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2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
2
Outline
Specifications of DAC
Specifications of ADC
Test methodology
Static specification
Histogram method
Transfer (and compare) method
Dynamic specification
FFT
Polynomial Fitting
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
3
Resolution and Accuracy
Resolution is a design parameter rather than a performance
specification. It only indicates what the theoretical accuracy
can be, it does not imply accuracy to a given level
Accuracy is used to describe how close a converter comes to
meeting its theoretical resolution
Accuracy in a converter is limited by
Theoretical quantization noise
Non-linearity in the transfer function
Additional sources of noise in the converter circuitry
Digital
codes
input
Analog
signal
output
D/A
Analog
signal
input
Digital
codes
output
A/D
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
4
Introduction of DAC
Characteristic curve
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
000 001 010 011 100 101 110 111
Analog Output
Digital Code
=
n
i
i
i
S F out
D
V A
1
. .
2
, where D
i
is input code
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
5
FSR and LSB Size
FSR (Full Scale Range)
The maximum extremes of output signal for a DAC
Current or voltage
Devices whose output does not cross through 0 are
called unipolar, while those with output polarities are
bipolar
LSB (Least Significant Bit) size
Ideal LSB is calculated from the specified FSR
When testing, an LSB is an expected average value
based on the actual length of the transfer curve
] [ ] [
.
Scale Zero Output Measure Scale Full Output Measure FSR Actual
Specs by Specified FSR Ideal
=
=
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
6
General Specifications of DAC
Static specifications
Offset error
Gain error
Differential non-linearity (DNL)
Integral non-linearity (INL)
Monotonicity
Dynamic specifications
Settling time
Maximum conversion rate
Rising/Falling Time
Clock Feedthrough
Power Supply Rejection Ratio (PSRR)
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
7
Specifications of Special DAC
For current output DAC
Compliance test
For video DAC
Glitch Impulse test
For high resolution DAC
SNR/THD/SFDR test
For multi-DACs
Crosstalk/Match test
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
8
Offset Error
Difference between the ideal and actual DAC output values when
the zero or null level digital input code is presented to the device
=
n
real real
i
, i
LSB
i - V i V
DNL K
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
000 001 010 011 100 101 110 111
Analog Output (LSB)
Digital Code
DNL
1
=1LSB
DNL
5
=-0.5LSB
( ) ( ) 1 2 0 = =
n
i i
, i DNL Max DNL Sign DNL K
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
11
Integral Non-Linearity (INL)
The deviation of the actual converter output from a straight
line drawn between the end points of the converters input-
output transfer function
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
000 001 010 011 100 101 110 111
Analog Output (LSB)
Digital Code
INL
1
=1LSB
INL
6
=-1LSB
( ) ( ) [ ] ( )
1 2 0 = = =
n
real ideal real
i
i, i
LSB
i V
LSB
i - V i V
INL K
( ) ( ) 1 2 0 = =
n
i i
, i INL Max INL Sign INL K
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
12
Monotonic
A monotonic curve has no change in sign of the slope
V
DD
Vout: Full Scale
1
:
:
1
Input code
ex. 100mV
pp
, 20KHz sine wave
ex. 5mV
pp
, like noise
DAC
DD
V pp
out FS
out pp
V
V
V
V
PSRR
DD
_
_
_
=
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
19
Compliance Voltage Test
Caused by the increasing of output voltage
Test setup
Load
V
out
DAC
V
out
I
out
F.S.
