12-bit ADC generates 500MSPS sample rate

The 12-bit ISLA112P50IRZ 500MSPS converter features a power consumption of just 468mW.

This low power consumption enables system designers to integrate multiple ADCs in a single system without the thermal challenges normally associated with using high-speed ADCs.

The ISLA112P50's low power consumption also benefits designers targeting portable or battery-powered applications by helping to extend battery life without sacrificing performance.

This is the latest in Intersil's expanding range of high-speed, low-power ADCs.

This new converter is being built using Intersil's proprietary Femtocharge technology on a standard CMOS process.

The ISLA112P50 uses a pair of time-interleaved 250MSPS ADCs to generate its 500MSPS sample rate.

The new IC also features the patented Intersil Interleave Engine (I2E) technology, which performs the automatic fine correction of offset, gain and sample time skew mismatches between unit ADCs to ensure high performance.

The converter's dynamic performance and specifications are optimal for targeted applications such as high-end data acquisition systems.

The analogue input bandwidth is 1.15GHz.

The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is 65.8dBFS and the SFDR is 80dBc for an input frequency of 190MHz.

The device incorporates nap/sleep modes and digital output data is available in either LVDS or CMOS formats, increasing design flexibility.

A synchronous clock divider reset facilitates the time alignment of multiple devices - an important feature in certain systems for interleaving at the board level or simultaneous sampling.

Specified minimum/maximum digital interface timing with respect to the ADC input clock improves system reliability by allowing designers to close timing and select the most cost-efficient field-programmable gate array (FPGA) to meet their timing requirements.

The ISLA112P50 is configured using a serial peripheral interface port, which is able to control the interleave correction circuitry, allowing the system to issue continuous calibration commands and to configure dynamic parameters.

The 12-bit ISLA112P50 is part of a range of pin-compatible converters that includes the 10-bit ISLA110P50 and the 8-bit ISLA118P50.

All are available in a space-efficient 72-pin QFN package that measures 10 x 10mm.

Intersil is also making available a flexible evaluation system that enables designers to analyse performance in both time and frequency domains.

The system features a modular design with one motherboard that supports multiple ADC ranges.

Matlab code is available for hardware-in-the-loop analysis and can capture more than one mega-sample in a single, contiguous capture.

Users can download captured data to standard CSV files to apply specialised post processing.

The pin-compatible ISLA118P50IRZ, ISLA110P50IRZ and ISLA112P50IRZ devices are currently in stock and are in full production.

Prices in 1,000-piece quantities range from USD36 (GBP23) to USD125, depending on the selected resolution.

The evaluation kit, including complete support from Intersil, is available for prices starting at USD300 each.