
LTC1661
7
1661fa
DEFINITIONS
Differential Nonlinearity (DNL): The difference between
the measured change and the ideal 1LSB change for any
two adjacent codes. The DNL error between any two codes
is calculated as follows:
DNL
=
VOUT –LSB
LSB
where VOUT is the measured voltage difference between
two adjacent codes.
Full-ScaleError(FSE):Thedeviationoftheactualfull-scale
voltage from ideal. FSE includes the effects of offset and
gain errors (see Applications Information).
Integral Nonlinearity (INL): The deviation from a straight
line passing through the endpoints of the DAC transfer
curve (endpoint INL). Because the output cannot go
below zero, the linearity is measured between full scale
and the lowest code which guarantees the output will be
greater than zero. The INL error at a given input code is
calculated as follows:
INL
=
VOUT – VOS – VFS – VOS
(
) Code
1023
LSB
where VOUT is the output voltage of the DAC measured at
the given input code.
Least Significant Bit (LSB): The ideal voltage difference
between two successive codes.
LSB
=
VREF
1024
Resolution (n): Defines the number of DAC output states
(2n) that divide the full-scale range. Resolution does not
imply linearity.
Voltage Offset Error (VOS): Nominally, the voltage at the
output when the DAC is loaded with all zeros. A single
supply DAC can have a true negative offset, but the out-
put cannot go below zero (see Applications Information).
For this reason, single supply DAC offset is measured at
the lowest code that guarantees the output will be greater
than zero.