AD7401A

Rev. 0 | Page 13 of 20

TERMINOLOGY

Differential Nonlinearity (DNL)

DNL is the difference between the measured and the ideal 1

LSB change between any two adjacent codes

in the ADC.

Integral Nonlinearity (INL)

INL is the maximum deviation from a straight line passing

through the endpoints of the ADC transfer function. The

endpoints of the transfer function are specified negative full

58366 for the 16-bit level.

Offset Error

Offset error is the deviation of the midscale code (32768 for the

Gain Error

The gain error includes both positive full-scale gain error and

negative full-scale gain error. Positive full-scale gain error is the

deviation of the specified positive full-scale code (58366 for the

offset error is adjusted out. Negative full-scale gain error is the

deviation of the specified negative full-scale code (7169 for the

offset error is adjusted out. Gain error includes reference error.

Signal-to-(Noise and Distortion) Ratio (SINAD)

SINAD is the measured ratio of signal-to-noise and distortion

at the output of the ADC. The signal is the rms amplitude of the

fundamental. Noise is the sum of all nonfundamental signals up

dependent on the number of quantization levels in the digitization

process; the more levels, the smaller the quantization noise. The

theoretical signal-to-(noise and distortion) ratio for an ideal

N-bit converter with a sine wave input is given by

Signal-to-(Noise and Distortion) = (6.02N + 1.76) dB

Therefore, for a 12-bit converter, this is 74 dB.

Effective Number of Bits (ENOB)

ENOB is defined by

ENOB = (SINAD − 1.76)/6.02 bits

Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)

THD is the ratio of the rms sum of harmonics to the

fundamental. For the AD7401A, it is defined as

1

6

5

4

3

2

V

V

V

V

V

V

THD

2

2

2

2

2

log

20

(dB)

+

+

+

+

=

where:

through the sixth harmonics.

Peak Harmonic or Spurious Noise

Peak harmonic or spurious noise is defined as the ratio of the

rms value of the next largest component in the ADC output

fundamental. Normally, the value of this specification is

determined by the largest harmonic in the spectrum, but

for ADCs where the harmonics are buried in the noise floor,

it is a noise peak.

Common-Mode Rejection Ratio (CMRR)

CMRR is defined as the ratio of the power in the ADC output

at ±250 mV frequency, f, to the power of a 250 mV p-p sine

where:

Pf is the power at frequency, f, in the ADC output.

Power Supply Rejection Ratio (PSRR)

Variations in power supply affect the full-scale transition but

not the converter’s linearity. PSRR is the maximum change in

the specified full-scale (±250 mV) transition point due to a

change in power supply voltage from the nominal value (see

Figure 6).

Isolation Transient Immunity

The isolation transient immunity specifies the rate of rise/fall of

a transient pulse applied across the isolation boundary beyond

which clock or data is corrupted. The AD7401A was tested

using a transient pulse frequency of 100 kHz.