Patent ID: 7652611

Claim:
In a pipeline analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a front-end ADC stage comprising: a multiplying digital-to-analog converter (MDAC), the MDAC comprising: a first differential input; a second differential input; a first switch coupled between the first and second differential inputs; a first input capacitor coupled to the first switch and a first differential component of an analog input signal; and a second input capacitor coupled to the first switch and a second differential component of the analog input signal; and a flash comparator, the flash comparator comprising: a third differential input; a fourth differential input; a second switch coupled between the third and fourth differential inputs; a third input capacitor coupled to the second switch and the first differential component of the analog input signal; a fourth input capacitor coupled to the second switch and the second differential component of the analog input signal; a third switch coupled to a first reference voltage and the third input capacitor; and a fourth switch coupled to a second reference voltage and the fourth input capacitor, wherein an output of the flash comparator is coupled to the MDAC.