Circuit Note
CN-0079
Devices Connected/Referenced
Circuit Designs Using Analog Devices Products
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AD5542
16-Bit Serial Input, Voltage Output DAC
ADR421
Precision 2.5 V Voltage Reference
AD8628
Auto-Zero Operational Amplifier
High Precision Digital-to-Analog Conversion Using the 16-Bit AD5542/AD5541
Voltage Output DAC, ADR421 Reference, and AD8628 Auto-Zero Op Amp
CIRCUIT FUNCTION AND BENEFITS
This circuit provides precision, low power, voltage output,
digital-to-analog conversion. The AD5542 can be operated in
either the buffered or unbuffered mode. The application and its
requirements on settling time, input impedance, noise, etc.,
determine which mode of operation is best. The selection of the
output buffer amplifier can be tailored to suit either dc
precision or fast settling time. Where the DAC is required to
drive a load less than 60 kΩ, an output buffer will be required.
The output impedance of the DAC is constant and code
independent, but to minimize gain errors the input impedance
of the output amplifier should be as high as possible. The output
amplifier should also have a 3 dB bandwidth of 1 MHz or
greater. The output amplifier adds another time constant to the
system, thereby increasing the settling time of the final output.
This circuit provides precision data conversion using the
AD5542 voltage output DAC together with the ADR421BRZ
voltage reference and the AD8628 auto-zero op amp as the
reference buffer. The AD8628 reference buffer provide benefits
previously found only in expensive auto-zeroing or chopperstabilized amplifiers. Using Analog Devices, Inc., circuit
topology, these zero-drift amplifiers combine low cost with high
accuracy and low noise. No external capacitor is required, and
the digital switching noise associated with most chopperstabilized amplifiers is greatly reduced, thereby making this the
optimum choice for reference buffering.
+5V
+
10µF
0.1µF
1µF
0.1µF
2
VIN
VOUT 6
+2.5V
AD8628
+5V
ADR421
0.1µF
TRIM 5
GND
4
RFB
SERIAL
INTERFACE
VDD
REFF
REFS
CS
DIN
RFB
RINV
SCLK
INV
OUT
*
AD5541/AD5542
DGND AGNDF AGNDS
08312-001
LDAC
*OUTPUT AMPLIFIER SHOULD
BE CHOSEN TO SUIT
APPLICATION NEEDS.
Figure 1. Precision DAC Configuration (Simplified Schematic)
Rev. 0
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CN-0079
Circuit Note
VOUT =
V REF × D
2N
where D is the decimal data-word loaded to the DAC register
and N is the resolution of the DAC.
Measured results show that high accuracy, low noise
performance with minimum high frequency intermodulation
distortions transferred to the output is achievable using the
AD8628 as a reference buffer in a high accuracy, high
performance system.
Integral nonlinearity (INL) error is the deviation in LSBs of the
actual DAC transfer function from an idealized transfer
function. DNL error is the difference between an actual step
size and the ideal value of 1 LSB. The circuit in Figure 1
provides 16-bit resolution with ±1 LSB INL error and ±1 LSB
DNL error. Figure 2 and Figure 3 show the INL and DNL
performance of the circuit.
+1
For a reference of 2.5 V, the equation is simplified to the
following:
VOUT =
0
65,535
08312-002
This circuit utilizes the AD5542 voltage output DAC, providing
16-bit, fully accurate performance. The DAC architecture of the
AD5541/AD5542 is a segmented R-2R voltage mode DAC.
With this type of configuration the output impedance is
independent of digital code, while the input impedance seen by
the reference is heavily code dependent. For this reason, the
reference buffer choice is very important to account for the
code-dependent reference current, which may lead to linearity
errors if the DAC reference is not adequately buffered. The op
amp offset voltage, offset error temperature coefficient, and
noise are important criteria when selecting a reference buffer
with precision voltage output DACs. Offset errors in the
reference circuit cause gain errors on the DAC output. This
circuit employs the AD8628 zero-drift, single-supply, rail-torail, input/output operational amplifier. With an offset voltage
of 1 μV, drift of less than 0.005 μV/°C, and noise of 0.5 μV p-p
(0.1 Hz to 10 Hz), the AD8628 is suited for applications where
error sources need to be minimized. The output voltage is
dependent on the reference voltage, as shown in the following
equation:
65,535
08312-003
CIRCUIT DESCRIPTION
auto-zeroing frequencies, thereby maximizing the signal-tonoise ratio for the majority of applications without the need for
additional filtering. The relatively high internal chopping
frequency of 15 kHz simplifies filter requirements for a wide,
useful, noise-free bandwidth in instrumentation and process
control applications.
INTEGRAL NON-LINEARITY (LSBs)
A higher 3 dB amplifier bandwidth results in a faster effective
settling time of the combined DAC and amplifier. All devices in
the circuit can be powered from a single +5 V supply. The input
voltage range of the ADR421 reference is 4.5 V to 18 V.
–1
0
2.5 × D
65,536
32,768
CODE
Figure 2. Integral Nonlinearity Error vs. Input Code
The LSB size is 2.5 V/65,536, or 38.1 µV.
There is a common misconception that auto-zero amplifiers are
not to be trusted because of intermodulation terms and
unwanted harmonics filtering through to the output due to the
internal switching action. Previous auto-zero amplifiers used
either auto-zeroing or chopper stabilization techniques.
Traditional auto-zeroing results in low noise energy at the autozeroing frequency at the expense of higher low frequency noise,
due to aliasing of wideband noise into the auto-zeroed
frequency band. Chopping results in less low frequency noise at
the expense of larger noise energy at the chopping frequency.
