UNIT II

Other LICs and Data Converters

Other LICs and Data Converters:
555timer–Blockdiagramandfeatures–AstableMultivibrator – Applications - Square wave
oscillator, Ramp generator, Triangular waveform generator and Voltage to frequency
converter–Monostable Multivibrator– applications-Frequency divider.PLL565, Principle,
Building blocks – Applications – Frequency multiplication, Frequency translation, AM and
FM detection.

Data converters – DAC characteristics – Binary weighted DAC, R-2R DAC, Monolithic
DAC-08– ADC characteristics–Flash ADC, Successive Approximation ADC,
Dual slopeintegrating typeADC.

2.1 555 TIMER

 The 555 timer is a highly stable device for generating accurate time delay or oscillation
 A single 555 timer can provide time delay ranging from microseconds to hours whereas
counter timer can have a maximum timing range of days.

2.1.1 Pin diagram

 It is compatible with both TTL and CMOS logic circuits. Because of the wide range of
supply voltage, the 555 timer is versatile (can be used AC as well as DC) and easy to
use in various applications.
 Fig.1 shows the 8 Pin package

Fig 2.1 IC 555 pin package

2.1.2 Applications of IC 555

Various applications include

1. Oscillator,
2. Pulse generator,
3. Ramp and Square Wave Generator',
4. Mono-shot multivibrator,
5. Burglar alarm, Traffic light control and
6. Voltage monitor etc.
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2.1.3 Functional Diagram of IC 555

Fig 2.2.The functional diagram for 555 IC timer.

 The figure 2.2 The functional diagram for 555 IC timer consist of 3hree 5 kΩ internal
resistors act as voltage divider, providing bias voltage of (2/3) VCC to the upper
comparator (UC) and (1/3) VCC to the lower comparator (LC), where V, is the supply
voltage.
 Since these two voltages fix the threshold voltage for each comparator and these
voltages are also determining the timing interval.
 It is possible to vary time electronically too, by applying a modulation voltage to the
control voltage input terminal (pin 5).
 In applications where no such modulation is intended, it is recommended by
manufacturers that a capacitor (0.01 pF) be connected between control voltage terminal
(pin 5) and ground to by-pass noise or ripple from the supply.

2.1.4 Operation of IC 555

 In the stable state, the output Q of the flip-flop (FF) is HIGH. This makes the output LOW
because of power amplifier which is basically an inverter.
 If negative going trigger pulse is applied to pin 2 and should have its dc level greater
than the threshold level of the lower comparator (i.e. VCC / 3), now the trigger passes
through (VCC / 3), the output of the lower comparator goes HIGH and sets the FF (Q =
1, = 0).
 when the threshold voltage at pin 6 passes through (2/3) VCC , the output of the upper
comparator goes HIGH and resets the FF (Q = 0, =1).
 The reset input (pin 4) is used to reset the FF and the flip flop output becomes HIGH
and the output of IC 555 becomes LOW because the output of FF is 1.

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2.2 MONOSTABLE MULTIVIBRATOR:
 MonostableMultivibrator is also known as One Short Multivibrator.
 As its name indicates it has one stable state and it switches to unstable state for a
predetermined time period T when it is triggered.
 The time period T is determined by the RC time constant in the circuit.
 Monostable mode of 555 Timer is commonly used for generating Pulse Width Modulated

Fig2.3. Monostable Multivibrator using 555 Timer

 This is the circuit diagram of 555 Timer shown in figure 3 wired in Monostable mode.
 8th pin and 1st pin of the 555 timer are used to given power Vcc and Ground
respectively.
 4th pin is the Reset pin of 555 Timer, which is active low so it is connected to Vcc to
avoid accidental resets.
 5th pin is the Control Voltage pin used to provide external reference voltage to internal
comparators.
 Since it is not used here, it is grounded via a capacitor C’ (0.01µF) to avoid high
frequency noises.
 When a negative trigger is applied on the Trigger input of 555, output goes high and
capacitor starts charging through resistor R.
 When the capacitor voltage becomes greater than 2/3 Vcc, ouput goes low and capacitor
starts discharging through the Discharge pin of 555 Timer.
 Time period of the unstable state is given the tye expression, T = 1.1RC.

