Discuss-gnuradio] 2.5 GS/sec 14-bit A/D converter

[Eric Blossom]

The punchline is towards the end of this article:

http://rfdesign.com/mag/radio_new_technology_facilitates

  TechnoConcepts' RF to digital converter is the first 5 GHz carrier
  speed RF to digital converter capable of direct conversion of a 5 GHz
  RF carrier, eliminating all analog IF circuits. This receiver is based
  on a very high speed 5 GHz delta-sigma converter that digitizes
  signals by modulating the analog input (radio signal) into a
  high-speed 1-bit digital datastream. The datastream is then digitally
  processed on the same IC to produce a high-resolution multiple bit
  word stream sent at a slower data rate. This is the first device to
  completely eliminate the need for conventional radio receiver
  downconverters and the associated external analog components. This RF
  to digital converter is a closed-loop system in which the order of the
  loop and the input bandwidth may be changed to achieve the desired
  resolution. A narrow bandwidth results in higher resolution than a
  wide bandwidth.



Parameter                                     GaAs            SiGe

Maximum clock frequency                       > 5 GHz         > 15 GHz
SINAD (signal to noise+distortion)            > 70 dB         > 110 dB
Eff. resolution bits at 2.5 GHz carrier:        14 bits         18 bits
10 MHz BW                                       11 bits         14 bits