Current
0.5 LSB
Compliance Voltage
x
Voltage
Source,V
V
out
DAC
+
-
Code
Full Scale
Current
Meter, I
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
20
Glitch
Caused by asynchronous switching
I 2I 4I 8I
Code 1000
Load
Vout
I 2I 4I 8I
Code 0111
Load
Vout
-8
-7
Time
Vout
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
21
Glitch Test
Input code:
Glitch impulse =
Summation is used in DSP-based ATE
0 100 1 11 0 K K
8 mv
4mv
2mv
0
-5mv
Time
Vout
Settling value
+ 1 LSB
- 1 LSB
2ns 2ns 1.5ns
Area1
Area2
Area3
( )( ) ( )( ) ( )( ) sec 5 . 2 2 5 . 1
2
1
3 2
2
1
6 2
2
1
= + pV mV ns mV ns mV ns
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
22
Frequency Domain Analysis
(a) SFDR (spurious-free dynamic rang)
(b) SNR (Signal to noise ratio)
(c) SNDR (signal to noise and distortion ratio)
(d) Dynamic range
(e) Average noise level
Digitizer
Vout:
sine wave
digitized
sine wave
FFT
A
m
p
l
i
t
u
d
e
(
d
B
)
Frequency
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)
Fundamental
Harmonic
Noise
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
23
THD and THD+N
THD (Total Harmonic Distortion)
A ratio of the sum of the amplitude at all harmonic
frequencies to the one at the fundamental frequency
In practice the sum is limited to seven or nine harmonic
terms
A negative quantity
THD+N (Total Harmonic Distortion plus Noise)
Combine the power of noise and the harmonic
frequencies
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
24
Dynamic Range
A measure of the capability of detecting small input
signal
For an audio DAC, it indicates the ability to
reproduce low level signals
It is calculated by inverting the polarity of the
THD+N (-60dB input) and adding 60dB
dB) : (unit
=
Power Detectable Minimum
Power Signal
Maximum ge DynamicRan
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
25
SNR and SNDR
SNDR (signal to noise and distortion ratio)
A ratio of the amplitude at the fundamental frequency to
the sum of the ones components at all other frequencies
Include noise and distortion
SNR (Signal to noise ratio)
A subset of SNDR, in which the components for
harmonic distortion are not included
For an audio DAC, it can be measured with all input data
set to zero (no fundamental and harmonic frequencies)
(ref: EIAJ CD-DA Std.)
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
26
SNR/THD/SFDR Test
Input code: digitized sine wave code
111
100
000
V
out
: sine wave
Full Scale
DAC
Digitized and FFT
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
27
Inter Modulation Distortion (IMD)
A test for non-harmonic product terms that appear
in a device signal due to undesired modulation of
two frequency components of a signal
The test is performed by putting a summed two
sinusoid tone into a device and looking for
frequency components in the sum and difference
frequency
Second IMD product terms
are found at (f
1
f
2
)
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
28
Crosstalk
V1out: Full Scale
Crosstalk=
V1out
V2out
or
DAC1
DAC2
dB in log 20
_
_
out FS
out pp
V
V
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
29
Match
V1out = V2out = Full Scale
Match=
V1out
V2out
DAC1
DAC2
2
2 1
2 1
_ _
_ _
out FS out FS
out FS out FS
V V
V V
+
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
30
Introduction of ADC
Characteristic curve
111
110
101
100
011
010
001
000
0 1/8 2/8 3/8 4/8 5/8 6/8 7/8
output code
input level
(1lsb) (2lsb) (3lsb) (4lsb) (5lsb) (6lsb) (7lsb)
F.S.(full scale)
offset
n
i
i
i
S F in
V
D
V A +
=
=1
. .
2
, where D
i
is output code
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
31
FSR and LSB Size
FSR (Full Scale Range)
The maximum extremes of output signal for a ADC
Current or voltage
Devices whose output does not cross through 0 are
called unipolar while those with output polarities are
bipolar
LSB (Least Significant Bit) size
( ) ( )
2 2
: 1 Def.
