ADC1173CIMTC National Semiconductor, ADC1173CIMTC Datasheet - Page 14

• Manufacturer Part Number: ADC1173CIMTC
• Description: 8-Bit/ 3-Volt/ 15MSPS/ 33mW A/D Converter
• Manufacturer: National Semiconductor

www.national.com
Applications Information
basis. This can be a problem upon application of power to a
circuit. Be sure that the supplies to circuits driving the CLK,
OE, analog input and reference pins do not come up any
faster than does the voltage at the ADC1173 power pins.
4.0 The ADC1173 Clock
Although the ADC1173 is tested and its performance is guar-
anteed with a 15MHz clock, it typically will function with clock
frequencies from 1MHz to 20MHz.
If continuous conversions are not required, power consump-
tion can be reduced somewhat by stopping the clock at a
logic low when the ADC1173 is not being used. This reduces
the current drain in the ADC1173’s digital circuitry from a
typical value of 2.3mA to about 100µA.
Note that powering up the ADC1173 with the clock stopped
may not save power, as it will result in an increased current
flow (by as much as 170%) in the reference ladder. In some
cases, this may increase the ladder current above the speci-
fied limit. Toggling the clock twice at 1MHz or higher and re-
turning it to the low state will eliminate the excess ladder cur-
rent.
An alternative power-saving technique is to power up the
ADC1173 with the clock active, then halt the clock in the low
state after two clock cycles. Stopping the clock in the high
state is not recommended as a power-saving technique.
5.0 Layout and Grounding
Proper grounding and proper routing of all signals is essen-
tial to ensure accurate conversion. Separate analog and
digital ground planes that are connected beneath the
ADC1173 are required to meet data sheet limits. The analog
and digital grounds may be in the same layer, but should be
separated from each other. The analog and digital ground
planes should never overlap each other.
Capacitive coupling between the typically noisy digital
ground plane and the sensitive analog circuitry can lead to
poor performance that may seem impossible to isolate and
remedy. The solution is to keep the analog circuity well sepa-
rated from the digital circuitry and from the digital ground
plane.
Digital circuits create substantial supply and ground tran-
sients. The logic noise thus generated could have significant
impact upon system noise performance. The best logic fam-
ily to use in systems with A/D converters is one which em-
ploys non-saturating transistor designs, or has low noise
characteristics, such as the 74HC(T) and 74AC(T)Q families.
Worst noise generators are logic families that draw the larg-
est supply current transients during clock or signal edges,
like the 74F and the 74AC(T) families. In general, slower
logic families, such as 74LS and 74HC(T), will produce less
high frequency noise than do high speed logic families, such
as the 74F and 74AC(T) families.
Since digital switching transients are composed largely of
high frequency components, total ground plane copper
weight will have little effect upon the logic-generated noise.
This is because of the skin effect. Total surface area is more
important than is total ground plane volume.
An effective way to control ground noise is by connecting the
analog and digital ground planes together beneath the ADC
with a copper trace that is very narrow (about 3/16 inch)
compared with the rest of the ground plane. This narrowing
beneath the converter provides a fairly high impedance to
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14
the high frequency components of the digital switching cur-
rents, directing them away from the analog pins. The rela-
tively lower frequency analog ground currents do not see a
significant impedance across this narrow ground connection.
Generally, analog and digital lines should cross each other at
90 degrees to avoid getting digital noise into the analog path.
In video (high frequency) systems, however, avoid crossing
analog and digital lines altogether. Clock lines should be iso-
lated from ALL other lines, analog and digital. Even the gen-
erally accepted 90 degree crossing should be avoided as
even a little coupling can cause problems at high frequen-
cies. Best performance at high frequencies and at high reso-
lution is obtained with a straight signal path.
Be especially careful with the layout of inductors. Mutual in-
ductance can change the characteristics of the circuit in
which they are used. Inductors should not be placed side by
side, not even with just a small part of their bodies being be-
side each other.
The analog input should be isolated from noisy signal traces
to avoid coupling of spurious signals into the input. Any ex-
ternal component (e.g., a filter capacitor) connected be-
tween the converter’s input and ground should be connected
to a very clean point in the analog ground return.
Figure 6 gives an example of a suitable layout. All analog cir-
cuitry (input amplifiers, filters, reference components, etc.)
should be placed on or over the analog ground plane. All
digital circuitry and I/O lines should be placed over the digital
ground plane.
6.0 Dynamic Performance
The ADC1173 is ac tested and its dynamic performance is
guaranteed. To meet the published specifications, the clock
source driving the CLK input must be free of jitter. For best
ac performance, isolating the ADC clock from any digital cir-
cuitry should be done with adequate buffers, as with a clock
tree. See Figure 7 .
FIGURE 6. Layout example showing separate analog
and digital ground planes connected below the
ADC1173.
DS100890-16