The authors address some fundamental issues in track-and-hold (T&H) design.
A number of explicit expressions characterising the main limitations of th
is class of circuits are given. A fully differential open-loop T&H is prese
nted satisfying the stringent specifications imposed by present telecom app
lications. It exhibits high-resolution (12 bit) and high-speed (f(ck) = 160
MHz) as measured on samples integrated in a standard 0.8 mu m 12-GHz BiCMO
S technology. The overall performance is beyond state-of-the-art. The T&H's
size is 0.37 mm(2), and it consumes 45mA from a 5V power supply.