12-/14-bit 25 to 125-MSPS ADCs claim lowest power

12-/14-bit 25 to 125-MSPS ADCs claim lowest power

The LTC2140/41/42/31/44/45 family of ultra-low-power 14- and 12-bit 25 to 125-Msample/s A/D converters is claimed to dissipate less than 1 mW/Msample/s from a 1.8-V supply, making them the lowest-power high-speed ADCs on the market. The LTC2145 family includes two-channel simultaneous sampling, parallel output ADCs, offering a choice of full-rate CMOS, or double-data-rate (DDR) CMOS or DDR LVDS digital outputs with programmable digital output timing, programmable LVDS output current, and optional LVDS output termination.

At 25 Msamples/s, the 14- and 12-bit versions of the LTC2140 consume just 24 mW per channel, while the 125-Msample/s LTC2145 consumes only 95 mW per channel. At 14 bits, these devices achieve over 73.2-dB SNR performance with 90 dB of SFDR at baseband, while at 12 bits, the SNR performance is better than 70.6 dB.

This ADC family offers a pin-compatible upgrade path to the ultra-low-power LTC2185 16-bit ADC family to provide a 3-dB performance upgrade while maintaining portability in such applications as handheld test and instrumentation, radar/LIDAR, medical imaging, PET/SPECT scanners, military radios, smart antenna systems, and a range of low-power communication systems. Housed in QFN packages, the devices also feature a full-power bandwidth of 750 MHz and a low jitter of 0.08 ps rms. (Dual 12-bit, 25-Msample/s ADC, from $10.95 ea/1,000 — samples available now.)

By Christina Nickolas

Linear Technology , Milpitas , CA
Sales Office 408-428-2050
www.linear.com