Multi-stage operational amplifier for interstage amplification in a pipeline analog-to-digital converter

Abstract

An operational amplifier for a pipeline analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The operational amplifier includes a cascaded chain of differential amplifiers, each differential amplifier including resistive-averaged common mode feedback to produce a common mode voltage for the differential amplifier, a particular differential amplifier of the chain having the highest gain of the gains of the differential amplifiers. The operational amplifier has one or more feedback paths each including a compensation capacitor to compensate the operational amplifier. Also included are one or more switches controlled by a control signal to switch on or off the differential amplifiers of the chain other than the highest-gain differential amplifier of the chain such that the power consumption of the operational amplifier is reduced by turning off the differential amplifiers other than the highest-gain differential amplifier while the dynamic response of the operational amplifier is not compromised by the highest-gain differential amplifier being turned on or off.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.