Sigma Delta A/D Conversion for Signal Conditioning (The Springer International Series in Engineering and Computer Science)

The book gives an overview of the state-of-the-art in SigmaDelta design and of the challenges for future realizations. It provides an understanding of the fundamental power efficiency of SigmaDelta converters. In addition, it presents an analysis of the power consumption in the decimation filter. Understanding these power/performance trade-offs, it becomes clear that straight-forward digitization of a conditioning channel, i.e. exchanging analog for digital conditioning, comes at a major power penalty.

Kathleen Philips was born in 1972, in Aalst, Belgium. In 1992 and in 1995, respectively, she obtained the B. Sc. and the M. Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from the "Katholieke Universiteit Leuven" in Belgium. The graduation project was on the design of monolithic microwave ICs based on HEMT-transistors.

In the summer of 1993, she did a traineeship at the IMEC, Belgium, on methodologies to evaluate contamination in IC technology steps.

In September 1995, she started working in the Mixed-signal Circuits and Systems group of the Philips Research Laboratories in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, where she is now a senior research scientist. She respectively worked on the design of D/A converters and class-D amplifiers for audio, sigma delta A/D conversion for FM and AMradio, variable-gain amplifiers, sigma delta design for UMTS and for Bluetooth receivers. Her research interests also include the system-level design of transceivers for wireless communication.

In the fall of 1997, she was seconded to Philips Semiconductors, France, on the topic of PLL design. Another secondment in 2000, to the Philips Research Laboratories in the United Kingdom, involved the study of third-generation mobile receivers and the derivation of circuit specifications.

The author was a lecturer in the Educational Sessions of the IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference in 2003 and 2004. From 2005 on, she also serves in the technical program committee of this conference.