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ADC and DAC

The document discusses analog to digital converters (ADCs) and digital to analog converters (DACs). It explains that ADCs sample analog signals and convert them into discrete digital signals using quantization and encoding. DACs take digital signals represented as bits and convert them back into analog voltages or currents by summing weighted bit values. ADCs and DACs are necessary to convert between analog and digital domains so that real-world signals can be processed by digital devices and the processed digital data can be understood in the analog world.

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Mehrab Hossain
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360 views

ADC and DAC

The document discusses analog to digital converters (ADCs) and digital to analog converters (DACs). It explains that ADCs sample analog signals and convert them into discrete digital signals using quantization and encoding. DACs take digital signals represented as bits and convert them back into analog voltages or currents by summing weighted bit values. ADCs and DACs are necessary to convert between analog and digital domains so that real-world signals can be processed by digital devices and the processed digital data can be understood in the analog world.

Uploaded by

Mehrab Hossain
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Analog to Digital Converter (ADC)

ADC is an electronic device used for converting an analog signal into a digital signal. The analog
input signal of ADC is continuous time & continuous amplitude signal. The output of ADC is
a discrete time and discrete amplitude digital signal.

Figure 1: Concept of analog to digital conversion.


Digital to Analog Converter (DAC)
Digital to analog converter is an electronic circuit that converts any digital signal (such as binary
signal) into an analog signal (voltage or current). The digital signal such as the binary signal
exist in the form of bits & it is the combination of 1’s & 0’s (or High & low voltage levels). The
DAC converts these bits into an analog voltage or current with continuous time and amplitude
nature.

Figure 2: Concept of digital to analog conversion.


Why ADC and DAC?
Signals are mainly classified into two types i.e. Analog & Digital signal. In the real world, every
real quantity such as voice, temperature, weight etc exists in the analog state and it cannot be
processed by any digital device such as a computer or a cell phone. These analog quantities are
converted into digital form so that a digital device can process it. This conversion is done
using analog to digital converter. Analog to Digital (ADC) & Digital to analog converter
(DAC) are the two types of converters that we use in our daily life to convert the signals into
each other.
The processing speed of a digital computer is very fast & can compute or process any data in a
matter of micro seconds. It conserves time & helps in processing complex data according to our
need. But we cannot understand the digital data in real world.
In order to understand the data that we process in a digital domain, we need to convert it into
analog domain. An example of that would be the process of audio & video editing. We capture
the data using our digital camera & microphone to convert the analog data into digital. We
process it using our computers to edit it according to over needs. In order to view our edited
work, we use DACs to convert it back into the analog domain to view & listen it through our
screen & speakers.

Operation of ADC

Figure 3: Block diagram of ADC.


The analog signal is first applied to the ‘sample’ block where it is sampled at a specific sampling
frequency. The sample amplitude value is maintained and held in the ‘hold’ block. It is an analog
value. The hold sample is quantized into discrete value by the ‘quantize’ block. At last, the
‘encoder’ converts the discrete amplitude into a binary number. The conversion from analog
signal to a digital signal in an analog to digital converter is explained below using the block
diagram given above.
Sample
The sample block function is to sample the input analog signal at a specific time interval. The
samples are taken in continuous amplitude & possess real value but they are discrete with respect
to time. The sampling frequency plays important role in the conversion. So it is maintained at a
specific rate. The sampling rate is set according to the requirement of the system.
Figure 4: Sampling process.

Hold
The second block used in ADC is the ‘Hold’ block. It has no function. It only holds the sample
amplitude until the next sample is taken. The hold value remains unchanged till the next sample.
Quantize
This block is used for quantization. It converts the analog or continuous amplitude into discrete
amplitude. The on hold continuous amplitude value in hold block goes through ‘quantize’ block
& becomes discrete in amplitude. The signal is now in digital form as it has discrete
time & discrete amplitude.
Encoder
The encoder block converts the digital signal into binary form i.e. into bits. As we know that the
digital devices operate on binary signals so it is necessary to convert the digital signal into the
binary form using the Encoder. This is the whole process of converting an Analog signal into
digital form using an Analog to Digital Converter. This whole conversion occurs in a
microsecond.
Figure 5: Quantization and encoding process.

Operation of DAC
The digital binary data exists in the form of bits. Each bit is either 1 or 0 & they represent its
weight corresponding to its position. The weight is 2n where the n is the position of the bit from
right hand side & it start from 0. This is how the digital to analog converter DAC works by
adding the weights of all corresponding bits with its value to generate the analog value at its
output.

A DAC can be constructed by using different circuits. The simplified block diagram of a DAC
using Summing Amplifier is shown in figure 4. A set of resistors R, 2R, 4R and 8R are used as
its inputs. The resistors are scaled to represent weights for the different input bits.
Figure 4:: A Summing Amplifier functioning
functio as a simple DAC.
The resistor with the lowest value R corresponds to the highest weighted binary input Bit 3
(MSB) [23 = 8], and 2R, 4R, 8R correspond to the binary weights of Bit 2 (22 = 4), Bit 1 (21 = 2),
and Bit 0 (LSB) [20 = 1] respectively. The relationship between the digital inputs (Bit 0 to Bit 3)
and the analog output VOUT is as follow:

Where, Vref is the reference voltage


oltage of the circuit. Assuming the value of Vref as 5 V, the analog
output voltages
oltages corresponding to the digital input codes is shown in Table 1.

Table 1: The Analog Output Voltages corresponding to the Digital Input Codes with Vref = 5 V.

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