An algorithmic analog-to-digital converter (ADC) includes a
sample-and-hold circuit and an ADC processing unit operating in parallel
and sharing a single operational amplifier. The ADC processing unit
includes an MDAC with a switched capacitor topology and a sub-ADC. The
ADC processing unit is clocked by an internal clock that is N times
faster than the sample-and-hold clock. Each cycle is further sub-divided
into two phases. During one phase the capacitors are coupled to a residue
or sampled voltage provided by the MDAC, and during another phase the
capacitor are coupled to a reference voltage determined by the switch
control signals generated by the sub-ADC. A set of data bits is generated
by the ADC processing unit during each ADC clock cycle. The N sets of
data bits are added to generate the digital output stream. The internal
clock, in turn, has a variable period allocating more time to the early
operation phases where more accuracy is required and less time to the
latter operation phases where less accuracy is required.