A Brief History of Data Conversion: A Tale of Nozzles, Relays, Tubes, Transistors, and CMOS

The need for better communication has been one of the driving forces behind technology advancements, including those in the field of data converters. To extend communication beyond the limits of speech, various methods were developed to allow communication over longer distances, such as drum beating and smoke signaling. The fundamentals of coding and decoding are apparent in these early techniques. While other early applications of the principles of conversion can be found (see “A Tale of Two DACs: Hydraulic and Electronic”), it took the advancements in electrical science during the late 1800s to usher in the age of electronic communication, and this is where true data conversion had its beginnings, with the development of the telegraph and the telephone.