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ADC Guide, Part 1 - The Ideal ADC

By Sachin Gupta and Akshay Phatak

Article of the Quarter 1st Place, Q1 2012

  ADC Guide, Part 1 - The Ideal ADC

Analog to Digital Converters (ADCs) are one of the most commonly used blocks in embedded systems. Applications of ADCs include current sensing, motor control, temperature sensing and a myriad of others. As a consequence, understanding the basic specifications of an ADC and selecting an appropriate device for the given application is a must for reliable operation and cost-effective design.  This series of articles will begin with the basics of ADCs and then discuss different characteristics of an ADC that are important to design, including the impact of various irregularities,  types of ADC available on the market, advantages and disadvantages of each type, and how their selection varies from application to application. This first part of this article series discusses what exactly is an ADC and how an ideal ADC works. In the subsequent articles, we will go to more practical aspects and parameters of an ADC. Read more at EE Times.