TI Korea (CEO Kent Chon, www.ti.com/ww/kr) September 19, 2014 – TI (CEO Kent Chon) has launched Successive Approximation Register (SAR) Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADCs) that enable system designers to reduce the size of industrial monitoring and control applications. The new ADS7042 is the industry's smallest, lowest-power 12-bit SAR ADC, and the ADS8354 family includes the industry's smallest 14-bit and 16-bit simultaneous sampling SAR ADCs.

ADS7042

The 1MSPS ADS7042 has pushed the boundaries of size and power. This ultra-compact device consumes only 690uW of power at maximum speed and reduces power consumption at sampling rates to unprecedented levels, making it suitable for use in ultra-low power systems. For example, at 1kSPS, the ADS7042 consumes less than 1uW of power, making it ideal for remote system monitoring and energy harvesting applications. In addition, it can be used in space-constrained consumer devices such as hard disk drives, computer peripherals, wearable fitness devices, and smartphones, as well as in motor control, metering, and portable medical equipment.

Key advantages of ADS7042

• Implementation of the industry's smallest sensor module design: Ultra-small 1.5mm x 1.5mm package, 44% smaller than competing devices

• Ultra-low power: Consumes 52% less power than competing devices

• Simple Serial Peripheral Interface: Achieves 1 MSPS throughput at a clock speed of just 16 MHz, 67% lower than competitors, enabling seamless connectivity with most low-power processors, including TI's MSP430™ microcontrollers.

ADS8354 product family

The 2-channel ADS8354 family includes the industry's smallest 14-bit and 16-bit simultaneous sampling SAR ADCs. This family boasts data transfer rates of 600 kSPS to 2 MSPS per channel and features dual internal voltage references that can be controlled independently without delay. It is optimized for industrial markets, including motor control, DC load control, optical networking, power quality, industrial automation, and programmable logic controllers (PLCs).

Key advantages of the ADS8354 product family

• Board Space Reduction: Featuring two independent programmable voltage references in a mere 3mm x 3mm size, it enables separate full-scale range implementation per channel, eliminating the need for external signal conditioning circuitry and reducing overall board space, thereby further miniaturizing industrial designs.

• Providing design flexibility with an extensive product family: The 12/14/16-bit product family includes 11 devices with data rates ranging from 600kSPS to 2MSPS and single-ended or differential inputs, making it easier to configure analog signal chains to meet industrial system requirements.

• Flexible interface with fast response times: Implement fast, lag-free motor control with simply configurable 18MHz or 32MHz clocks.

Tools and support to reduce design time

TI provides various support tools for the ADS7042 and ADS8354 product families, including hardware demo kits, reference designs, and simulation models, to help accelerate time-to-market.

System developers can quickly install ADS7 through a performance demonstration kit (PDK) that provides a simple one-click installation process.It can evaluate the 042 and ADS8354 product families. This ADC demo kit, the first of its kind, includes an evaluation module and a simple capture card with plug-and-play capabilities, eliminating the need for online software installation. In addition, this kit features a user-friendly and intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) to further reduce evaluation time, allowing developers to quickly evaluate ADC performance in specific finished products.

All new devices are provided with a SAR ADC SPICE model that enables easy implementation of system-level design of input and voltage reference drive circuits, and an IBIS model that performs timing analysis.

The following TI Designs reference design provides theories, simulations, calculations, and design methods to enable design using the new high-precision ADC.

• A 12-bit data acquisition system for low-power, ultra-small form factor applications is available in the following three speed class options (TIPD168):

o 1 MSPS Data Transfer Rate - For Hard Disk Drives, Motor Control, Motor Encoders, Optical Encoders, Optical Modules

o 500kSPS Data Rate - For Current Monitoring, Battery Monitoring, Electromyography (EMG), Skin Impedance, and Wearable Fitness Devices

o 1kSPS Data Transfer Rate – For tilt, gyro, pressure, temperature, gas, chemical, and blood glucose sensor measurements

•12-bit, 1MSPS, Dual-Channel Data Acquisition System for Optical Encoders (TIPD117)

You can find solutions and post questions in the Precision Data Converters Forum of the TI E2E™ community, and get help from fellow engineers and TI experts to solve problems.

Supply timing and price

The ADS7042 is currently available in a 1.5mm x 1.5mm QFN package with a recommended retail price of $2.10 for a quantity of 1,000. For quick product evaluation, the ADS7042EVM-PDK can be purchased for $300.