Working

 The Internal Block Diagram of IC555 shown in figure4

 The Monostable Multivibrator will be in its stable state (Output LOW) until it is triggered.
 When a negative trigger is applied to the Trigger pin of 555 Timer, output of lower
comparator will become HIGH and output of upper comparator will be LOW, since the

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 capacitor voltage is zero. This makes the output HIGH.

 The Discharge transistor turns OFF and the capacitor starts charges through resistor R
to Vcc.
 After the negative trigger, output of lower comparator becomes LOW and that of upper
comparator remains LOW. Since both inputs of the SR Flip Flop are LOW, output will not
change, so the output is HIGH.
 When the capacitor voltage will become greater than 2/3 Vcc, output of upper

Fig 2.4: Internal diagram of IC 555

comparator becomes HIGH and that of lower comparator remains LOW, so the output
 becomes LOW.
 This turns ON the discharge transistor and the capacitor discharges.
 The circuit remains in its stable state (Output LOW) until next trigger occurs.
Voltage across the capacitance Vc is given as

VC = VCC (1-e-t/RC)

At time t=T, the capacitor voltage VC = 2/3 VCC

2/3 VCC = VCC [1-e-T/RC]

2/3 = 1-e-T/RC

e-T/RC = 1-2/3

e-T/RC= 1/3

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 -T/RC= ln (1/3)

T=1.098RC

2.2.1 Frequency Divider

 Fig 5 shows a monostablemultivibrator circuit which is used as frequency divider by

continuously triggered.
 This trigger signal is the input of the circuit, this signal frequency is divided based the
time period of the circuit. In general, time period of the circuit is adjusted to be longer (
time period is longer means, frequency is less (f = 1/T)).

Fig2.5monostableMultivibrator used as frequency divider

 The monostablemultivibrator will be triggered by the first negative going edge of the
square wave input as shown in Fig 6 but the output will remain HIGH (because of
greater timing interval) for next negative going edge of the input square wave as
shown in Fig. 2.10.
 The mono-shot willhowever be triggered on the third negative going input, depending
on the choice of the time delay, the output can be made fractions of the frequency of
the input triggering square wave.

Input trigger
output trigger No change Output triggers
again

output

Fig 2.6 Input and output waveform of frequency division

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2.2.2 Pulse Width Modulation

The circuit for pulse width modulation is shown in Fig.2.7.

Fig2.7 Pulse width modulator circuit

 This is basically a monostablemultivibrator with a modulating input signal applied at

pin-5.
 By applying of continuous trigger at pin-2, a series of output pulses are obtained at the
pin 3, the duration of which depends on the modulating input at pin-5.
 The modulating signal applied at pin-5 gets superimposed upon the already existing
voltage (2/3) V,.at the inverting input terminal of UC.
 This in turn changes the threshold level of the UC and the output pulse width
modulation takes place. The modulating signal and the output waveform are shown in
fig2.8

.
Fig2.8 Output waveform of PWM

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2.3 ASTABLE MULTIVIBRATOR
The astablemultivibrator circuit using timer IC is shown in the fig 2.9

Fig.2.9.Astablemultivibrator using 555 timer

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2.3.1 Astablemultivibrator using IC 555
 The Fig 2.10.shows the Functional diagram of astablemultivibrator using 555 timer
 Comparing with monostable operation, the timing resistor is now split into two sections RA
and RB. Pin 7 of discharging transistor Q, is connected to the Junction of RA and RB.

Fig 2.10Functional diagram of astablemultivibrator using 555 timer

 When the power supply VCC connected, the external timing capacitor C charges towards
VCC at time constant (RA + RB) C.
 During this time, output (pin 3) is high (equals VCC) as Reset R = 0, Set S =1 and this
combination makes Q = 0 which has unclamped the timing capacitor C.
 When the capacitor voltage equals and is just greater than (2/3)VCC the upper
comparator triggers the flip-flop with the input condition R=1 and S=0, so the output of
FF is Q=0 and Q =1.
 This Q = 1, is given to the input of transistor and make the transistor Q 1 on and
capacitor C starts discharging towards ground through RB and transistor Ql with a time
constant RBC (neglecting the forward resistance of Q1).
 Current also flows into transistor Ql through RA. Resistors RAand RBmust be large
enough to limit this current and prevent damage to the discharge transistor Ql.
 During the discharge of the timing capacitor C, as it reaches (to be precise, is just less
than) VCC /3, the lower comparator is triggered

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  Now the lower comparator makes S = 1, R = 0, which turns Q = 0. Now Q = 0 unclamps
the external timing capacitor C, The capacitor C is thus periodically charged and
discharged between (2/3)VCC and (1/3)VCC respectively.

