Abstract: Nowadays both digital and analog electronics are reaching fundamental limits that will require revolutionary approaches to satisfy the power/bandwidth requirements of the next generation of data-driven applications.In the first part of the talk, analog and digital signal processing will be compared in terms of power efficiency by highlighting the presence of a thermodynamic upper-bound which relates dynamic range, bandwidth and power dissipation. To circumvent this limit, in the second part of the talk, the quantized-analog signal processing will be introduced. In such approach, analog and digital domains are merged together in a more fluid scenario compared to traditional mixed-signal circuits avoiding the needs of rigid interfaces such as analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters. It will be shown that the quantized-analog signal processing leads to superior power efficiency and flexibility compared to its analog counterpart and it represents a good candidate for the development of a new generation of mixed signal integrated circuits. The effectiveness of the proposed solutions will be demonstrated through simulations and measurement results on RF-analog front-ends.

Webinar Slides