Data Converters

All t he real world quant it ies are analog in nat ure.

We can represent t hese quant it ies elect rically as
analog signals. An analog signal is a t ime varying
signal t hat has any number of values (variat ions)
for a given t ime slot .
In cont rast t o t his, a digital signal varies
suddenly from one level t o anot her level and will
have only finit e number of values (variat ions) for a
given t ime slot .
This chapt er discusses about t he t ypes of dat a
convert ers and t heir specificat ions.

Types of Data Converters

The elect ronic circuit s, which can be operat ed
wit h analog signals are called as analog circuit s.
Similarly, t he elect ronic circuit s, which can be
operat ed wit h digit al signals are called as digit al
circuit s. A dat a convert er is an elect ronic circuit
t hat convert s dat a of one form t o anot her.
There are t wo types of data converters −
Analog t o Digit al Convert er
Digit al t o Analog Convert er
If we want t o connect t he out put of an analog
circuit as an input of a digit al circuit , t hen we have
t o place an int erfacing circuit bet ween t hem. This
int erfacing circuit t hat convert s t he analog signal
int o digit al signal is called as Analog to Digital
Converter .
Similarly, if we want t o connect t he out put of a
digit al circuit as an input of an analog circuit , t hen
we have t o place an int erfacing circuit bet ween
t hem. This int erfacing circuit t hat convert s t he
digit al signal int o an analog signal is called as
Digital to Analog Converter .
Not e t hat some Analog t o Digit al Convert ers may
require Digit al t o Analog Convert er as an int ernal
block for t heir operat ion.

Specifications
The following are t he specifications t hat are
relat ed t o dat a conversions −
Resolut ion
Conversion Time

Resolut ion
Resolut ion is t he minimum amount of change
needed in an analog input volt age for it t o be
represent ed in binary (digit al) out put . It depends
on t he number of bit s t hat are used in t he digit al
out put .
Mathematically, resolut ion can be represent ed
as

1
1
R
Rees
soollu
utti
ioon
n =
=
N
N
2
2

where, ‘N’ is t he number of bit s t hat are present in

t he digit al out put .
From t he above formula, we can observe t hat
t here exist s an inverse relationship bet ween
t he resolut ion and number of bit s. Therefore,
resolut ion decreases as t he number of bit s
increases and vice-versa.

Resolution can also be defined as t he rat io of

maximum analog input volt age t hat can be
represent ed in binary and t he equivalent binary
number.
Mathematically, resolut ion can be represent ed
as

V
VFFS
S
R
Rees
soollu
utti
ioon
n =
=
N
N
2
2 −
−11
where,

VF
FSS
is t he full scale input volt age or

maximum analog input volt age,

‘N’ is t he number of bit s t hat are present in t he
digit al out put .

Conversion Time
The amount of t ime required for a dat a convert er
in order t o convert t he dat a (informat ion) of one
form int o it s equivalent dat a in ot her form is
called as conversion time. Since we have t wo
t ypes of dat a convert ers, t here are t wo t ypes of
conversion t imes as follows
Analog t o Digit al Conversion t ime
Digit al t o Analog Conversion t ime
The amount of t ime required for an Analog t o
Digit al Convert er (ADC) t o convert t he analog
input volt age int o it s equivalent binary (digit al)
out put is called as Analog to Digital conversion
time. It depends on t he number of bit s t hat are
used in t he digit al out put .
The amount of t ime required for a Digit al t o
Analog Convert er (DAC) t o convert t he binary
(digit al) input int o it s equivalent analog out put
volt age is called as Digital to Analog
conversion time. It depends on t he number of
bit s t hat are present in t he binary (digit al) input .