=
N
in
ZST V FST Vin
LSB
N
FSR
LSB
2
: 2 Def. =
V
in
(FST) is the full scale transition point
V
in
(ZST) is the zero scale transition point
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
32
Static Specifications of ADC
Offset error
Gain error
Differential non-linearity (DNL)
Integral non-linearity (INL)
Missing codes
Static noise
Hystersis error
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
33
Offset Error
The difference between the ideal zero point value
and the calculated zero point value
Usually expressed as LSBs, volts or percentage
of full-scale range (%FSR)
( ) ( )
( ) 0 nt Offset Poi if Ideal LSB ZST Vin
Point Offset Ideal Vin Scale Zero Vin Error Offset
Device
= =
=
5 . 0
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
34
Gain Error
It is dominated by errors in the converters
reference voltage
ideal Device
FSR FSR Error Gain =
ideal
real
111
110
101
100
011
010
001
000
0 1/8 2/8 3/8 4/8 5/8 6/8 7/8
output code
input level
F.S.(full scale)
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
35
Differential Non-Linearity (DNL)
DNL is the difference between adjacent transition
points in an actual ADC and an ideal one
ideal
real
111
110
101
100
011
010
001
000
0 1/8 2/8 3/8 4/8 5/8 6/8 7/8
output code
input level
F.S.(full scale)
real width
ideal
width
DNL
i
( ) ( ) 1 2 0 = =
n
i i
, i DNL Max DNL Sign DNL K
1 2 0 , 1 = =
=
n
i
i
i
i i
i
i
h ideal widt
real width
h ideal widt
h ideal widt real width
DNL K
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
36
Integral Non-Linearity (INL)
A measure of maximum deviation of the actual
transition points in an A/Ds transfer function from
the ideal curve
111
110
101
100
011
010
001
000
0 1/8 2/8 3/8 4/8 5/8 6/8 7/8
output code
input level
F.S.(full scale)
align
INL
1
INL
2
INL
3
INL
4
INL
5
INL
6
( ) ( ) 1 2 0 = =
n
i i
, i INL Max INL Sign INL K
1 2 0 ,
1
1
= = + =
=
n
i
j
i i i i
i DNL DNL INL INL K
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
37
Histogram test for DNL and INL
Uses a linearly increasing or decreasing signal as
the input to the ADC under test
A 14 bit ADC
ramp histogram
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
38
Missing Code Test
Test Steps: 1. Count the number of each code: n
i
2. Check n
i
> n
th
111
110
101
100
011
010
001
000
output code
Clock Timing
Input Signal: Ramp
Full Scale
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
39
Static Noise
Definition
Little concern in high-speed applications
Output
h L
Input
k
Sampling
A/D
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
40
Hysteresis Error
Hysteresis Error in an ADC causes the voltage at
which a code transition occurs to be dependent
upon the direction from which the transition is
approached
It is usually caused by hysteresis in the comparator
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
41
Dynamic Specifications of ADC
SNR and SNDR
Total harmonic distortion (THD)
Inter-modulation distortion (IMD)
Spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR)
Effective number of bits (ENOB)
Dynamic Deviation
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
42
SNR and SINAD
SNR is a ratio of the signal amplitude to the noise
level
When the harmonics are included, the S/N
specification is referred to as the Signal-to-(Noise +
Distortion) or SINAD
Both signal-to-noise specifications exclude any DC
offset from the noise component
+ +
=
f
f f
V
V V
THD
L
where V
f1
is the amplitude of the fundamental
and V
fi
is the amplitude of the i-th harmonic
( ) ( ) ( ) L + + + + =
3
3
2
2 1 0 in in in OUT
V a V a V a a V
( )
2
2 cos 1
cos
2
t
t
+
=
If the output of an ADC is fed to a perfect DAC
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
44
Inter-Modulation Distortion (IMD)
IMD results when two frequency components in a
signal interact through the non-linearities in the
ADC to produce signals at additional frequencies
An input signal with frequency components at 600Hz and 1kHz (left)
suffers severe IMD after A/D conversion (right)
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
45
Dynamic Range and Spurious-Free Dynamic
Range (SFDR)
Dynamic range is defined as the ratio (usually in dB)
of the maximum signal size to the minimum signal
size
For an ideal ADC, it is 20log(2
bits
-1)
SFDR is the ratio of signal amplitude to amplitude
of the highest harmonic or spurious noise
component
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
46
Effective Number of Bits (ENOB)
ENOB is a specification that is closely related to the SNR
The ENOB specification combines the effects of many of the
other dynamic specifications
Errors resulting from dynamic differential and integral non-linearity
missing codes
total harmonic distortion
aperture jitter
02 . 6
76 . 1
=
SNR
ENOB
Some manufacturers define the ENOB
using the SINAD instead of the SNR
ENOB generally decreases at high
frequencies
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
47
Dynamic Deviation
Definition
Be used to evaluate dynamic performance of ADC
Output
h L
Input
k
Sampling
A/D
2009/6/2
MSIC D&T Lab., Dept. of El. Eng., NYUST ~ CW Lin
48
Histogram Test
A statistical number of samples of the input
sinusoid are taken and stored as a record
The frequency of code occurrence in the record is
plotted as a function of code
For an ideal ADC, the shape of the plot would be
the PDF of a sine wave
2 2
1
) (
V A
V P
N
N
N
N
A
n B
A
n B
n P
2
2 1
sin
2
2
sin
1
) (
1
1
1
1