A third-order complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor sigma-delta modulator operating between 4.2 K and 300 K

This paper presents a third-order switched-capacitor sigma-delta modulator implemented in a standard 0.35-μm CMOS process. It operates from 300 K down to 4.2 K, achieving 70.8 dB signal-to-noise-plus-distortion ratio (SNDR) in a signal bandwidth of 5 kHz with a sampling frequency of 500 kHz at 300 K. The modulator utilizes an operational transconductance amplifier in its loop filter, whose architecture has been optimized in order to eliminate the cryogenic anomalies below the freeze-out temperature. At 4.2 K, the modulator achieves 67.7 dB SNDR consuming 21.17 μA current from a 3.3 V supply.