Oversampled ADC and PGA Combine to Provide 127-dB Dynamic Range

The need to measure wide dynamic range signals is common, but current technology often has difficulty meeting system requirements. This article presents an alternative that uses a high-speed, successive-approximation ADC, combined with an autoranging programmable-gain amplifier front end with gain that changes automatically based on analog input value to provide a dynamic range of more than 126 dB.