Output Waveform

 Figure 11 shows the timing sequence and capacitor voltage wave form.
 The length of time that the output remains HIGH is the time for the capacitor to charge
from (1 / 3) VCC to (2 / 3) VCC.

Fig 2.11.Timing sequence of astablemultivibrator

Derivation for frequency of Oscillation
At time t1
The capacitor voltage for a RC circuit subjected to a step input of VCC volts is given by
Vc  V (1  e t / RC )
The time tl taken by the circuit to charge from 0 to (2/3) VCC is,
2
VCC  VCC (1  e t1 / RC )
3
2
 (1  e t1 / RC )
3
Take ln on both sides
2
t1  RC ln  
 3
t1  1.09RC

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At time t2
During the time t2 , the circuit to charge from 0 to (2/3) VCC is,
1
VCC  VCC (1  e t2 / RC )
3
1
 (1  e t 2 / RC )
3
Taking ln on both sides
1
t 2  RC ln  
 3
t1  0.405RC . . . (2.3)

So the time to charge from (1/3) VCC to (2/3) VCC is

tHIGH= t1 - t2
tHIGH= 1.09RC - 0.405RC = 0.69RC

so the given circuit, the capacitor is charged through RA and RB

tHIGH= 0.69(RA+RB)C

The output is low while the capacitor discharges from (2/3) VCC to (1/3) VCC and the voltage
across the capacitor is given by
1 2 t
VCC  VCC (1  e
/ RC
)
3 3

Solving the above equation, we get

t  0.69RC
For the given circuit, t LOW  0.69RC . . . (2.4)

The resistor RA and RB are in the charge path, but only RB is in the discharge path. Therefore
the total time period
T  t HIGH  t LOW
T  0.69( RA  RB )c  0.69RB C
= 0.69RAC  0.69RB c  0.69RB C
= 0.69( RA  2RB )C

1
Frequency of oscillation f 
T

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 1
f 
0.69( R A  2 RB )C

1.45
f 
( R A  2 RB )C

2.3.1 Applications of Astable Multivibrator:

1. FSK generator
2. Pulse-position Modulator

2.4 PHASE LOCKED LOOP IC 565 (PLL565)

2.4.1 Block diagram of IC 765

Fig2.12 IC 565 Block diagram

2.4.2 Phase locked loop construction and operation:

 The block diagram of PLL IC 765 shown in figure 12 consists of i) Phase detector ii) LPF
iii) VCO. The phase detector or comparator compares the input frequency fIN with
feedback frequency fOUT.
 The output of the phase detector is proportional to the phase difference between
fIN&fOUT. The output of the phase detector is a dc voltage & therefore is often referred to
as the error voltage.
 The output of the phase detector is then applied to the LPF, which removes the high
frequency noise and produces a dc level. This dc level in turn, is input to the VCO.
 The output frequency of VCO is directly proportional to the dc level. The VCO frequency
is compared with input frequency and adjusted until it is equal to the input frequencies.
 PLL goes through 3 states, i) free running ii) Capture iii) Phase lock.
 Before the input is applied, the PLL is in free running state. Once the input frequency is
applied the VCO frequency starts to change and PLL is said to be in the capture mode.
The VCO frequency continuous to change until it equals the input frequency and the PLL

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 is in phase lock mode.
 When Phase locked, the loop tracks any change in the input frequency through its
repetitive action. If an input signal vs of frequency fs is applied to the PLL, the phase
detector compares the phase and frequency of the incoming signal to that of the output
vo of the VCO.
 If the two signals differ in frequency of the incoming signal to that of the output vo of the
VCO. If the two signals differ in frequency and/or phase, an error voltage ve is
generated.
 The phase detector is basically a multiplier and produces the sum (fs + fo) and
difference (fs - fo) components at its output
 . The high frequency component (fs + fo) is removed by the low pass filter and the
difference frequency component is amplified then applied as control voltage vc to VCO.
 The signal vc shifts the VCO frequency in a direction to reduce the frequency difference
between fs and fo.
 Once this action starts, we say that the signal is in the capture range. The VCO
continues to change frequency till its output frequency is exactly the same as the input
signal frequency.
 The circuit is then said to be locked. Once locked, the output frequency fo of VCO is
identical to fs except for a finite phase difference φ.
 This phase difference φ generates a corrective control voltage vc to shift the VCO
frequency from f0 to fs and thereby maintain the lock.
 Once locked, PLL tracks the frequency changes of the input signal.
 Thus, a PLL goes through three stages (i) free running, (ii) capture and (iii) locked or
tracking.

