The output impedance of an op amp has an open-loop value which, in a closed loop, is divided by the loop gain available at the frequency of interest. The amplifier should have acceptable loop gain at 500 kHz for use with the AD574A. To check whether the output properties of a signal source are suitable, monitor the AD574’s input with an oscilloscope while a conversion is in progress. Each of the 12 disturbances should subside in sorless. For applications involving the use of a sample-and-hold amplifier, the AD585 is recommended. The AD711 or AD544 op amps are recommended for dc applications.
SAMPLE-AND-HOLD AMPLIFIERS
Although
accurate 12-bit conversions of frequencies greater than a few Hz requires the use of a sample-and-hold amplifier (SHA). If the voltage of the analog input signal driving the AD574A changes by more than 1/2 LSB over the time interval needed to make a conversion, then the input requires a SHA.
The AD585 is a high linearity SHA capable of directly driving the analog input of the AD574A. The AD585’s fast acquisition time, low aperture and low aperture jitter are ideally suited for high-speed data acquisition systems. Consider the AD574A converter with a
-p: the maximum frequency which may
be applied to achieve rated accuracy is 1.5 Hz. However, with the addition of an AD585, as shown in Figure 3, the maximum frequency increases to 26 kHz.
The AD585’s low output impedance, fast-loop response, and low droop maintain 12-bits of accuracy under the changing load conditions that occur during a conversion, making it suitable for use in high accuracy conversion systems. Many other SHAs cannot achieve 12-bits of accuracy and can thus compromise a system. The AD585 is recommended for AD574A applications requiring a sample and hold.
Figure 3. AD574A with AD585 Sample and Hold
SUPPLY DECOUPLING AND LAYOUT CONSIDERATIONS
It is critically important that the AD574A power supplies be filtered, well regulated, and free from high frequency noise. Use of noisy supplies will cause unstable output codes. Switching power supplies are not recommended for circuits attempting to achieve 12-bit accuracy unless great care is used in filtering any switching spikes present in the output. Remember that a few millivolts of noise represents several counts of error in a 12-bit ADC.
Circuit layout should attempt to locate the AD574A, associated analog input circuitry, and interconnections as far as possible from logic circuitry. For this reason, the use of wire-wrap circuit construction is not recommended. Careful printed circuit construction is preferred.
CONTROL LOGIC
The AD574A contains on-chip logic to provide conversion initiation and data read operations from signals commonly available in microprocessor systems. Figure 6 shows the internal logic circuitry of the AD574A.
The control signals CE, CS, and R/C control the operation of the converter. The state of R/C when CE and CS are both asserted determines whether a data read (R/C = 1) or a convert (R/C = 0) is in progress. The register control inputs AO and 12/8 control conversion length
and data format. The AO line is usually tied to the least significant bit of the address bus. If a conversion is started with AO low, a full 12-bit conversion cycleis initiated. If AO is high during a convert start, a shorter 8-bit conversion cycle results. During data read operations, AO determines whether the three-state buffers containing the 8 MSBs of the conversion result (AO = 0) or the 4 LSBs (AO = 1) are enabled. The 12/8 pin determines whether the output data is to be organized as two 8-bit words (12/8 tied to DIGITAL COMMON) or a single 12-bit word (12/8 tied to VLOGIC). The 12/8 pin is not TTL-compatible and must be hard-wired to either VLOGIC or DIGITAL COMMON. In the 8-bit mode, the byte addressed when AO is high contains the 4 LSBs from the conversion followed by four trailing zeroes. This organization allows the data lines to be overlapped for direct interface to 8-bit buses without the need for external three-state buffers. It is not recommended that AO change state during a data read operation. Asymmetrical enable and disable times of the three-state buffers could cause internal bus contention resulting in potential damage to the AD574A.
Figure4. AD574A Control Logic
An output signal, STS, indicates the status of the converter. STS goes high at the beginning of a conversion and returns low when the conversion cycle is complete.
TIMING
The AD574A is easily interfaced to a wide variety of microprocessors and other digital systems. The following discussion of the timing requirements of the AD574A control signals
should provide the system designer with useful insight into the operation of the device.
Figure 7 shows a complete timing diagram for the AD574A convert start operation. R/C should be low before both CE and CS are asserted; if R/C is high, a read operation will momentarily occur, possibly resulting in system bus contention. Either CE or CS may be used to initiate a conversion; however, use of CE is recommended since it includes one less propagation delay than CS and is the faster input. In Figure 7, CE is used to initiate the conversion.
Figure 5
Once a conversion is started and the STS line goes high, convert start commands will be ignored until the conversion cycle is complete. The output data buffers cannot be enabled during conversion.
Figure 8 shows the timing for data read operations. During data read operations, access time is measured from the point where CE and R/C both are high (assuming CS is already low). If CS is used to enable the device, access time is extended by 100 ns.
Figure6. Read Cycle Timing
In the 8-bit bus interface mode (12/8 input wired to DIGITAL COMMON), the address bit, AO, must be stable at least 150 ns prior to CE going high and must remain stable during the entire read cycle. If AO is allowed to change, damage to the AD574A output buffers may result.
“STAND-ALONE” OPERATION
The AD574A can be used in a ―stand-alone‖ mode, which is useful in systems with dedicated input ports available and thus not requiring full bus interface capability. In this mode, CE and 12/8 are wired high, CS and AO are wired low, and conversion is controlled by R/C. The three-state buffers are enabled when R/C is high and a conversion starts when R/C goes low. This allows two possible control signals—a high pulse or a low pulse. Operation with a low pulse is shown in Figure 11. In this case, the outputs are forced into the high impedance state in response to the falling edge of R/C and return to valid logic levels after the conversion cycle is completed. The STS line goes high 600 ns after R/C goes low and returns low 300 ns after data is valid.
Figure 7. Low Pulse for R/C—Outputs Enabled After Conversion
If conversion is initiated by a high pulse as shown in Figure 12, the data lines are enabled during the time when R/C is high. The falling edge of R/C starts the next conversion, and the data lines return to three-state (and remain three-state) until the next high pulse of R/C.