The AD8628 family uses both auto-zeroing and chopping in a
patented “ping-pong” arrangement to obtain lower low
frequency noise together with lower energy at the chopping and
DIFFERENTIAL NON-LINEARITY (LSBs)
This gives a VOUT of 1.25 V for the midscale code and 2.5 V for
the full-scale code.
Rev. 0 | Page 2 of 4
+0.8
0
–0.8
0
32,768
CODE
Figure 3. Differential Nonlinearity Error vs. Input Code
Circuit Note
CN-0079
The offset error and gain error were measured to be 10 µV and
170 µV, respectively. The gain error of ±5 LSBs and the zerocode error of ±1 LSB are within the specified 38 µV (with a
2.5 V reference) at ambient temperature.
08312-004
Figure 4 shows a 0.1 Hz to 10 Hz noise plot for the circuit.The
output of the DAC, VOUT, was connected to the input of a 0.1 Hz
to 10 Hz bandwidth filter followed by an amplifier with a gain
of 10,000. The voltage noise is captured on a scope. A very low
peak-to-peak voltage of 57 mV is observed (5.7 µV with respect
to the DAC output).
Figure 4. A 0.1 Hz to 10 Hz Output Noise Plot; Full-Scale Code Loaded
into DAC (1/f Noise = 57 mV/10,000 = 5.7 µV)
Figure 5 shows the DAC output using the spectrum analyzer
sweeping from 100 Hz to 100 kHz. No significant IMD terms
were observed, thus showing that auto-zero amplifiers such as
the AD8628 used as reference buffers are excellent choices.
0
–20
–60
–80
–100
–120
100
1k
10k
FREQUENCY (Hz)
Figure 5. DAC Output Spectral Density Plot
(dB Referenced to Full Scale)
100k
08312-005
POWER (dB)
–40
In any circuit where accuracy is important, it is helpful to
carefully consider the power supply and ground return layout
on the board. The printed circuit board (PCB) containing the
circuit should have separate analog and digital sections. If the
circuit is used in a system where other devices require an
AGND-to-DGND connection, the connection should be made
at one point only. This ground point should be as close as
possible to the AD5542. The power supply to the AD5542
should be bypassed with 10 μF and 0.1 μF capacitors. The
capacitors should be as physically close as possible to the device,
with the 0.1 μF capacitor ideally right up against the device. The
10 μF capacitors are the tantalum bead type. It is important that
the 0.1 μF capacitor have low effective series resistance (ESR)
and low effective series inductance (ESL), as is typical of
common ceramic types of capacitors. This 0.1 μF capacitor
provides a low impedance path to ground for high frequencies
caused by transient currents due to internal logic switching. The
power supply line should have as large a trace as possible to
provide a low impedance path and reduce glitch effects on the
supply line. Clocks and other fast switching digital signals
should be shielded from other parts of the board by
digital ground.
The circuit must be constructed on a multilayer PC board with
a large area ground plane. Proper layout, grounding, and
decoupling techniques must be used to achieve optimum
performance (see Tutorial MT-031, Grounding Data Converters
and Solving the Mystery of AGND and DGND and Tutorial MT101, Decoupling Techniques).
COMMON VARIATIONS
The AD8538 is another excellent auto-zero op amp candidate to
be used for buffering the reference in this circuit. It provides a
low offset voltage and ultralow bias current. The 2.5 V output
ADR421 can be replaced by either the ADR423 or the ADR424,
which are low noise references available from the same
reference family as the ADR421 and provide 3 V and 4.096 V,
respectively. The ADR441 and the ADR431 ultralow noise
references are suitable substitutes that provide 2.5 V, also. Note
that the size of the reference input voltage is restricted by
the rail-to-rail output voltage capability of the operational
amplifier selected.
There is no output buffer used in this circuit because output
buffer performance can be optimized for speed or dc precision,
depending on the system bandwidth and application need. The
AD5661 would be an excellent choice for an output buffer. This
is a single-supply, 5 V to 16 V amplifier that uses Analog
Devices’ patented DigiTrim™ technique to achieve low offset
voltage. It features low input bias current and wide signal
bandwidth. The AD8605 or the AD8655 would also be
excellent options.
Rev. 0 | Page 3 of 4
CN-0079
Circuit Note
LEARN MORE
Data Sheets
Kester, Walt. 2005. The Data Conversion Handbook. Analog
Devices. Chapters 3 and 7.
AD5541 Data Sheet.
MT-015 Tutorial, Basic DAC Architectures II: Binary DACs.
Analog Devices.
AD8628 Data Sheet.
AD5542 Data Sheet.
MT-016 Tutorial, Basic DAC Architectures III: Segmented DACs,
Analog Devices.
MT-031 Tutorial, Grounding Data Converters and Solving the
Mystery of AGND and DGND. Analog Devices.
ADR421 Data Sheet.
REVISION HISTORY
8/09—Revision 0: Initial Version
MT-035 Tutorial, Op Amp Inputs, Outputs, Single-Supply, and
Rail-to-Rail Issues, Analog Devices.
MT-055 Tutorial, Chopper Stabilized (Auto-Zero) Precision Op
Amps, Analog Devices.
MT-101 Tutorial, Decoupling Techniques. Analog Devices.
Voltage Reference Wizard Design Tool.
(Continued from first page) "Circuits from the Lab" are intended only for use with Analog Devices products and are the intellectual property of Analog Devices or its licensors. While you may
use the "Circuits from the Lab" in the design of your product, no other license is granted by implication or otherwise under any patents or other intellectual property by application or use of
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©2009 Analog Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. Trademarks and
registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
CN08312-0-8/09(0)
Rev. 0 | Page 4 of 4