Tutorial: Noise Analysis in Switched Capacitor Circuits

Switched-capacitor (SC) circuits are ubiquitous in CMOS mixed-signal ICs. The most fundamental performance limitation in these circuits stems from the thermal noise introduced by MOSFET switches and active amplifier circuitry. This tutorial reviews hand analysis techniques that allow the designer to predict the noise performance of switched-capacitor circuits at various levels of complexity. The material will focus on practical examples ranging from basic passive and active track-and-hold stages, integrators and examples of SC filters. Simulation examples using periodic noise analysis tools are included throughout the tutorial to complement and verify the theory.