A-to-D converters static error detection from dynamic parameter measurement

Abstract

A complete characterisation of ADC requires the estimation of two kinds of performances, static and dynamic parameters. Each set of items is extracted from a different test procedure, involving high test cost. As both groups of parameters reflect the converter behaviour, there should be a link between each other. This paper investigates whether the correlation between ADC static and dynamic parameters could enable to deduce the whole set of performances from a single dynamic test procedure, leading to shorter processing time and reduced hardware resources. The influence of static errors on the classical dynamic parameters is thus studied for different ADC resolutions. It is shown that under appropriate test conditions, the variations of dynamic parameters under static errors impact are significant enough to allow the detection of ADC offset, gain and non-linearity errors.