Capture range: the range of frequencies over which the PLL can acquire lock with an input
signal is called the capture range. This parameter is also expressed as percentage of fo.
Pull-in time: the total time taken by the PLL to establish lock is called pull-in time. This depends
on the initial phase and frequency difference between the two signals as well as on the overall
loop gain and loop filter characteristics.

(a) Phase Detector:

 Phase detector compares the input frequency and VCO frequency and generates DC
voltage i.e., proportional to the phase difference between the two frequencies.
 Depending on whether the analog/digital phase detector is used, the PLL is called either
an analog/digital type respectively.
 Even though most monolithic PLL integrated circuits use analog phase detectors.
 Ex for Analog: Double-balanced mixer
 Ex for Digital: Ex-OR, Edge trigger, monolithic Phase detector.

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Ex-OR Phase Detector:

 This uses an exclusive OR gate. The output of the Ex-OR gate is high only when fIN or
fOUT is high.The DC output voltage of the Ex-OR phase detector is a function of the
phase difference between its two outputs.
 The maximum dc output voltage occurs when the phase difference is Π radians or180
degrees. The slope of the curve between 0 or Π radians is the conversion gain kp of the
phase detector for eg; if the Ex-OR gate uses a supply voltage Vcc = 5V, the conversion
gain Kp isKp = 5V/Π = 1.59V / RAD

Edge Triggered Phase Detector:

 Advantages of Edge Triggered Phase Detector over Ex-OR are
The dc output voltage is linear over 2Π radians or 360 degrees, but in Ex-OR it is Π radians
or 180 degrees.
Better Capture, tracking & locking characteristics.
 Edge triggered type of phase detector using RS Flip – Flop. It is formed from a pair of
cross coupled NOR gates.
 RS FF is triggered, i.e, the output of the detector changes its logic state on the positive
edge of the inputs fIN&fOUT
b) Low pass filter
 The function of the LPF is to remove the high frequency components in the output of the
phase detector and to remove the high frequency noise.
 LPF controls the characteristics of the phase locked loop. i.e, capture range, lock
ranges, bandwidth

Lock range(Tracking range):

 The lock range is defined as the range of frequencies over which the PLL system follows
the changes in the input frequency fIN.

Capture range:

 Capture range is the frequency range in which the PLL acquires phase lock. Capture
range is always smaller than the lock range.

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Filter Bandwidth:

 Filter Bandwidth is reduced, its response time increases. However reduced Bandwidth
reduces the capture range of the PLL. Reduced Bandwidth helps to keep the loop in lock
through momentary losses of signal and also minimizes noise.

c) Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO):

 The third section of PLL is the VCO shown in figure 13; it generates an output frequency
that is directly proportional to its input voltage. The maximum output frequency of NE/SE
566 is 500 Khz

Figure 2.13 VCO

d) Feedback path and optional divider:

 Most PLLs also include a divider between the oscillator and the feedback input to the
phase detector to produce a frequency synthesizer.

 A programmable divider is particularly useful in radiotransmitter applications, since a

large number of transmit frequencies can be produced from a single stable, accurate,
but expensive, quartz crystal–controlled reference oscillator.

 Some PLLs also include a divider between the reference clock and the reference input to
the phase detector.

 If this divider divides by M, it allows the VCO to multiply the reference frequency byN /
M. It might seem simpler to just feed the PLL a lower frequency, but in some cases the
reference frequency may be constrained by other issues, and then the reference divider
is useful.

 Frequency multiplication in a sense can also be attained by locking the PLL to the 'N'th
harmonic of the signal.

 The equations governing a phase-locked loop with an analog multiplier as the phase
detector may be derived as follows.

 Let the input to the phase detector be xc(t) and the output of the voltage-controlled
oscillator (VCO) is xr(t) with frequency ωr(t), then the output of the phase detector
xm(t)is given by

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The VCO frequency may be written as a function of the VCO input y(t) as

wheregv is the sensitivity of the VCO and is expressed in Hz / V.

