Definitions
Integral Nonlinearity
Integral nonlinearity (INL) is the deviation of the values
on an actual transfer function from a straight line. This
straight line can be either a best-straight-line fit or a line
drawn between the end points of the transfer function,
once offset and gain errors have been nullified. The INL
is measured using the end point method.
Differential Nonlinearity
Differential nonlinearity (DNL) is the difference between
an actual step width and the ideal value of 1 LSB. A
DNL error specification of less than 1 LSB guarantees
no missing codes and a monotonic transfer function.
Aperture Jitter
Aperture jitter (t
AJ
) is the sample-to-sample variation in
the time between the samples.
Aperture Delay
Aperture delay (t
AD
) is the time between the rising
edge of the sampling clock and the instant when an
actual sample is taken.
Signal-to-Noise Ratio
For a waveform perfectly reconstructed from digital sam-
ples, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is the ratio of full-scale
analog input (RMS value) to the RMS quantization error
(residual error). The ideal, theoretical minimum analog-
to-digital noise is caused by quantization error only and
results directly from the ADC’s resolution (N bits):
SNR = (6.02
N + 1.76)dB
In reality, there are other noise sources besides quanti-
zation noise, including thermal noise, reference noise,
clock jitter, etc. Therefore, SNR is computed by taking
the ratio of the RMS signal to the RMS noise, which
includes all spectral components minus the fundamen-
tal, the first five harmonics, and the DC offset.
Signal-to-Noise Plus Distortion
Signal-to-noise plus distortion (SINAD) is the ratio of the
fundamental input frequency’s RMS amplitude to RMS
equivalent of all other ADC output signals.
SINAD (dB) = 20
log (Signal
RMS
/Noise
RMS
)
Effective Number of Bits
Effective number of bits (ENOB) indicates the global
accuracy of an ADC at a specific input frequency and
sampling rate. An ideal ADC’s error consists of quanti-
zation noise only. With an input range equal to the
ADC’s full-scale range, calculate the ENOB as follows:
ENOB = (SINAD - 1.76)/6.02
Total Harmonic Distortion
Total harmonic distortion (THD) is the ratio of the RMS
sum of the input signal’s first five harmonics to the fun-
damental itself. This is expressed as:
where V
1
is the fundamental amplitude, and V
2
through
V
5
are the amplitudes of the 2nd- through 5th-order
harmonics.
Spurious-Free Dynamic Range
Spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) is the ratio of RMS
amplitude of the fundamental (maximum signal compo-
nent) to the RMS value of the next-largest distortion
component.
Chip Information
PROCESS: BiCMOS
