A High Dynamic Range, Low Distortion, Continuous-Time Current-Output DAC with all-FIR Interpolation Path

Singleton D, Bowlerwell J, Sharma A, Howlett R, Lesso P. A High Dynamic Range, Low Distortion, Continuous-Time Current-Output DAC with all-FIR Interpolation Path. In: Express Paper. Audio Engineering Society; 2025. Paper 374. Available from: https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23048

@inproceedings{Singleton2025_23048,
  author = {Singleton, David and Bowlerwell, John and Sharma, Abhinav and Howlett, rew and Lesso, Paul},
  title = {{A High Dynamic Range, Low Distortion, Continuous-Time Current-Output DAC with all-FIR Interpolation Path}},
  note = {Paper 374},
  year = {2025},
  month = oct,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  url = {https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23048}
}

TY  - CPAPER
TI  - A High Dynamic Range, Low Distortion, Continuous-Time Current-Output DAC with all-FIR Interpolation Path
AU  - Singleton, David
AU  - Bowlerwell, John
AU  - Sharma, Abhinav
AU  - Howlett, rew
AU  - Lesso, Paul
M1  - Paper 374
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/10/14
UR  - https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23048
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - The architecture of a continuous-time current-output Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) for audio applications is described. The DAC supports input sample rates up to 768kHz and achieves 128dB Dynamic Range (DR) (8Vrms output), -115dB Total-Harmonic-Distortion+Noise (THD+N) ratio & -123dB Total-Harmonic-Distortion ratio. The architecture utilizes digital sigma-delta and PWM modulation to generate a digital data stream which is then reconstructed using an Analog-Finite-Impulse-Response (AFIR) filter formed using high-precision current-DAC elements. The current-to-voltage conversion is performed off-chip, with the output full-scale level being determined by the size of the external resistor, thereby allowing the output voltage levels to be optimized for a given system. A wide selection of interpolation filters are provided, with unique coefficients for each sample rate option, all of which are implemented with FIR filters.
ER  -