Hence the VCO output takes the form

The loop filter receives this signal as input and produces an output

xf(t) =Ffilter(xm(t))

whereFFilter is the operator representing the loop filter transformation.

When the loop is closed, the output from the loop filter becomes the input to the VCO thus

y(t) =xf(t) =Ffilter(xm(t))

We can deduce how the PLL reacts to a sinusoidal input signal:

xc(t) =Acsin(ωct).

The output of the phase detector then is:

This can be rewritten into sum and difference components using trigonometric identities:

As an approximation to the behaviour of the loop filter we may consider only the difference
frequency being passed with no phase change, which enables us to derive a small-signal model
ofthe phase-locked loop. If we can make , then the can be approximated by its

argument resulting in: . The phase-locked loop is said to

be locked if this is the case.

2.4.3 FREQUENCY MULTIPLIER:

 Frequency divider is inserted between the VCO & phase comparator. Since the output of
the divider is locked to the fIN, VCO is actually running at a multiple of the input
frequency.
 The desired amount of multiplication can be obtained by selecting a proper divide-by-N
network, where N is an integer shown in figure 14

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 Figure 2.14. FM generation

2.4.4 AM DEMODULATION:

 A PLL may be used to demodulate AM signals as shown in the figure 15. The PLL is
locked to the carrier frequency of the incoming AM signal.
 The output of VCO which has the same frequency as the carrier, but unmodulated is fed
to the multiplier.
 Since VCO output is always 900 before being fed to the multiplier. This makes both the
signals applied to the multiplier and the difference signals, the demodulated output is
obtained after filtering high frequency components by the LPF.
 Since the PLL responds only to the carrier frequencies which are very close to the VCO
output, a PLL AM detector exhibits high degree of selectivity and noise immunity which
is not possible with conventional peak detector type AM modulators.

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 Figure 2.15 AM demodulation

2.4.5 FM DEMODULATION
 If PLL is locked to a FM signal, the VCO tracks the instantaneous frequency of the input
signal. The filtered error voltage which controls the VCO and maintains lock with the
input signal is the demodulated FM output.
 The VCO transfer characteristics determine the linearity of the demodulated output.
Since, VCO used in IC PLL is highly linear, it is possible to realize highly linear FM
demodulators.

2.5 DATA CONVERTERS

 Most of the real-world physical quantities such as voltage, current, temperature,

pressure and time etc. are available in analog form.
 Analog signals are difficult to process, store and transmitwithout introducing error.
Therefore for processing, transmission and storage purpose, it is often convenient to
express thesevariable in digital form.
 It gives better accuracy and reduces noise. The operation of any digital communication
is based upon analog to digital converters and digital to analogD/A converters are
available with wide range of specifications specified by manufacturer.
 Some of the important specifications of data converter are Resolution, Accuracy,
linearity, monotonicity, conversion time, settling time and stability.

2.5.1 SPECIFICATIONS OF DATA CONVERTERS:

a) Resolution:
 Resolution is defined as the number of different analog output voltage levels that can be
provided by a DAC. Or alternatively resolution is defined as the ratio of a change in
output voltage resulting for a change of 1 LSB at the digital input. Simply, resolution is
the value of LSB.
Resolution (Volts) = VoFS / (2 n - 1) = 1 LSB
increment Where ‘n’ is the number of input bits

‘VoFS’ is the full scale output voltage.

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 Eg: Resolution for an 8 – bit DAC for example is said to have
8 – bit resolution
A resolution of 0.392 of full-Scale (1/255)
A resolution of 1 part in 255.
Thus resolution can be defined in many different ways.
The following table shows the resolution for 6 to 16 bit DACs

S.No. Bits Intervals LSB size (% of full-scale) LSB size (For a 10 V full-scale)
1. 6 63 1.588 158.8 mV
2. 8 255 0.392 39.2 mV
3. 10 1023 0.0978 9.78 mV
4. 12 4095 0.0244 2.44 mV
5. 14 16383 0.0061 0.61 mV
6. 16 65535 0.0015 0.15 mV

b)Accuracy:
 Absolute accuracy is the maximum deviation between the actual converter output and
the ideal converter output.
 The ideal converter is the one which does not suffer from any problem.
 Whereas, the actual converter output deviates due to the drift in component values,
mismatches, aging, noise and other sources of errors
 .The relative accuracy is the maximum deviation after the gain and offset errors have
been removed.
 Accuracy is also given in terms of LSB increments or percentage of full-scale voltage.
Normally, the data sheet of a D/A converter specifies the relative accuracy rather than
absolute accuracy.

