Texas Instruments (News - Alert) (TI), a semi-conductor company with global presence, launched two multi-channel, 16-bit, delta-sigma analogue-to-digital converters (ADCs). They are ADS1174 (quad) and ADS1178 (octal).

 

The new ADCs provide the combined benefit of DC accuracy and AC performance at a lower cost, according to TI. Data rates are up to 52k samples per second (SPS) and power dissipation is at the rate 7mW/channel. High-speed mode is 31mW/Ch at 52kSPS and low-power mode is 7mW/Ch at 10kSPS.

 

The two devices allow synchronous sampling of four and eight channels. ADS1174 and ADS1178 have identical packages, and they are compatible with the higher-grade 24-bit ADS1274 and ADS1278 thus perform drop-in upgrades.

 

The ADS1174 and ADS1178 find the best application in signal acquisition applications such as power metering, defibrillators, ECG monitors, pressure sensors, coriolis flow meters, and vibration/modal analysis. 

 

ADS1174 and ADS1178 feature 25kHz bandwidth, 2uV/C offset drift and up to 97dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

 

The SYNC input control pin allows the device conversion to be started and synchronized to an external event. SPI and Frame-Sync serial interfaces are supported. The two ADSs are specified over the extended industrial range, (–40°C to +105°C), and is available in HTQFP-64 PowerPAD packages.

 

ADS1174 costs $12.45 each in 100-piece quantities, and ADS1178 costs $19.95 each in 100-piece quantities.