METTAH CONRAD BAMEH

CT21A160
ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC

TOPIC: ANALOGUE TO DIGITAL ONVERTER (ADC)

Definition: An ADC is a data converter which allows digital circuits (e.g. an Arduino) to
interface with the real world by encoding an analogue signal into a binary code. There exist two
main types of ADC, Unipolar and bipolar ADC.

UNIPOLAR ADC
A unipolar ADC is that whose input can only receive signals with either zero or positive polarity.
For example, given that the signal is a voltage, a unipolar ADC can only support 0 - to - +5V or
whatever the maximum value may be. The input signal looks like that in the figure below.

The pulse rise time is faster while the fall time is slower.
The formula to calculate the digital output of a unipolar ADC is the following.

Where: is the input voltage, is the reference voltage, n is the

number of bits and is the digital output.
TRANSFER FUNCTION: The transfer function of an ADC is a plot of the input signal to the
ADC versus the output signals or codes from the ADC. The transfer function for unipolar ADC
is the following
BIPOLAR ADC
This is an ADC in which the input signal can swing between positive and negative. For example
U = ±10V.
The rise and fall times are both fast. The input signal is the following.

TRANSFER FUNCTION
The transfer functions of a bipolar ADC if given below.

The formula for the digital output is the following