Data Converter Fundamentals
Data Converter Fundamentals
FUNDAMENTALS
(CHAPTER 11)
The need for Data Converters
o The signal is sampled and held and then converted into a digital signal
o The output of the DAC is not as "smooth" as the original signal. A low pass
filter returns the analog signal back to its original form
Two main types of converters
• Nyquist-Rate Converters
i. Nyquist rate data converters are those converters that
Generate a series of output values having a one-to-
one relationship with a single input value.
ii. Rarely sample at Nyquist-rate because of need for
antialiasing and reconstruction filters.
iii. Typically 3 to 20 times input signal’s bandwidth or 1.5
to 10 times Nyquist rate.
• Oversampling Converters
i. Oversampling converters are those that Operate
much faster than Nyquist-rate (20 to 512 times faster)
by filtering out quantization noise that is not in
signal’s bandwidth.
ii. The output signal to noise ratio is increased.
iii. These makes use of Noise Shaping filters to remove
quantization noise.
Ideal D/A Converter
• An N-bit digital word is mapped into a
single analog voltage. Typically, the
output of the DAC is a voltage that is
some fraction of a reference voltage(or
current) Vout = FVREF
The number of input combinations represented by the input
word is related to the number of bits in the word by,
3 MSB’s determine
the operation of first
string.
Output is determined
by the Lower LSB’s
A/D Conversion - Types
• Can be classified in four groups:
– Integrator:
• Charges a capacitor for a given amount of time using the
analog signal.
• It discharges back to zero with a known voltage and the counter
provides the value of the unknown signal.
• Provides slow conversion but low noise.
• Often used in monitoring devices (e.g., voltmeters)