8-Bit ADC Chip Runs At 250-Msample/s, Cuts DNL To ±0.25 LSB

In test instruments like digital oscilloscopes and network analyzers, analog-to-digital converter (ADC) differential nonlinearity (DNL) is critical to providing accurate displays of small input signals. Analog Devices' AD9480 8-bit ADC runs at 250 Msamples/s while maintaining ±0.25-LSB DNL at 25°C, which ADI says is two times better than comparable ADCs. (ADI guarantees ±0.35-LSB DNL across the industrial temperature range.) The IC's low DNL is also useful in point-to-point backhaul radios and power-amplifier digital predistortion subsystems in cellular basestations. Additionally, the AD9480 exhibits 46.4-dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and no missing codes. It integrates a track-and-hold and a voltage reference and provides both low-voltage differential signaling or single-ended TTL/CMOS outputs. Sampling now in a 44-pin TQFP, it costs $24.20 in 1000-piece lots.