Engineering Resources

Low dropout voltage regulators (LDOs) are common in many applications. State of the art Power-Management Integrated Circuits (PMICs) for smartphones and other portable devices include over a dozen LDOs. LDOs are also found integrated onto Microprocessors, Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), and in many other Systems on a Chip (SOCs).

LDOs come in many different shapes and sizes and there is no standard one-size-fits-all option. To know which LDO you need, you must first define the application of your LDO and then determine several required specifications. To help you get started, we’ve compiled a list of 5 basic questions you should know the answer to when you begin your search for the right LDO.

[Read more…] about 5 Basic Questions You Should Answer Before Selecting an LDO

As discussed in Part 1 of our ADC Topology Series, Analog-to-Digital converters (ADCs) are used as an interface element between the analog and digital worlds to convert an analog input into a corresponding digital output.

There is a continuing trend in the industry toward achieving higher data throughput in both wired and wireless digital communication systems. This trend results in increasingly more demanding requirements from ADCs in terms of sampling rate and conversion accuracy. Meeting these specifications requires the use of different ADC topologies. One such topology is the Dual-Slope ADC.

[Read more…] about Analog-to-Digital Converter Topologies, Part 5: Dual-Slope ADCs

As discussed in Part 1 of our ADC Topology Series, Analog-to-Digital converters (ADCs) are used as an interface element between the analog and digital worlds to convert an analog input into a corresponding digital output.

There is a continuing trend in the industry toward achieving higher data throughput in both wired and wireless digital communication systems. This trend results in increasingly more demanding requirements from ADCs in terms of sampling rate and conversion accuracy. Meeting these specifications requires the use of different ADC topologies. One such topology is the Sigma-Delta ADC.

[Read more…] about Analog-to-Digital Converter Topologies, Part 4: Sigma-Delta ADCs

As discussed in Part 1 of our ADC Topology Series, Analog-to-Digital converters (ADCs) are used as an interface element between the analog and digital worlds to convert an analog input into a corresponding digital output.

There is a continuing trend in the industry toward achieving higher data throughput in both wired and wireless digital communication systems. This trend results in increasingly more demanding requirements from ADCs in terms of sampling rate and conversion accuracy. Meeting these specifications requires the use of different ADC topologies. One such topology is the Pipeline ADC.

[Read more…] about Analog-to-Digital Converter Topologies, Part 3: Pipeline ADCs

As discussed in Part 1 of our ADC Topology Series, Analog-to-Digital converters (ADCs) are used as an interface element between the analog and digital worlds to convert an analog input into a corresponding digital output.

Some examples of situations where ADCs are necessary include:

• When data from the analog domain, through sensors or transducers, should be digitally processed.
• When transmitting data between chips through long range wireless radio links in high speed wireline transceivers between chips either on the same printed circuit board (PCB) or in a multi-die module.
• When used in analog test equipment (ATE) testing.

There is a continuing trend in the industry toward achieving higher data throughput in both wired and wireless digital communication systems. This trend results in increasingly more demanding requirements from ADCs in terms of sampling rate and conversion accuracy. Meeting these specifications requires the use of different ADC topologies. One such topology is the Flash ADC.

[Read more…] about Analog-to-Digital Converter Topologies, Part 2: Flash ADCs

Analog-to-Digital converters (ADCs) are used as an interface element between the analog and digital worlds to convert an analog input into a corresponding digital output. ADCs are currently used in many application fields to improve digital systems, which can achieve superior performance compared to analog solutions.

[Read more…] about Analog-to-Digital Converter Topologies, Part 1: SAR ADCs

Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) are systems that are designed for specific applications and can be fully customized and optimized for specific tasks. Contrary to general-purpose integrated circuits such as microprocessors or random-access memories (RAM) in a computer, an ASIC is implemented for a particular application such as automotive, mobile, medical, home automation, industrial, IoT, and others. Complex versions of an ASIC that include multiple functions, such as microprocessors, peripheral functions, and interfaces, result in a System-on-a-Chip (SoC).

[Read more…] about A Brief Introduction to Analog Integration in ASICS and SoCs

There are two types of voltage regulators most often used to supply the different voltage rails on a system on a chip  (SoC): linear regulators, like low dropout (LDO) regulators, and switching regulators, like the DC-DC converter.

[Read more…] about Introduction to DC-DC Converters