Evaluating the functionalities of a designed DAC printed circuit board

• Main Author: Ng, Chun Wa.
• Other Authors: Loh Poh Chiang, Andrew
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/17984
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Digital-to-analog (D/A) and Analog-to-digital (A/D) converter constitute an essential link when digital devices interface with analog devices, and vice versa. They are important building blocks of any digital system, including both communication and noncommunication systems. A D/A converter is important not only because it is needed at the output of most digital system, it is useful in measurement purposes, servo motor in control application as well as forming an indispensable part in majority of A/D converter types which has numerous applications. In this project, Protel is used to design the printed circuit board to convert the digital signals to analog form. The D/A converter selected in the design is AD5440, a CMOS, 10 bits, dual channel, high bandwidth, current output DAC chip. The use of surface mount type of DAC chip help overcome space constraint in the PCB design at the expense the heat dissipation factor. It is often cost saving to have small PCB design. In order to achieve voltage output, four LF444 operational amplifiers are connected to each DAC chip to obtain polar and bipolar output. The PCB has a total of 16 channels contributed by 8 pieces of DAC chips with 2 channels functioning at same time.