c)Linearity:
 Linearity error is the maximum deviation in step size from the ideal step size. Some D/A
converters are having a linearity error as low as 0.001% of full scale.
 The linearity of a D/A converter is defined as the precision or exactness with which the digital
input is converted into analog output. An ideal D/A converter produces equal increments or
step sizes at output for every change in equal increments of binary input.

d)Monotonicity:
 A Digital to Analog converter is said to be monotonic if the analog output increases for an
increase in the digital input.
 A monotonic characteristics is essential in control applications. Otherwise it would lead to

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 oscillations. If a DAC has to be monotonic, the error should be less than ± (1/2) LSB at each
output level. Hence all the D/A converters are designed such that the linearity error satisfies
the above condition.

 When a D/A Converter doesn’t satisfy the condition described above, then, the output voltage
may decrease for an increase in the binary input.

e)Conversion Time:
 It is the time taken for the D/A converter to produce the analog output for the given binary input
signal.
 It depends on the response time of switches and the output of theAmplifier. D/A converters
speed can be defined by this parameter. It is also called as setting time.

f)Settling time:
 It is one of the important dynamic parameter. It represents the time it takes for the output to
settle within a specified band ± (1/2) LSB of its final value following a code change at the input
(Usually a full-scale change).
 It depends on the switching time of the logic circuitry due to internal parasitic capacitances and
inductances.
 A typical settling time ranges from 100 ns to 10 µs depending on the word length and type of
circuit used.

g)Stability:
 The ability of a DAC to produce a stable output all the time is called as Stability.
 The performance of a converter changes with drift in temperature, aging and power supply
variations.
 So all the parameters such as offset, gain, linearity error & monotonicity may change from the
values specified in the datasheet.
 Temperature sensitivity defines the stability of a D/A converter.

2.5.2 DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERSION

 A DAC converts an abstract finite-precision number (usually a fixed-point binary number)

into a concrete physical quantity (e.g., a voltage or a pressure).
 In particular, DACs are often used to convert finite-precision time series data to a
continually-varying physical signal.
 A typical DAC converts the abstract numbers into a concrete sequence of impulses that are
then processed by a reconstruction filter using some form of interpolation to fill in data
between the impulses.
 Other DAC methods (e.g., methods based on Delta-sigma modulation) produce a pulse-
density modulated signal that can then be filtered in a similar way to produce a smoothly-
varying signal.

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 By the Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem, sampled data can be reconstructed perfectly
provided that its bandwidth meets certain requirements (e.g., a baseband signal with
bandwidth less than the Nyquist frequency).
 However, even with an ideal reconstruction filter, digital sampling introduces quantization
that makes perfect reconstruction practically impossible.
 Increasing the digital resolution (i.e., increasing the number of bits used in each sample) or
introducing sampling dither can reduce this error.
 DACs are at the beginning of the analog signal chain, which makes them very important to
system performance. The most important characteristics of these devices are:

 Resolution: This is the number of possible output levels the DAC is designed to reproduce.
This isusually stated as the number of bits it uses, which is the base two logarithm of the
number of levels. For instance a 1 bit DAC is designed to reproduce 2 (21) levels while an 8
bit DAC is designed for 256 (28) levels.
 Resolution is related to the effective number of bits(ENOB) which is a measurement of the
actual resolution attained by the DAC.

 Maximum sampling frequency:This is a measurement of the maximum speed at which

theDACs circuitry can operate and still produce the correct output.

 As stated in the Nyquist–Shannonsampling theorem, a signal must be sampled at over twice

the frequency of the desired signal.

 For instance, to reproduce signals in all the audible spectrum, which includes frequencies of
up to 20 kHz, it is necessary to use DACs that operate at over 40 kHz. The CD standard
samples audio at 44.1 kHz, thus DACs of this frequency are often used.

 A common frequency in cheap computer sound cards is 48 kHz—many work at only this
frequency, offering the use of other sample rates only through (often poor) internal
resampling.

 Monotonicity:This refers to the ability of a DAC's analog output to move only in the
direction that the digital input moves (i.e., if the input increases, the output doesn't dip before
asserting the correct output.) This characteristic is very important for DACs used as a low
frequency signal source or as a digitally programmable trim element.

