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52 views7 pages

ADC Notes

Uploaded by

Sujan S
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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What is Analog to Digital Converter?

A converter that is used to change the analog signal to digital is known as


an analog to digital converter or ADC converter. This converter is one kind
of integrated circuit or IC that converts the signal directly from continuous
form to discrete form. This converter can be expressed in A/D, ADC, A to
D. The inverse function of DAC is nothing but ADC.

The process of converting an analog signal to digital can be done in several


ways. There are different types of ADC chips available in the market from
different manufacturers like the ADC08xx series. So, a simple ADC can be
designed with the help of discrete components.

The main features of ADC are sample rate and bit resolution.

 The sample rate of an ADC is nothing but how fast an ADC can convert
the signal from analog to digital.
 Bit resolution is nothing but how much accuracy can an analog to digital
converter can convert the signal from analog to digital.

Analog to Digital Converter

One of the major benefits of ADC converter is the high data acquisition rate
even at multiplexed inputs. With the invention of a wide variety of
ADC integrated circuits (IC’s), data acquisition from various sensors becomes
more accurate and faster. Dynamic characteristics of the high-performance
ADCs are improved measurement repeatability, low power consumption,
precise throughput, high linearity, excellent Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), and
so on.
A variety of applications of the ADCs are measurement and control systems,
industrial instrumentation, communication systems, and all other sensory-
based systems. Classification of ADCs based on factors like performance,
bit rates, power, cost, etc.

ADC Block Diagram

The block diagram of ADC is shown below which includes sample, hold,
quantize, and encoder. The process of ADC can be done like the following.

First, the analog signal is applied to the first block namely a sample
wherever it can be sampled at an exact sampling frequency. The amplitude
value of the sample like an analog value can be maintained as well as held
within the second block like Hold. The hold sample can be quantized into
discrete value through the third block like quantize. Finally, the last block
like encoder changes the discrete amplitude into a binary number.

In ADC, the conversion of the signal from analog to digital can be explained
through the above block diagram.

Sample
In the sample block, the analog signal can be sampled at an exact interval
of time. The samples are used in continuous amplitude and hold real value
however they are discrete with respect to time. While converting the signal,
the sampling frequency plays an essential role. So it can be maintained at
a precise rate. Based on the system requirement, the sampling rate can be
fixed.
Hold
In ADC, HOLD is the second block and it doesn’t have any function
because it simply holds the sample amplitude till the next sample is taken.
So the value of hold doesn’t change until the next sample.

Quantize
In ADC, this is the third block which is mainly used for quantization. The
main function of this is to convert the amplitude from continuous (analog)
into discrete. The value of continuous amplitude within hold block moves
throughout quantize block to turn into discrete in amplitude. Now, the signal
will be in digital form because it includes discrete amplitude as well as time.

Encoder
The final block in ADC is an encoder that converts the signal from digital
form to binary. We know that a digital device works by using binary signals.
So it is required to change the signal from digital to binary with the help of
an encoder. So this is the entire method to change an analog signal to
digital using an ADC. The time taken for the entire conversion can be done
within a microsecond.

Sampling and Holding


Sampling is the process of replacing the original signal that was continuous
in time with a sequence of signal sample values at regular intervals, i.e.,
discretizing the analog signal in time. The results of the sampling are stored
until the next sampling, and this process called holding.

Quantizing and Encoding


Quantizing is to convert the continuous amplitude of the analog signal into a
finite number of discrete values with a certain interval using a finite number
of amplitude values that approximate the original continuous
changing amplitude value. Encoding is in accordance with certain rules, to
represent the quantized value with binary numbers and then convert it into a
binary or multi-valued digital signal stream. The digital signals thus obtained
can be transmitted over digital lines such as cables, microwave trunks,
satellite channels, etc.

This process of an analog signal converted into a digital signal through the
ADC is called quantizing. Due to the quantization of the output digital signal
is limited to a number of bits, the output digital signal and the analog signal
you sample will have an error, known as quantization error. For an N-bit
ADC, assuming that its full-scale voltage Vref, Vref ADC is divided into 2N
intervals, the width of the interval with LSB ( (last significant bit) indicates
LSB=Vref/2N.

For example, Vref=8V, ADC is 3 bits, LSB=1, so each interval is 1V. The resolution of this
ADC is 1V.
000 means voltage 0 &le; V < 1
001 means voltage 1 &le; V < 2
010 means voltage 2 &le; V < 3
011 means voltage 3 &le; V < 4
100 means voltage 4 &le; V < 5
101 means voltage 5 &le; V < 6
110 represents voltage 6 &le; V < 7
111 represents voltage 7 &le; V < 8
ADC output and error

Eg.

Assume that one-volt signal has to be converted from digital by using 3-bit
ADC as shown below. Therefore, a total of 2^3=8 divisions are available for
producing 1V output. This results 1/8=0.125V is called as minimum change
or quantization level represented for each division as 000 for 0V, 001 for
0.125, and likewise upto 111 for 1V. If we increase the bit rates like 6, 8, 12,
14, 16, etc. we will get a better precision of the signal. Thus, bit rate or
quantization gives the smallest output change in the analog signal value that
results from a change in the digital representation.

Suppose if the signal is about 0-5V and we have used 8-bit ADC then the
binary output of 5V is 256. And for 3V it is 133 as shown below.

There is an absolute chance of misrepresenting the input signal on the output


side if it is sampled at a different frequency than the desired one. Therefore,
another important consideration of the ADC is the sampling rate. The Nyquist
theorem states that the acquired signal reconstruction introduces distortion
unless it is sampled at (minimum) twice the rate of the largest frequency
content of the signal as you can observe in the diagram. But this rate is 5-10
times the maximum frequency of the signal in practice.
Sampling Rate of Analog to Digital
Converter

Factors
The ADC performance can be evaluated through its performance based on
different factors. From that, the following two main factors are explained
below.

SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio)


The SNR reflects the average number of bits without noise in any particular
sample.

Bandwidth
The bandwidth of an ADC can be determined by estimating the sampling
rate. The analog source can be sampled per second to produce discrete
values.

Types of Analog to Digital Converters


ADC is available in different types and some of the types of analog to
digital converters include:
 Dual Slope A/D Converter
 Flash A/D Converter
 Successive Approximation A/D Converter
 Semi-flash ADC
 Sigma-Delta ADC
 Pipelined ADC

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