Digital Instruments:

An instrument indicating the value of measurement is in the form of a decimal

number and is known as Digital Instrument. The digital meters work on the
principal of quantization. The analog quantity to be measured is first quantized into
a number of small intervals upto the many decimal places.

The objective of the digital instrument is to be determine in which portion of the

subdivision or quantum of the measure and can thus be identified an integral
multiple of the smallest unit called the quantum and choose for subdivision.

The reading accuracy can be increased by increasing the number of decimal places

Advantages of Digital Instruments:

1. The digital instruments indicate the reading directly in decimal numbers.

2. The reading may be carried to any number of significant figures by merely positioning the
decimal point.
3.The digital instrument requires smaller power.
4. Its output is in digital form, so it is directly fed into the memory devices like the tape
recorder, printers, floppy discs, and digital computer etc .
 Advantages of Digital Instruments over Analog Instruments:
A. They are very easy to read.
B. Since there are very few moving parts in the electronic instruments, they are usually more
accurate than the analogue instruments. Even the human error involved in reading these
instruments is very less, which adds to the accuracy of digital instruments.
C. The electronic items tend to be cheaper than the mechanical items.
D. The data from the instruments can be recorded for future reference.
E. The output of the digital devices can be obtained in the computer
F. In this limit can be made with a resolution of one part in several thousands.
Its accuracy is much higher.
G. Most Digital instruments are D.C instruments that measure upto 100V to 1kV by means of a
range attenuator.
H. These instruments are free from observational errors, like a parallax and approximation
errors.
I. They are complex & consists of large number of parts which individually react to change in
temperature and humidity.
What is a DAC?
A digital to analog converter (DAC) converts a digital
signal to an analog voltage or current output.

100101… DAC
 What is a DAC?
Analog Output Signal

0000 0001 0010 0011 0100 0101 0110 0111 1000 1001 1010 1011
Digital Input Signal
Types of DACs
Many types of DACs available.
Usually switches, resistors, and op-amps used to
implement conversion

Two Types:
Binary Weighted Resistor
R-2R Ladder
Binary Weighted Resistor
Utilizes a summing op-amp circuit
Weighted resistors are used to distinguish each bit
from the most significant to the least significant
Transistors are used to switch between Vref and ground
(bit high or low)
 Binary Representation
SET CLEARED
Most
Significant Bit

Least
-VREF Significant Bit

( 1 1 1 1 )2 = ( 15 )10

7
 Binary Weighted Resistor
Assume Ideal Op-amp V
ref
No current into op-amp
Virtual ground at R

inverting input 2R I Rf

Vout= -IRf 4R
- Vout
+
2nR
 Binary Weighted Resistor
Voltages V1 through Vn are
Vref
either Vref if corresponding bit V1 R
is high or ground if
corresponding bit is low V2 2R I Rf
V3 4R
V1 is most significant bit
- Vout
+
 V1 V2 V3 V  Vn 2n-1R
Vout   IRf   Rf      n -1n 
 R 2R 4R 2 R

Vn is least significant bit

Binary Weighted Resistor
 V1 V2 V3 Vn 
Vout   IRf   Rf      n -1 
 R 2R 4R 2 R

If Rf=R/2
 V1 V2 V3 Vn 
Vout   IRf       n 
2 4 8 2 
For example, a 4-Bit converter yields

 1 1 1 1
Vout  Vref  b3  b2  b1  b0 
 2 4 8 16 
Where b3 corresponds to Bit-3, b2 to Bit-2, etc.
Binary Weighted Resistor
Advantages
 Simple Construction/Analysis
 Fast Conversion

Disadvantages
 Requires large range of resistors (2000:1 for 12-bit
DAC) with necessary high precision for low resistors
 Requires low switch resistances in transistors
 Can be expensive. Therefore, usually limited to 8-bit
resolution.
R-2R Ladder
Each bit corresponds
Vref to a switch:

If the bit is high,

the corresponding
switch is connected to
the inverting input of
the op-amp.

