In this paper, we describe a 6-bit 1.6-GS/s flash analog to digital converter (ADC). To reduce the power consumption and active area, we propose a new interpolation architecture using a symmetric three-input comparator. This ADC achieves 5.56 effective bits for input frequencies up to 220 MHz at 1.6 GS/s, and almost five effective bits for 660 MHz input at 1.6 GS/s. Peak INL and DNL are less than 0.5 LSB and 0.45 LSB, respectively. This ADC consumes 85 mW from 1.8 V at 1.6 GS/s and occupies an active area of 0.27 mm2. It is fabricated in 0.18-µm CMOS.

A high-speed bipolar ECL comparator circuit with a latch is described. The spike noise generated by charging the base-to-emitter diffusion capacitor on the transition of differential transistors' switching in a sample-and-latch circuit is reduced by inserting the emitter degeneration resistors so that neither of them becomes completely cut off. The frequency bandwidth of a pre-amplifier is increased by using coupled inductors as differential loads. As a result, -3 dB frequency bandwidth of a pre-amplifier becomes 10 GHz, and 4 GS/s operation with 6-bit equivalent precision from a 3.3 V power supply is confirmed by the circuit simulation using device parameters from the 25 GHz silicon bipolar process.