What are A/D Converters?

A/D Converter ＜What are A/D converters?＞
An A/D converter is a device that converts analog signals (usually voltage) obtained from environmental (physical) phenomena into digital format.
Basic Operation of an A/D Converter
The A/D converter breaks up (samples) the amplitude of the analog signal at discrete intervals, which are then converted into digital values.
Analog to Digital ＜A/D Conversion Methods＞
There are several methods for Analog to Digital (A/D) conversion.
ADC Basic Configurations 1 (Flash Method)
This type of A/D converter utilizes 2N-1 comparators (for an N bit converter) to compare the analog signal with successive reference voltages. The results are then converted into digital format using an encoder.
ADC Basic Configurations 2 (Pipeline Method)
In the case of a 1.5bit/stage configuration, processes are repeated in order from Stage 1 that determines MSB via pipeline operation.
ADC Basic Configurations 3 (Approximation Method)
This method compares the sampled analog input with the converter’s output in succession, starting with the MSB.
ADC Basic Configurations 4 (ΔΣ Method)
ΔΣ Method: After oversampling of an analog signal is performed and converted into low-bit data (i.e. 1bit) corresponding to the amplitude of the analog signal using ΔΣ modulation, conversion into a digital signal at the original sampling rate is completed by filtering the data and removing out-of-band noise using a digital filter.

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