If the bit is low, the

corresponding switch
Bit: 0 0 0 0
Vout is connected to ground.
4-Bit Converter
 R-2R DAC Example
Convert 0001 to analog
V0
V1
V1 V0
Vref
V3 V2 V1 V0
=

1
Req  R
1/ 2 R  1/ 2 R

R 1
V0  V1  V1
RR 2

R 1
V1  V2  V2
RR 2

R 1
V2  V3  V3
13 RR 2
 R-2R DAC Example
Convert 0001 to analog

R
Vref 2R
V0

1
V0  Vref
8
R 1
Vout   V0   Vref
2R 16

14
 R-2R Ladder
Results:
Vref V1 V2 V3 1 1 1
V3  Vref , V2  Vref , V1  Vref
8 4 2

 Vref Vref Vref Vref 

Vout   R b3  b2  b1  b0 
 2R 4R 8R 16 R 

Where b3 corresponds to bit 3,

b2 to bit 2, etc.
Vout
If bit n is set, bn=1

If bit n is clear, bn=0

 R-2R Ladder
For a 4-Bit R-2R Ladder

 1 1 1 1
Vout  Vref  b3  b2  b1  b0 
 2 4 8 16 
For general n-Bit R-2R Ladder

n
1
Vout  Vref  bn i i
i 1 2
 R-2R DAC Summary
Conversion results for each bit

Digital Analog
bit Conversion Vout  b3Vout ,3  b2Vout ,2
Vout ,0  Vref /16
0001  b1Vout ,1  b0Vout ,0
Vout ,1  Vref / 8
0010
for
Vout ,2  Vref / 4
0100 b3b2b1b0 (bi  0 or 1)
Vout ,3  Vref / 2
1000
Conversion equation for N-bit DAC

N Vref Vref
Vout   b( N i ) Resolution 
i
17
i 1 2
2N
R-2R DAC Summary
Advantages
Only two resistor values
Does not need the kind of precision as Binary weighted
DACs
Easy to manufacture
Faster response time

Disadvantages
More confusing analysis

18
Specifications of DACs
• Resolution
• Speed
• Linearity
• Settling Time
• Reference Voltages
• Errors
Resolution
Smallest analog increment corresponding to 1 LSB
change
An N-bit resolution can resolve 2N distinct analog
levels
Common DAC has a 8-16 bit resolution

Vref
Resolution  VLSB 
2N
where N  number of bits
Speed
Rate of conversion of a single digital input to its
analog equivalent
Conversion rate depends on
clock speed of input signal
settling time of converter
When the input changes rapidly, the DAC conversion
speed must be high.
Linearity
The difference between the desired analog output and
the actual output over the full range of expected values
Analog Output Signal

0000 0001 0010 0011 0100 0101

Digital Input Signal
 Linearity
Ideally, a DAC should produce a linear relationship
between the digital input and analog output

Linearity (Ideal) Non-Linearity

Analog Output Signal

Analog Output Signal

0000 0001 0010 0011 0100 0101

0000 0001 0010 0011 0100 0101 Digital Input Signal
Digital Input Signal
Settling Time
 Time required for the output signal to settle within +/- ½ LSB of
its final value after a given change in input scale
 Ideally, an instantaneous change in analog voltage would occur
when a new binary word enters into DAC
Reference Voltages
Used to determine how each digital input will be
assigned to each voltage division
Types:
Non-multiplier DAC: Vref is fixed
Multiplier DAC: Vref provided by external source
Types of Errors Associated with DACs
Gain
Offset
Full Scale
Resolution
Non-Linearity
Non-Monotonic
Settling Time and Overshoot
Gain Error
Occurs when the slope of the actual output deviates
from the ideal output
.
Analog Output

Digital Input

Ideal Output Positive Offset Errorr Negative Offset Error

Offset Error
Occurs when there is a constant offset between the actual
output and the ideal output
.
A n a lo g O u tp u t

Digital Input

Ideal Output Positive Offset Errorr Negative Offset Error

Non-Monotonic Error
Occurs when an increase in digital input
results in a decrease in the analog output
Applications
Digital Motor Control
Computer Printers
Sound Equipment (e.g. CD/MP3 Players, etc.)
Electronic Cruise Control
Digital Thermostat