A/D converter is ‘3.6 times’ faster than competition
1 min read
Looking to simplify the development of products that handle wide bandwidth inputs – including software defined radio – National Semiconductor has unveiled what it believes to be the world's fastest 12bit a/d converters.
Three parts are now sampling, with full production scheduled for August. Topping the range is the ADC12D1800, a dual channel device with a throughput of 3.6Gsample/s and a power consumption of 2.05W per channel. According to Paul McCormack, product marketing manager in National's high speed signal path group, the part is 3.6 times faster than competitive 12bit devices, with the same improvement in Nyquist bandwidth.
Joining the 12D1800 are the -1000 and -1600 variants, supporting 2Gsample/s and 3.2Gsample/s and consuming 1.7 and 1.9W per channel respectively. All three operate with interleaved or independent channels.
The parts, which have been developed in the company's Munich facility, follow on from similar 8 and 10bit converters, bring wider dynamic range and higher speed.
One specification being promoted for the new devices is the noise power ratio. "We haven't used this before," said McCormack, "but it's a useful figure when talking about wide band signals. When you have a wideband signal with multiple carriers, NPR tells you how quiet an unused channel is; how much interference there is from adjacent channels." All three models boast an NPR of 52dB, while the effective number of bits is 9.5, 9.3 and 9.2 respectively.
The converters are supplied in 292ball bgas and require a 1.9V supply. Space qualified versions will be available in the 376 column ccga format.
