Measurement of static ADC nonlinearities using the servoloop method

When in in-circuit static testing of analog-to-digital converters is needed, a low overhead in terms of hardware and data processing is a requirement. The servoloop is a feedback based test method, common in industrial environments, that satisfies both needs. In this paper it is described, and its features are analyzed. A mathematical model based on a Markov chain is used to characterize its metrological performance. Simulation and experimental data are shown that validate the developed theory. Finally, a reproducible test procedure to obtain a given measurement uncertainty is presented.

[1]  S. Max.  Optimum measurement of ADC code transitions using a feedback loop , 1999, IMTC/99. Proceedings of the 16th IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference (Cat. No.99CH36309).

[2]  Gordon W. Roberts,et al.  Analog Test Signal Generation Using Periodic ΣΔ-Encoded Data Streams , 2000 .

[3]  Gabor C. Temes,et al.  Oversampling Delta Sigma Data Converters , 1991 .

[4]  Dario Petri,et al.  Effect of additive dither on the resolution of ideal quantizers , 1994 .

[5]  Bruce A. Wooley,et al.  The efficiency of methods for measuring A/D converter linearity , 1999, IEEE Trans. Instrum. Meas..

[6]  Solomon Max.  Testing high speed high accuracy analog to digital converters embedded in systems on a chip , 1999, International Test Conference 1999. Proceedings (IEEE Cat. No.99CH37034).