Testing the AD1862
TO TAL H ARMO NIC D ISTO RTIO N + NO ISE
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T he T HD figure of an audio DAC represents the amount of un-
desirable signal produced during reconstruction and playback of
an audio waveform. T he T HD specification, therefore, provides
a direct method to classify and choose an audio DAC for a de-
sired level of performance.
AD1862
TOP VIEW
(Not to Scale) 12
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By combining noise measurement with the T HD measurement,
a T HD+N specification is realized. T his specification indicates
all of the undesirable signal produced by the DAC, including
harmonic products of the test tone as well as noise.
VOUT
Figure 9. External Am plifier Connections
Analog Devices tests all AD1862s on the basis of T HD+N per-
formance. In this test procedure, a digital data stream represent-
ing a 0 dB, –20 dB or –60 dB sine wave is sent to the device
under test. T he frequency of the waveform is 990.5 Hz. Input
data is sent to the AD1862 at an 8 × FS rate (352.8 kHz). T he
AD1862 under test produces an output current which is con-
verted to an output voltage by an external amplifier. Figure 10
illustrates the recommended test circuit. Deglitchers and trims
are not used during this test procedure. T he automatic test
equipment digitizes 4096 samples of the output test waveform,
incorporating 23 complete cycles of the sine wave. A 4096 point
FFT is performed on the test data.
Based upon the harmonics of the fundamental 990.5 Hz test
tone, and the noise components in the audio band, the total har-
monic distortion + noise of the device is calculated. T he
AD1862 is available in two performance grades. T he AD1862N
produces a maximum of 0.0025% T HD+N at 0 dB signal lev-
els. T he higher performance AD1862N-J produces a maximum
of 0.0016% T HD+N at 0 dB signal levels.
SIGNAL-TO -NO ISE RATIO
T he Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of the AD1862 is tested in the
following manner. T he amplitude of a 0 dB signal is measured.
T he device under test is then set to midscale output voltage (0
volts). T he amplitude of all noise present to 30 kHz is mea-
sured. T he SNR is the ratio of these two measurements. T he
SNR figure for the AD1862 includes the output noise contrib-
uted by the NE5534 op amp used in the test fixture but does
not include the noise contributed by the low-pass filter used in
the test fixture.
T he AD1862N has a minimum SNR of 110 dB. T he higher
performance AD1862N-J has a minimum SNR of 113 dB.
12V
0.1µF
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1µF
0.1µF
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–12V
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10µF
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AD1862
TOP VIEW
ANALOG
COMMON
0.1µF
0.1µF
SE5534A
17MHz
(Not to Scale) 12
352.8kHz
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3-POLE
LOW PASS
FILTER
360pF
OUTPUT
VOLTAGE
DIGITAL
COMMON
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12V
Figure 10. Recom m ended Test Circuit
REV. A
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