 THD+N: This is a measurement of the distortion and noise introduced to the signal by the
DAC. Itis expressed as a percentage of the total power of unwanted harmonic HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distortion" distortion and noise that accompany the desired
signal. This is a very important DAC characteristic for dynamic and small signal DAC
applications.

 Dynamic range:This is a measurement of the difference between the largest and smallest

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 signalsthe DAC can reproduce expressed in decibels. This is usually related to DAC
resolution and noisefloor.

 Other measurements, such as phase distortion and sampling period instability, can also be
very important for some applications.

2.5.3 BINARY-WEIGHTED RESISTOR DAC

 The binary-weighted-resistor DAC employs the characteristics of the inverting summer Op Amp
circuit.
 In this type of DAC, the output voltage is the inverted sum of all the input voltages. If the input
resistor values are set to multiples of two: 1R, 2R and 4R, the output voltage would be equal
to the sum of V1, V2/2 and V3/4. V1 corresponds to the most significant bit (MSB) while V3
corresponds to the least significant bit (LSB).

Figure 2.16. Binary-Weighted Resistor Dac

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 The circuit for a 4-bit DAC using binary weighted resistor network is shown below:

Fig.2.17 4-bit DAC using Binary-weighted resistor

 The binary inputs, ai (where i = 1, 2, 3 and 4) have values of either 0 or 1. The value, 0,
represents an open switch while 1 represents a closed switch.

 The operational amplifieris used as a summing amplifier, which gives a weighted sum of the
binary input based on the voltage, Vref.

 For a 4-bit DAC, the relationship between Vout and the binary input is as follows:

 The negative sign

associated with the analog output is due to the connection to a summing amplifier, which is a
polarity-inverting amplifier. When a signal is applied to the latter type of amplifier, the polarity
of the signal is reversed (i.e. a + input becomes -, or vice versa).
 For a n-bit DAC, the relationship between Vout and the binary input is as follows:

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2.5.4 Successive Approximation Converter

The successive approximation Analog to digital converter circuit typically consists of four sub-
circuits:

1. A sample and hold circuit to acquire the input voltage (Vin).

2. An analog voltage comparator that compares Vin to the output of the internal DAC
and outputs the result of the comparison to the successive approximation register
(SAR).
3. A successive approximation register subcircuit designed to supply an
approximate digital code of Vin to the internal DAC.
4. An internal reference DAC that supplies the comparator with an analog voltage
equivalent of the digital code output of the SAR for comparison with Vin.

Fig2.18 Successive approximation Converter

Circuit Operation

 The successive approximation register is initialized so that the most significant bit (MSB)
is set to binary bit - 1.
 This code is fed into the DAC which then supplies the analog equivalent of this digital
code (Vref/2) into the comparator circuit for comparison with the sampled input voltage.
 If this analog voltage exceeds Vin the comparator causes the SAR to reset this bit and
set the next bit to a digital 1.
 If it is lower then the bit is left a 1 and the next bit is set to 1. This binary search
continues until every bit in the SAR has been tested.
 The resulting code is the digital approximation of the sampled input voltage and is finally
output by the ADC at the end of the conversion (EOC).

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Successive approximation conversion sequence for typical analog input

Correct digital Successive approximation

Comparator
representation register output Vd at different
output
, stages in the conversion

11010100 10000000 1 (initial output)

11000000 1
11100000 0
11010000 1
11011000 0
11010100' 1
11010110 0
11010101 0
11010100
2.5.5 THE PARALLEL COMPARATOR OR FLASH ADC

 This is the possible A/D convertor. It is at the same time, the fastest and most expensive
technique. Figure 2.19 shows the 3-bit A/D convertor.
 The circuit consists of a resistive divider network, 8 op-amp comparators and a 8-line
encoder(3-bit priority encoder) The comparator and its ruth table is shown in figure 2.20, at
each node of the resistive divider network, a comparison voltage is available.
 Since all the resistors are of equal value, the voltage levels available at the nodes are
equally divided between refernce voltage Vr and the ground.
 The purpose of the circuit is to compare the analog input voltage Va with each of the node
voltages. The truth table for flash type AD converter is shown in figure 2.1.
 The circuit has the advantage of high speed as the conversion take place simultaneously
rather than sequentially.
 Typical conversion time is 100 ns or less. Conversion time is limited only by the speed of the
comparator and of the priority encoder. By using an Advanced Micro AMD 686A comparator
and a T1147 priority encoder, conversion delays of the order of 20ns can be obtained.
 This type of ADC has the disadvantage that the number of comparators required is almost
doubles for each added bit.
 A 2-bit ADC requires a 3 comparators , 3-bit ADC needs 7,whereas 4-bit requires 15
comparators.
 In general,the number of comparators required are 2n-1 where n is the desired number of
bits.
 Hence the number of comparators approximately doubles for each added bit. Also the larger
the value of n, the more complex is the priority encoder.

