Advanced Data Converters

Advanced Data Converters offers a stimulating cornucopia of circuit techniques, ideas, and examples, profusely illustrated and supported with extensive documentation by some 416 references to the literature—a veritable catalog of design concepts.

Front End Turns PC Sound Card into High-Speed Sampling Oscilloscope

Various software packages enable PC sound cards to provide oscilloscope-like displays, but the low-sample-rate, high-resolution ADCs and ac-coupled front ends have limited bandwidths. For repetitive waveforms, a sampling front-end stretches the time axis, allowing the PC to be used as a high-speed sampling scope. This article describes a front end and probe that provide an appropriate adaptation.

Monitoring and Sequencing in Multirail Power-Supply Systems

Today’s electronic systems are likely to have many different power supply rails. For reliable, repeatable operation, the on-off timing, rise/fall rates, order of application, and magnitude of each voltage must be controlled. Typical system designs may include supply sequencing, tracking, and voltage/current monitoring/control. A variety of integrated power management ICs exist to perform these functions.