Continuous-time (CT) Sigma-Delta ADCs are a promising candidate for high-speed receiver applications, such as software-defined radio (SDR), due to its inherent anti-aliasing and signal filtering, potential lower power consumption because of less stringent requirements on Op-Amps, and easy reconfigurability.

Contrast to applications such as data acquisition and sensor readout, the performance of ADCs in receiver applications is defined by not only the desired in-band (IB) signals, but also the out-of-band (OoB) blockers which are also processed. Consequently, OoB blockers, which could be orders of magnitudes larger than the desired in-band signals, are usually the performance-defining signal component in receiver applications, which could lead to overload of the modulator, causing strong signal distortion or even a complete loss of the system functionality, or reciprocal mixing, i.e. the jitter-induced noise due to OoB blockers degrading the maximally achievable SNR of the in-band signals.  An ADC with blocker rejection can reduce its own specifications, and result in a more efficient realization ([1]).