CHAPTER 8

TESTING ANALOG-TO-DIGITAL CONVERTERS

Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything.

—Wyatt Earp

8.1 Introduction

I used to say that testing an ADC was twice as difficult as testing a DAC. I was way off. It’s a lot harder than that. Much of the terminology for ADC testing is similar to the terminology for DAC testing, but the methodology is much different. An ADC produces a set of digital codes that correspond to the analog input level. Like a DAC, testing the DC performance of an ADC consists largely of verifying a consistent and linear response. In ...

Get Demystifying Mixed Signal Test Methods now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.