Sigma-Delta (Delta-Sigma) ADCs

„The Delta-Sigma (ΔΣ) modulation is a kind of analog-to-digital or digital-to-analog conversion. An analog to digital converter (ADC) or DAC circuit which implements this technique can be easily realized using low-cost CMOS processes, such as the processes used to produce digital integrated circuits; for this reason, even though it was first presented in the early 1960s, it is only in recent years that it has come into widespread use with improvements in silicon technology. Almost all analog integrated circuit vendors offer sigma delta converters.“

Delta-sigma modulation. (2008, February 11). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:34, February 12, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Delta-sigma_modulation&oldid=190609700

Contains Block-diagrams, code, and simple explanations

Motion control systems often require digital-to-analog converters (DAC) with high resolution but not high accuracy. Because high-accuracy DACs are expensive and consume valuable board space, a good solution is to extend your DAC's resolution in software. This article presents such a technique.

This in-depth article covers the theory behind a Delta-Sigma analog-to-digital converter.

The MCP3551 delta-sigma ADC is a high-resolution converter. This document discusses various design techniques to follow when using this device. Typical application circuits are discussed first, followed by a section on noise analysis. This device has a LSB size that is smaller than the noise voltage, typical of any high-resolution ADC. Due to this, the performance of the device (and system) cannot be analyzed by simply looking at the binary output stream. Collecting data and visually analyzing the result is required; when designing circuits it is important to provide a way to get the data points to a PC.