February 13, 2014. Texas Instruments has expanded its SAR (successive approximation register) analog-to-digital converter (ADC) product portfolio with a new family of 12 devices that provide wide analog supply and common-mode voltage ranges. The 1-channel ADS8881 family includes high-performance, ultra-low power 18- and 16-bit SAR ADCs with speed options ranging from 100 kSPS to 1 MSPS. Engineers can chose the right ADC for their designs for a variety of applications—including high-performance industrial and battery-operated test-and-measurement equipment, precision metrology and sensor transmitters for industrial automation, and portable medical devices.
Most of the new ADCs provide an input common-mode range that is 20x wider than other devices. This simplifies signal conditioning and enables system designers to more easily digitize the difference between two independent sensor signals with widely varying common-mode voltage values over time.
The flexible analog supply-voltage range of 2.7 V to 3.6 V enables direct operation from a lithium-ion battery. Also, with a wide digital supply voltage range of 1.65 V to 3.6 V, the ADCs meet most microprocessor supply requirements.
The 1-MSPS SAR ADCs consume only 5.5 mW of power at 1 MS/s and 55 µW at 10 kS/s, making them suitable for pulsed DC measurements in portable medical and heat-sensitive automated test applications.
All 12 devices are pin-compatible and available in both MSOP and QFN package options, enabling engineers to reuse the same analog signal chain design across their products with minimal, if any, redesign.
TI offers a range of support tools for the ADS8881 family to speed time to market, including reference designs, simulation models, and hardware evaluation kits.
The ADS8881EVM-PDK, ADS8861EVM-PDK and ADS8860EVM-PDK performance development kits may be purchased for $199. The kits enable system designers to quickly evaluate and test device performance using only the provided hardware and TI’s ADCPro software tool.
IBIS and TINA-TI models are also available for the ADS8881 family to optimize front-end signal-conditioning circuitry in software simulation.
Support is available on the Precision Converters Forum in the TI E2E Community, where engineers can search for solutions, get help, share knowledge, and solve problems with fellow engineers and TI experts.
The ADC8881 family is available in 10-pin, 3-mm by 4.9-mm MSOP and 3-mm by 3-mm QFN options. Prices (each in 1,000-unit quantities) range from $5 (16-bit, 100-kS/s) to $19.95 (18-bit, 1-MS/s).