ADC characterization by using the histogram test stimulated by Gaussian noise: Theory and experimental results

This paper presents results relating to the measurement of differential and integral nonlinearity of ADCs using the histogram method with white Gaussian noise as the stimulus signal. We specify the optimum noise power of the generator, in the sense of number of samples minimisation, as a function of the converter range and resolution. An expression of tolerance interval as a function of the number of samples acquired given a certain confidence level is presented both for the determination of transition levels (INL) and quantization intervals (DNL). Experimental and simulation results concerning the characterization of a 12-bit PC acquisition board are shown.