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 Fig 2.19 Basic circuit of flash type ADC

Fig 2.20 Comparator and its truth table

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 Table 2.1 Truth table for a flash type ADC

2.5.6 DUAL SLOPE ADC

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Fig 2.21(a) funtional diagram of Dual slope ADC b) Integrated ouput waveform for the dual
slope ADC

 Figure 2.21 shows the functional diagram of the dual slope or dual ramp converter. The
analog part of the circuit consists of the high input impedance
 The converter first integrates the analog input signal Va for a fixed duration of 2n clock
periods as shown in figure 2.21. Then it integrates an internal reference voltage V of
opposite polarity until the integrator output is zero.
 The number N of clock cycles required to return the integrator to zero is proportional to
h value of Va averaged over the integration period. Hence N represents the desired
output code. The circuit operates as follows,
 Before the START command arrives, the switch is connectd to ground and SW2 is closed.
Any offset voltage present in the A1, A2, comparator loop after integration, appears
across capacitor caz till the threshold of the comparator is acheived.
 The capacitor Caz thus provides the automatic compensation for the input offset voltages
of all the three amplifiers. Later when Sw2 opens, Caz acts as a memory to hold th voltage
required to keep the offset nulled.
 At the arrival of the START command at t=t 1, the control logic opens Sw2 and connects s
to Va and enables starting from zero. The circuit uses an n-stage ripple counter and
therefore the counter resets to zero after counting 2n pulses. The analog voltage Va is
integrated for a fixed number 2n counts of clock pulse place for a time T1 =2n x T and the
output is a ramp going downloads as shown in 2.21.
 The counter resets itself to zero at the end of the interval T1 and the switch SW 1 is
connected to the reference voltage (-VR). The output voltage vo will now have a positive
slope. As long as vo is negative, the output of the comparator is positive and the control
logic allows the clock pulse to be counted. However, when vo becomes just zero at time
t=t3, the control logic issues an end of conversion (EOC) command and no further clock
pulses enter the counter. It can be shown that the reading of the counter at t 3 is
proportional to the analog input voltage Va.

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 In fig 2.21

T1=t2-t1=( 2n counts)/clock rate

t2-t1= digital count N/clock rate

For an integrator,

 vo=(-1/RC) V(  t)

The voltage vo will be equal to v1 at the instant t2 and can be written as

v1=(-1/RC)Va(t2-t1)

The voltage v1 is also given by

v1=(-1/RC)(-VR)(t2-t3)

so, va(t2-t1)=VR(t3-t2)

putting the values of (t2-t1)=2n and (t3-t2)=N,we get

Va(2n)=(VR)N

Va=(VR)(N/2n)

The following important observations can be made as,

 Since Va and n are constant, the analog voltage Va is proportional to the count reading N
and is indeoendent of R, c and T.

 The dual slope ADC integrates the input signal for a fixed time, hence it provides
excellent noise rejection of ac signals whose periods are integral multiples of the
integration time T1. Thus ac noise superimposed on the input signal such as 50 Hz power
line pick-up will be average during the input integration time. So choose clock period T,
so that 2nT is an exact integral multiple of the line period (1/50)second=20ms.

 The main disadvantage of the dual slope ADC is the long conversion time. For instance,
if 2n-T=1/50 is used to reject ling pick-up, the conversion time will be 20ms.

 Dual slope comverters are particularly suitable for accurate measurement of slowly
varying signals, such as thermocouples and weighing scales. Dual slope ADCs also
form the basis of digital panel meters and multimeters.

 Dual slope converters are available in monolithic form and are available both in
microprocessor compatible and in oriented versions. The former provide the digital code
in binary form whereas the display oriented versions present the output code in a format
suitable for the direct drive of LED displays. The Datel intersil ICL7109 is a monolithoc
12-bit dual slope ADC with microprocessor compatibility.

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