Figures of Merit for Analog-to-Digital Converters: The Optimal Set for the Uncertainty Evaluation

Abstract-Choosing the right analog-to-digital converter for a stated measurement application and for a stated target uncertainty is not an easy task. In fact, each time the prospective purchaser browses among the manufacturer specifications, he finds different sets of parameters which qualify the product; moreover, the same figure of merit is often defined and measured in ambiguous way. One of the main reasons which has caused this situation is the coexistent of various Standards concerning the characterization of the analog-to-digital converters. The choice of the converter becomes more difficult taking into account that the potential buyer has to deal with the measurement uncertainty. Without question, the homogeneity of the figures of merit would facilitate the measurement evaluation. Target of the paper is the choice, among the large number of parameters proposed by the various Standards, of the optimal set of merit figures, which allows a correct uncertainty evaluation of a generic measurement performed by using an analog-to-digital converter. This want be a contribution toward the long awaited harmonization of the aforesaid Standards