The TAFE1040 is a complete area CCD analog front-end/digitizer designed for digital camera applications. The TAFE1040 performs all the analog processing functions necessary to maxmize the dynamic range, corrects various errors associated with the CCD sensor, and then digitizes the results with an on-chip high-speed analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The key components of the TAFE1040 include: input clamp circuitry for the CCD and analog video signals, a correlated double sampler (CDS), a programmable gain amplifier (PGA) with 0 dB to 36 dB gain range, two internal digital-to-analog converters (DAC) for automatic or programmable optical black level and offset calibration, a 10-bit, 42 MSPS pipeline ADC, a parallel data port for easy microprocessor interface and a serial port for configuring internal control registers, two additional DACs for external system control, and internal reference voltages. Designed in advanced CMOS process, the TAFE1040 operates from a single 3-V power supply with a normal power consumption of 180 mW at 42 MSPS and a 2-mW power-down mode. Very high throughput rate, single 3 V operation, low power consumption, and fully integrated analog processing circuitry make the TAFE1040 an ideal area CCD signal processing solution for the high-resolution digital camera and camcorder applications.