8 Digital-to-Analog Converter Manufacturers in 2022
This section provides overview, applications, and principles of digital-to-analog converters. Also, please take a look at the list of 8 digital-to-analog converter manufacturers and their company rankings.
Table of Contents
What Is a Digital-to-Analog Converter?
A Digital-to-Analog converter is an electronic circuit that converts digital signals into analog signals. When something is processed on a computer, it is done with digital signals. However, when outputting the result in the form of sound or light, these are analog quantities and must be converted.
Since an infinite number of digits are required to convert a digital quantity into a strictly analog one, it is actually an approximation to a plausible form.
Conversely, a circuit that converts an analog quantity to a digital charge is called an AD converter.
Uses of Digital-to-Analog Converters
Digital-to-Analog converters are used when a PC or microcontroller is used to transmit an analog signal from a processed signal.
For example, when outputting audio from a PC, it can be output through speakers or earphones by converting it to an analog signal using Digital-to-Analog converters. Although most PCs have built-in Digital-to-Analog converters, recently, external Digital-to-Analog converters, such as those with USB connections, have been developed and are used for audio output with high sound quality, such as high-resolution sound sources.
Principle of Digital-to-Analog Converters
The simplest Digital-to-Analog converters employ the resistor division method, sometimes called resistor strings.
The resistor-split scheme uses n equivalent resistors placed between the reference voltage and ground to the power of 2. The reference voltage can then be an integer multiple of 1 to the nth power of 2. If a switch is attached to each resistor, any voltage can be created by a combination of switch ONs. The resolution is determined by n, and an n-bit digital signal can be converted to an analog signal. The switch is selected according to the digital input signal, and the circuit that specifies this is called a decoder. In other words, the decoder converts the digital signal (binary number) into the serial number of one switch (decimal number).
However, in the resistor-division method, increasing the number of bits requires resistors and switches to the nth power of 2, so the scale of high-bit Digital-to-Analog converters becomes exponentially larger.
However, monotonicity is guaranteed and the linearity is very high, resulting in high accuracy.
Usage
Digital-to-Analog converters are circuits or facilities for converting a digital signal to an analog signal; by DA conversion, we mean that the original source (original signal) of the AD conversion is a digital signal. On the other hand, since most of the events in nature are analog quantities, the original source is an analog signal. For example, analog signals such as images, video, and audio signals are converted to digital signals, which are then processed, treated, stored, and reproduced, and this time converted to DA and reproduced in a form that is transmitted to us, in other words, in analog. In this way, in the modern age, we are converting an analog quantity of events into a digital quantity, processing it if necessary, and finally converting it back into an analog quantity that we can see and hear again.
When DA conversion is performed, no matter how much the conversion accuracy is improved, it will be different from the original analog signal. This difference becomes noise and affects the quality of the analog signal. In addition, since the output section of the Digital-to-Analog converters and beyond handle analog signals, the quality of the analog signal is directly related to the electronic components' properties. Thus, there may be parts that cannot be represented only by the parameters in the circuit diagram, and it is necessary to examine the parts used.
Accuracy
Digital-to-Analog converters are widely used in industrial systems, IoT systems, measurement systems, and media systems. Digital-to-Analog converters have number of errors.
The main errors are:
- Offset error (OE)
- Gain error (GE)
- Integral non-linearity error (INL)
The accuracy of Digital-to-Analog converters is evaluated by including all three types of errors. Specifically, the total unadjusted error (TUE) is expressed as the square root of (OE^2+GE^2+INL^2), where OE and GE can be calibrated on the system using simple codes, but INL is generally a complex code and the error itself is an error that cannot be expressed by a function. Many parameters must be stored in memory. In addition, the load that the calibration code itself places on the entire system may not be negligible. Therefore, it is important to reduce the INL error of the DAC itself.
List of 8 Digital-to-Analog Converter Manufacturers
*Including some distributors, etc.
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Agile Analog
DAC
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Rupert Neve Designs
THE PRECISION DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER
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Digital-to-Analog Converter Manufacturer Ranking
*Including some distributors, etc.Number of Employees
- Asahi Kasei Microdevices Corporation: 39,283
- Renesas Electronics Corporation: 20,962
Newly Established Company
- Renesas Electronics Corporation: 2010 (13 years ago)
- Microchip Technology: 1989 (34 years ago)
- Asahi Kasei Microdevices Corporation: 1980 (43 years ago)
Company with a History
- Rupert Neve Designs: 1960 (63 years ago)
- Analog Devices, Inc.: 1965 (58 years ago)
- Asahi Kasei Microdevices Corporation: 1980 (43 years ago)
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