Analysis and Correction of Combined Channel Mismatch Effects in Frequency-Interleaved ADCs

In this paper, a comprehensive system behavioral model of frequency-interleaved analog-to-digital converters (FI-ADCs) is presented. The model addresses mismatch errors due to imperfect channel separation, incomplete anti-aliasing, in-phase/quadrature branch imbalances, and jitter-induced distortions. Using this model, an integrated analysis of combined channel mismatch effects is provided. Given error parameters or their distributions, closed-form expressions of the expected output signal-to-noise ratio and image rejection ratio are formulated for FI-ADCs with an arbitrary number of channels. The inherent circuit behaviors, sampling clock jitters, and local oscillator phase noise effects are also discussed. Based on the analysis and modeling, a discrete-time equivalent model for FI-ADC systems is derived. Therefrom, an integrated channel mismatch compensation scheme is proposed that contrasts existing signal recovery approaches which calibrate specific types of errors separately. The performance of this novel method is compared with conventional solutions using extensive simulations. Very favorable numerical results are observed.