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Using the AD7980 16-bit ADC with IREF = 330 A and VREF = 5 V
IN as an example to determine whether a reference has sufficient
drive capability, the maximum allowed output impedance for a
Figure 1. Simplified schematic of a 16-bit LSB voltage drop is
successive-approximation ADC.
Figure 2 shows the dynamic current load on the reference input of
5V
Vhalf_lsb 16+1
= 2
the AD7980, 16-bit, 1-MSPS, PulSAR successive-approximation
ADC. The measurement was made by observing the voltage drop
Ro_max = = 0.115
I REF 330 A
across a 500- resistor placed between the reference source and
the reference pin. The plot shows current spikes of up to 2.5 mA,
Most voltage references dont specify output impedance, but
along with smaller spikes spread over the conversion.
they do specify load regulation, usually in ppm/mA. To convert
3.0 to output impedance, multiply by the reference voltage and
CNV
2.5
divide by 1000. For example, the ADR435 ultralow-noise
IREF XFET 5-V reference specifies load regulation of 15ppm/mA
2.0 maximum when sourcing current. Converting to ohms gives
CURRENT (mA)
1.5 5 V 15 ppm/mA
Ro = = 0.075
1.0 1000
0.5
So, the ADR435 should be suitable from an output impedance
0
perspective. It can source up to 10mA, which is more than enough
0 1 2 3 4 5 to handle the 330-A average reference current. When the ADC
TIME (s)
input voltage exceeds the reference voltage, even momentarily, it
Figure 2. AD7980 dynamic reference current. can inject current into the reference, so the reference must also be
A reference buffer can be used when the drive of the chosen ADC
reference is insufficient, or when a micropower reference is
preferred. This can be implemented with a suitable op amp in a VREF
CL = 1F
RC 82k AND 10nF BUFFER
CL = 50F Ro VREF
RC 82k AND 10nF VOLTAGE
REFERENCE
ADC
The total rms noise is the root sum square of the low-frequency 2.79
noise and the wideband noise
2.78
2.77
This is less than 10 V rms, so it wont significantly impact the
ADCs SNR. These calculations can be used to estimate the noise 2.76
References
REF REF REF AN-931 Application Note. Understanding PulSAR ADC
1 PADDLE Support Circuitry.
2 GND GND Kester, Walt. Data Conversion Handbook, Chapter 7. Data
3 Converter Support Circuits.
GND GND
4 DVDD Kester, Walt. Which ADC Architecture Is Right for Your
5 Application? Analog Dialogue. Volume 39, Number 2, 2005.
GND GND GND 6 Walsh, Alan. Front-End Amplifier and RC Filter Design for a
Precision SAR Analog-to-Digital Converter. Analog Dialogue.
Volume 46, Number 4, 2012.
VIO Author
Alan Walsh [alan.walsh@analog.com] is an
Figure 10. Typical reference capacitor layout. applications engineer at Analog Devices. He joined
ADI in 1999 and works in the Precision Converters
Insufficient drive strength is another issue, especially if low-power Applications Group in Wilmington, Massachusetts.
references or micropower reference buffers are used, as these He graduated with a BEng in electronic engineering
typically have much higher output impedances that increase from University College Dublin.