Static testing of ADCs using wavelet transforms

Abstract

Almost all analog signal processing is being replaced by digital signal processing techniques in today's communication networks, as well as in other applications. This means that analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and digital-to-analog converters (DACs), which serve as the interfaces between the analog and the digital worlds, will together share a growing influence on overall system performance. In this paper, we present a new method, based on wavelet transforms, for measuring ADC errors, namely nonlinearity, gain error, and offset error. Unlike the traditional DNL method, this new method, which we have called NSR, for noise-to-signal ratio estimated in amplitude-scale plane, can be used during circuit design, production testing, and in service testing of ADCs and DACs.