Data Converter Extends Battery Life In Portables

Low power, high speed, and an on-board multiplexer make the ADS8341 four-channel A/D converter from the company's Burr-Brown product line well suited for portable, battery-operated applications such as PDAs, test and measurement equipment and industrial data acquisition. The converter features 16-bit resolution and 2.7V to 5V operation. It converts an analog input into a digital signal used by a microprocessor or digital signal processor. Other specifications include low-power operation of 8 mW at 100 kHz, high speed and small packaging. A serial input port allows easy interfacing to a microprocessor for programming the chip to provide channel selection and single-ended or differential inputs. Housed in a 16-pin SSOP, the chip is priced from $7.00 each/1,000.