Analog to Digital

Converters
PRASANTH.N
M.TECH CIM
RA1412004010010

Analog Signals
Analog signals It is a directly measurable
quantities in terms of some other quantity.

Examples:
Thermometer

mercury height rises as

temperature rises

Car

Speedometer Needle moves farther right as

you accelerate

Stereo

Volume increases as you turn the knob.

Digital Signals
Digital Signals: They have only two states. For
digital computers, we refer to binary states, 0
and 1. 1 can be on, 0 can be off.

Examples:
Light switch can be either on or off
Door to a room is either open or closed

APPLICATIONS OF ANALOG AND DIGITAL

SIGNALS
ANALOG SIGNALS
Thermometer.
photocopiers
old land-line telephones
audio tapes
VCRs (same as TV)
DIGITAL SIGNALS
PCs, PDAs
Mobile Phones.

ANALOG TO DIGITAL CONVERTER

An electronic integrated circuit which transforms a

signal from analog(continues) to digital(discrete) form.
Analog signals are directly measurable quantities.

Digital signals only have two states for digital

computer we refer to binary states, 0 and 1.

Digital computers require signals to be in digital

form whereas most instrumentation transducers have
an output signal in analogue form.

ADC conversion is therefore required at the interface

between analogue transducers and the digital computer

Why we need ADC?

Microprocessors

can only perform complex processing

on digitized signals.
When signals are in digital form they are less
susceptible to the deleterious effects of additive noise.
ADC Provides a link between the analog world of
transducers and the digital world of signal processing and
data handling.

A/D Applications

Microphones - take your voice varying pressure

waves in the air and convert them into varying
electrical signals
Strain Gages - determines the amount of strain
(change in dimensions) when a stress is applied
Thermocouple temperature measuring device
converts thermal energy to electric energy
Voltmeters
Digital Multimeters.

A/D CIRCUIT

A/D Converter Types

Flash ADC

Delta-Sigma ADC

Dual Slope (integrating) ADC

Successive Approximation ADC

Flash ADC

Consists of a series of comparators, each one

comparing the input signal to a unique reference
voltage.

The comparator outputs connect to the inputs of

a priority encoder circuit, which produces a
binary output

Flash ADC Circuit

How Flash Works

As

the analog input voltage exceeds the

reference voltage at each comparator, the
comparator outputs will sequentially saturate
to a high state.

The

priority encoder generates a binary

number based on the highest-order active
input, ignoring all other active inputs.

Flash
Advantages

Simplest in terms of
operational theory

Disadvantages

Most efficient in terms

of speed, very fast

Lower resolution
Expensive
For each additional
output bit, the number
of comparators is
doubled.

DIGITAL TO ANALOG
CONVERTER

RESOLUTION
RESOLUTION
==NNBITS
BITS

Modems require a DAC to convert data to analog

signals that can be carried by telephone wires.

Video adapters also require DACs to convert digital

data to analog signals that the monitor can process.

TYPES OF D/A CONVERTERS

Binary weighted
resistor
R-2R ladder
Multiplier DAC
Non-multiplier DAC

WEIGHTED RESISTOR
COMPONENTS

Operational amplifier
Switches
Resistors
Voltage source
Ground

Binary Weighted resistors are used to distinguish

each bit from the most significant to the least
significant
Binary weighted resistors Reduces current by a
factor of 2 for each bit
Binary Weighted resistors is reliable, and simple to
do
Resistor values can be calculated using the weight of
the binary number.

CIRCUIT

Advantages

Simple Construction/Analysis
Fast Conversion

Disadvantages

Requires large range of resistors (2000:1 for

12-bit DAC) with necessary high precision for
low resistors
Requires low switch resistances in transistors
Can be expensive. Therefore, usually limited
to 8-bit resolution.

APPLICATIONS
Digital

Motor Control
Computer Printers
Sound Equipment (e.g. CD/MP3
Players, etc.)
Function Generators/Oscilloscopes
Digital Audio