AD5370
Rev. 0 | Page 14 of 28
TERMINOLOGY
Integral Nonlinearity (INL)
Integral nonlinearity, or endpoint linearity, is a measure of the
maximum deviation from a straight line passing through the
endpoints of the DAC transfer function. It is measured after
adjusting for zero-scale error and full-scale error and is
expressed in least significant bits (LSB).
Differential Nonlinearity (DNL)
Differential nonlinearity is the difference between the measured
change and the ideal 1 LSB change between any two adjacent
codes. A specified differential nonlinearity of 1 LSB maximum
ensures monotonicity.
Zero-Scale Error
Zero-scale error is the error in the DAC output voltage when all
0s are loaded into the DAC register.
Zero-scale error is a measure of the difference between VOUT
(actual) and VOUT (ideal), expressed in millivolts, when the
channel is at its minimum value. Zero-scale error is mainly due
to offsets in the output amplifier.
Full-Scale Error
Full-scale error is the error in DAC output voltage when all 1s
are loaded into the DAC register. Full-scale error is a measure
of the difference between VOUT (actual) and VOUT (ideal),
expressed in millivolts, when the channel is at its maximum
value. It does not include zero-scale error.
Gain Error
Gain error is the difference between full-scale error and zero-
scale error. It is expressed in millivolts.
Gain Error = Full-Scale Error − Zero-Scale Error
VOUT Temperature Coefficient
This includes output error contributions from linearity, offset,
and gain drift.
DC Output Impedance
DC output impedance is the effective output source resistance.
It is dominated by package lead resistance.
DC Crosstalk
The DAC outputs are buffered by op amps that share common
V
DD
and V
SS
power supplies. If the dc load current changes in
one channel (due to an update), this can result in a further dc
change in one or more channel outputs. This effect is more
significant at high load currents and reduces as the load currents
are reduced. With high impedance loads, the effect is virtually
immeasurable. Multiple V
DD
and V
SS
terminals are provided to
minimize dc crosstalk.
Output Voltage Settling Time
The amount of time it takes for the output of a DAC to settle to
a specified level for a full-scale input change.
Digital-to-Analog Glitch Energy
The amount of energy injected into the analog output at the
major code transition. It is specified as the area of the glitch in
nV-s. It is measured by toggling the DAC register data between
0x1FFF and 0x2000.
Channel-to-Channel Isolation
Channel-to-channel isolation refers to the proportion of input
signal from the reference input of one DAC that appears at the
output of another DAC operating from another reference. It is
expressed in decibels and measured at midscale.
DAC-to-DAC Crosstalk
DAC-to-DAC crosstalk is the glitch impulse that appears at the
output of one converter due to both the digital change and
subsequent analog output change at another converter. It is
specified in nV-s.
Digital Crosstalk
The glitch impulse transferred to the output of one converter
due to a change in the DAC register code of another converter is
defined as the digital crosstalk and is specified in nV-s.
Digital Feedthrough
When the device is not selected, high frequency logic activity
on the digital inputs of the device can be capacitively coupled
both across and through the device to appear as noise on the
VOUTx pins. It can also be coupled along the supply and
ground lines. This noise is digital feedthrough.
Output Noise Spectral Density
Output noise spectral density is a measure of internally gener-
ated random noise. Random noise is characterized as a spectral
density (voltage per √Hz). It is measured by loading all DACs
to midscale and measuring noise at the output. It is measured
in nV/√Hz.
