A General Purpose Test Apparatus for High-Speed, High Resolution Analog to Digital Converters Based on IEEE Standard

Nowadays high-speed, high resolution ADCs (Analog to Digital Converter) are employed in many fields, thus there exists an important task--how to test these ADCs, giving reliable results. This ADC test apparatus is based on the IEEE Std. It aims for the test of high speed, high resolution ADCs (16 bit at most, with the sample rate up to 166 MSPS and expandable) and the "General Purpose" ability. This essay will present the basic techniques of ADC testing and the skills used in this apparatus, meanwhile giving the real test results of a commercial ADC for the illustration of its performance.