High-Speed, 16-Bit ADC and DVGA

National Semiconductor Delivers Industry’s Best Linearity Performance with New High-Speed, 16-Bit ADC and DVGA

News Release from: National Semiconductor
11/11/2008

Two new high-speed signal path products, a 16-bit, 130 mega-samples per second (MSPS) analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and a digital-controlled variable gain amplifier (DVGA), were announced today by National Semiconductor Corp. They deliver the industry's best linearity performance and lowest power to enable a new class of multi-carrier GSM and multi-carrier, multi-standard wireless base station receivers. This new performance level makes it possible for base stations to offer higher capacity, as well as improved coverage and RF performance.

The 16-bit ADC16V130 exhibits the industry’s best spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) performance with 90.6 decibels full scale (dBFS) for a 160 MHz input frequency, and 87 dBFS guaranteed. The ADC also provides unmatched high-order harmonic distortion performance at any input frequency. In addition, the ADC16V130 consumes 755 mW, which is half the total power of competitive ADCs.

The LMH6517 dual DVGA provides a 1.2 GHz bandwidth, along with a third-order output intercept point of 45 dBm and a low noise figure of 6 dB. At 400 mW per channel, the LMH6517 consumes 33 percent less power than the nearest competitive DVGA, giving it the industry’s best power-to-performance ratio.

This set of devices feature power-to-performance metrics that position them among National’s PowerWise® family of energy-efficient products. They enable systems with lower operating temperatures, improved efficiency, smaller form factors and enhanced reliability. The ADC16V130 yields 0.84 picojoules (pJ) per conversion, while the LMH6517 consumes 67 uA per MHz.