NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR ANNOUNCES INDUSTRY'S BEST LINEARITY PERFORMANCE IN 2.5MSPS, 14-BIT A/D CONVERTERS

April 21, 1998 – National Semiconductor Corporation® today introduced two 14-bit A/D converters operating at 2.5 MSPS – one for high speed, high-resolution imaging systems and the other for communication equipment applications. The new devices deliver the industry's best linearity (DNL) of 0.3 LSB (least significant bits). With minimal analog front-end circuitry, the ADC14061 A/D converter offers the wide dynamic range needed to capture and reproduce the highest-quality images in scanners, digital cameras and other imaging systems.

A second converter, the AC-specified ADC14161, gives communications equipment designers a real advantage with SNR performance exceeding 80dB. The IC also offers exceptional dynamic performance with 12.8 effective bits at Nyquist sampling rates.

"The two ICs offer designers an easy, low-cost upgrade solution from 12-bit A/Ds," said Rich Wegner, National's strategic marketing manager. "In addition, they're excellent 14-bit alternatives to expensive hybrids or modules, with differential non-linearity approaching 16-bit performance," he added.

Both parts feature fully buffered inputs that enhance ease of use. An innovative self-calibrating pipeline architecture with error correction circuitry maintains accuracy and maximum performance over the entire rated temperature range. Digital I/O is TTL and CMOS compatible to 3V or 5V logic.

To simplify interfacing, the ADC14061 and the ADC14161 have input sample-and-hold and on-board reference buffer amplifiers, which significantly improving noise rejection by internally converting single-ended inputs to differential signals. The devices consume only 390mW typical while operating at full speed. A user-controlled power-down standby mode reduces power consumption to 50mW while maintaining all the calibration coefficients required to quickly resume operation.

The two devices operate from a single 5V power supply and can digitize analog input signals up to one-half the clock frequency in the range of 0 to 2V. National also offers an evaluation board and software that facilitates quick bench trials and simplifies final circuit design. Using National's WaveVision? software running under Windows?, designers can capture and display multiple waveform data from the ADC in graphical form from a menu-driven environment. The software can also perform FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) calculations on the data to inspect dynamic performance of the ADC product standalone, or when installed in the user's system.

Price and Availability
Available now in a 52-lead TQFP (Thin Quad Flat Package), the ADC14061CCVT is priced at $29.00 in 1,000 unit lots. The ADC14161CIVT, also in a TQFP, is similarly priced at $30.40.

National Semiconductor Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, produces system-on-a-chip silicon solutions for the information highway, based on its leadership in analog and mixed signal technologies. National is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and focuses on the communications, personal systems and consumer markets. National has annual sales of approximately $2.5 billion and 13,000 employees worldwide. Additional company and product information is available on the World Wide Web at www.national.com.