A digital to analog converter (DAC) acts as an interface between the numerical values that are generated by a calculation system in discrete time instants and the continuous time signals of the analogical world.
A DAC takes digital words as input and generates voltage or current values as output. It therefore carries out a transduction operation. If the converter memorizes the input word through an internal register, it must also directly carry out the so-called zero-order hold (ZOH) operation. If not, the register must be preempted in the DAC when it interfaces with a calculator, even if it is not actually included.
The digital input word and the reference voltage control the output of a DAC according to the following ...
