New SAR ADC family enables high-speed, high-resolution analogue-to-digital conversion in harsh environments

Microchip announces 12 new Successive Approximation Register (SAR) Analogue-to-Digital Converters (ADCs) together with a companion differential amplifier designed specifically for the new portfolio of SAR ADCs.

Designed to operate in high temperatures and high electromagnetic environments, the MCP331x1(D)-xx family includes the industry’s only one million samples per second (Msps) fully AEC-Q100-qualified 16-bit SAR, providing the reliability required for automotive and industrial applications. The MCP6D11 differential amplifier provides a low-distortion, high-accuracy interface to achieve the full performance of the ADC within systems.

The MCP331x1(D)-xx family ranges in resolution from 12-, 14- and 16-bit, with speed options ranging from 500 kilosamples per second (ksps) to 1 Msps, allowing developers to choose the right ADC for their designs. A fixed low analogue supply voltage (AVDD) of 1.8V and low-current operation of 1.6 mA typical active current for 1 Msps, and 1.4 mA for 500 ksps, enable the family of ADCs to have an ultra-low power consumption, while maintaining a wide input full-scale range.

These devices support a wide digital I/O interface voltage (DVIO) range (1.7V - 5.5V) which allows it to interface with most host devices, including Microchip’s PIC32, AVR® and Arm®-based microcontrollers and microprocessors. This eliminates the need for external voltage level shifters. The MCP331x1(D)-xx family contains both single-ended and differential input voltage measurement options, enabling systems to convert the difference between any two arbitrary waveforms. Ideal for applications such as high-precision data acquisition, electric vehicle battery management, motor control and switch-mode power supplies, the AEC-Q100-qualified family provides reliable performance across harsh environments. 

Properly interfacing a small analogue signal to a high-speed, high-resolution ADC without introducing additional noise and distortion is a critical challenge. Microchip’s MCP6D11 differential amplifier is designed specifically to address this challenge, providing a low-distortion and high-accuracy interface to properly drive the ADC.

The MCP331x1D-XX Evaluation Kit is available to demonstrate the performance of the MCP331x1D-XX SAR ADC family of devices. The evaluation kit includes the following:

• MCP331x1D Evaluation Board
• PIC32MZ EF MCU Curiosity Board for data collection
• SAR ADC Utility PC Graphical User Interface (GUI)

Each ADC is available in either the 10-MSOP with leads in a 3 mm x 3 mm package or 10-TDFN no-leads 3 mm x 3 mm package. The 9 mm2size is the smallest footprint available in the market for a 16-bit, 1 Msps differential ADC. The MCP6D11 is available in the 8-MSOP or 3 mm x 3 mm 16-QFN package.