NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR INTRODUCES HIGH-PERFORMANCE, LOW-POWER 10-BIT A/D CONVERTER OPTIMIZED FOR IMAGING SYSTEMS

January 11, 1999 - National Semiconductor Corporation® today announced a high-performance, low-power ADC (analog-to-digital converter) with 10-bit resolution, high speed (20MSPS) and single-supply operation. The ADC10321 is optimized for imaging applications in digital copiers, digital cameras, camcorders, set-top boxes, cable modems, frame grabbers and charge coupled device (CCD) input systems.

The device improves image quality in most digital video applications, by providing excellent linearity (DNL) of 0.3 LSB and exceptional dynamic performance of 9.2 ENOB (effective number of bits) at Nyquist sampling rates. Low power consumption of only 100 milliwatts (typical) from a single 5V supply makes the ADC10321 an ideal choice for battery-operated, portable imaging equipment. A power-down feature reduces power consumption to just 2.5 milliwatts when in standby mode.

"The ADC10321 rounds out National's portfolio of high-speed 8 to 16 bit ADCs for imaging applications," said Bill Stacy, vice president of National's System Products Group. "With the growth of CCD-based cameras and image capture systems, new lines of still imaging products depend heavily on the computer processing of digitally captured images. The extremely wide dynamic range, color accuracy, and granularity that consumers expect from film dictates digital images of at least 10-bit resolution with the high degree of accuracy found in the ADC10321."

The ADC10321's input signal sample-and-hold amplifiers enable sustained dynamic performance for signals of high input frequency, and lower the converter's input capacitance. With only two clocks instead of the customary four found in comparable ADCs, the device offers very low internal latency.

The ADC10321 uses error correction to maintain accuracy and performance over the entire industrial temperature range of -40 degrees C to 85 degrees C. The multi-stage architecture of the ADC10321 guarantees no missing codes, also over the full operating temperature range. Output formatting is straight binary coding with interface to either 3V or 5V logic.

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 32-lead TQFP (Thin Quad Flat Package), the ADC10321CIVT is priced at $3.18 in 1000-unit quantities.

For more information on the ADC10321, visit our World Wide Web site at http://www.national.com/pf/AD/ADC10321.html.

National Semiconductor provides system-on-a-chip solutions for the information age. Combining real-world analog and state-of the-art digital technology, the company's chips lead many sectors of the personal computer, communications, and consumer markets. With headquarters in Santa Clara, California, National has annual sales of approximately $2.5 billion and 11,500 employees worldwide. Additional company and product information is available on the World Wide Web at www.national.com