Date: 19/08/2011

12-bit, 1 MSPS, bipolar, 4- and 8-channel SAR ADCs for industrial PLCs

Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) has introduced two new bipolar, 12-bit, 1-MSPS successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converters (ADC) for industrial process controls (PLC) and data acquisition. The 4-channel ADS8634 and 8-channel ADS8638 provide the temperature range available for demanding industrial measurement applications up to 125 degrees and are fully characterized over the extended industrial temperature range. They also allow an input range of ±12 V, an improvement of 20 percent over the competition, when used with an external reference.

Key features and benefits of the ADS8634 and ADS8638 as per TI include:

Per-channel software-selectable input ranges support ±12 V, ±10 V, ±5 V, ±2.5 V, 0-5 V, and 0-10 V, providing a single-chip solution for a wide range of inputs while enabling designers to easily interface to a variety of sensors with a single ADC.
1-MSPS sampling rate - a 4x improvement from the previous generation.
Digital interface supports 1.8-V to 5-V hosts without additional level-shifting circuitry.
Integrated reference and temperature sensor reduces system cost and complexity. The addition of dual-alarm threshold logic per channel and alarm output minimizes the number of host accesses required in monitoring applications.

A performance development kit, including all circuitry, software and source code, is also available to evaluate the performance of both parts. The ADS8638EVM-PDK enables complete ADC performance evaluation via ADCPro, a modular software system for evaluating ADCs without expensive logic analyzers and complex analysis routines. The ADS8638EVM-PDK can be purchased today for a suggested retail price of $199.

For more information visit: www.ti.com