Date: 04/08/2010

12-Bit 500MSPS ADC from Intersil draw 5 times less power than others

Intersil has introduced a family of new 8-, 10- and 12-bit 500MSPS analog to digital (ADC) converters. The product, named, ISLA112P50IRZ 500MSPS converter consumes a power of just 468 milliWatts - five times lower than any competing 12-bit 500MSPS ADC, claims Intersil.

Low power ADCs such as these enable design engineers to use more number of ADCs in a single system without the thermal challenges normally associated with using high-speed ADCs and also makes the portables to work longer.

The ISLA112P50 is suggested for broadband communications, radar, light detection and ranging (LIDAR), and data acquisition systems applications. Intersil has used proprietary FemtoCharge on a standard CMOS process and patented Intersil Interleave Engine (I2E) technology, which performs automatic fine correction of offset, gain and sample time skew mismatches between unit ADCs. The ISLA112P50 uses a pair of time-interleaved 250MSPS ADCs to generate its 500MSPS sample rate.

Other specifications include Analog input bandwidth is 1.15GHz. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is 65.8dBFS and SFDR is 80dBc for an input frequency of 190MHz. The device incorporates nap/sleep modes, and digital output data is available in either LVDS or CMOS formats.

A synchronous clock divider reset aids in time alignment of multiple devices for interleaving at the board level or simultaneous sampling. Specified min/max digital interface timing with respect to the ADC input clock allows designers to close timing and select the most cost-efficient FPGA that meets the timing requirements.

The ISLA112P50 can be configured using a serial peripheral interface port, which is able to control the interleave correction circuitry, allowing the system to issue continuous calibration commands and configure dynamic parameters.

The 12-bit ISLA112P50 is part of a family of pin-compatible converters that includes the 10-bit ISLA110P50 and the 8-bit ISLA118P50. All are available in a space efficient 72-pin QFN package that is only 10x10mm, which is 49 percent to 77 percent smaller than competing parts, claims Intersil.

Price:
Each in the range of US$36 to US$125 for 1K pieces.
Evaluation kit: Each US$300.

Availability: Now