Addis Ababa Institute of Technology

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Laboratory Report
Course number: Eceg:-3208 - Electrical Engineering Laboratory 5

Experiment Number: 03

Title: Digital to Analog Converters

By: Besufekad Mekuria

ID: TCR/0590/01

Section: 1,

Group: 07

Date of Lab. Session: April 11, 2011

Date of Submission: April 18, 2011

AAIT, DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, LABORATORY REPORT FOR LAB V, DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTERS 0
 TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Section Sub-Title Location

NO
1.1 Introduction Page Two

1.2 Objective Page Two

1.3 Preparation Page Two

1.4 Used Equipment Page Two

1.5 Components used Page Two

1.6 Theory Page Three

1.7 Procedure Page Four

1.8 Results Page Five

1.9 Conclusion Page Six

AAIT, DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, LABORATORY REPORT FOR LAB V, DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTERS 1
 Digital to Analog Converters
1.1 INTRODUCTION
A Digital to analog Converter is a device that converts a digital (usually binary) code to an
analog signal (current, voltage, or electric charge). An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) performs the
reverse operation. DACs mainly operate through using the operational amplifier as an adder.

1.2 OBJECTIVE
To observe the operation of a DACs.

- Using a simple Four bit input and an Operational Amplifier.

- Using a Counter IC together with the Operational Amplifier.

1.3 PRE-LAB PREPARATION

Some preparatory questions were answered before the laboratory session as a preparation given
to us by the Laboratory instructors. This manual also included details on what we were expected to
perform in the Lab.

1.4 USED EQUIPMENT

No Description Code/lab Reference Quantity
1 Bread Board 1
2 Oscilloscope 1
3 Function Generator 1
4 Multimeter 1
5 Dual Dc power supply 1
Table 1: Electrical Equipments that were used to set up the circuit for the laboratory procedure

1.5 USED COMPONENTS

No Description Type Quantity
1 Resistors 27k, 27k, 56K, 100k, 220k 5
2 Counter IC 1
4 Operational Amplifier 1
Table 2: Electrical Components that were used to set up the circuit for the laboratory procedure

AAIT, DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, LABORATORY REPORT FOR LAB V, DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTERS 2
 1.6 THEORY
Basic ideal operation

A DAC converts an abstract finite-precision number (usually a fixed-point binary

number) into a concrete physical quantity (e.g., a voltage or a pressure). In particular, DACs
are often used to convert finite-precision time series data to a continually varying physical
signal.

A typical DAC converts the abstract numbers into a concrete sequence of impulses
that are then processed by a reconstruction filter using some form of interpolation to fill in
data between the impulses. Other DAC methods (e.g., methods based on Delta-sigma
modulation) produce a pulse-density modulated signal that can then be filtered in a similar
way to produce a smoothly varying signal.

By the Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem, sampled data can be reconstructed

perfectly provided that its bandwidth meets certain requirements (e.g., a baseband signal with
bandwidth less than the Nyquist frequency; BUT requires an infinite number of samples. The
finite number used in real life cause other problems especially with the D/A reconstruction of
the original signal. However, even with an ideal reconstruction filter, digital sampling
introduces quantization error that makes perfect reconstruction practically impossible.
Increasing the digital resolution (i.e., increasing the number of bits used in each sample) or
introducing sampling dither can reduce this error.

Figure A: Ideal Sampling using impulses B: Practical DAC using step functions

Practical operation
Instead of impulses, usually the sequence of numbers update the analogue voltage at
uniform sampling intervals.

These numbers are written to the DAC, typically with a clock signal that causes each
number to be latched in sequence, at which time the DAC output voltage changes rapidly
from the previous value to the value represented by the currently latched number. The effect
of this is that the output voltage is held in time at the current value until the next input number
is latched resulting in a piecewise constant or 'staircase' shaped output. This is equivalent to a

AAIT, DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, LABORATORY REPORT FOR LAB V, DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTERS 3
 zero-order hold operation and has an effect on the frequency response of the reconstructed
signal.

The fact that DACs output a sequence of piecewise constant values (known as zero-
order hold in sample data textbooks) or rectangular pulses causes multiple harmonics above
the Nyquist frequency. Usually, these are removed with a low pass filter acting as a
reconstruction filter in applications that require it.

Figure C: Block Diagram Representation of inputs and outputs of a8 bit DAC

1.7 PROCEDURE
1.1 Connect the circuit shown in figure 1 for a 4-bit DAC and measure the output voltage by
using a multimeter.

1.2 Connect the circuit Shown in figure D using a 7493 counter instead of the switch use a CRO
to display the output waveform.

1.3 Simulate the circuits shown in Figure C & D for a 4 bit DAC using Multisim or Proteus
Softwares.

Figure D: DAC using an Adder OPAMP

AAIT, DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, LABORATORY REPORT FOR LAB V, DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTERS 4
 1.8 Results
When Manually Setting the Input Bit Values to either High Or low, The Following Output –
Input Relation Was Obtained.

Base10 8th Bit 4th Bit 2th Bit 1th Bit Output Voltage
0 0 0 0 0 -0
1 0 0 0 1 - 5.3
2 0 0 1 0 -11.3
3 0 0 1 1 -16.2
4 0 1 0 0 -19.8
5 0 1 0 1 -24.5
6 0 1 1 0 -30.5
7 0 1 1 1 -35.4
8 1 0 0 0 - 40.1
9 1 0 0 1 - 44.9
10 1 0 1 0 - 50.5
11 1 0 1 1 - 55.2
12 1 1 0 0 - 58.6
13 1 1 0 1 - 63.2
14 1 1 1 0 - 68.8
15 1 1 1 1 - 73.3

When Using a counter to generate different Bit Values instead of Manually Setting the Input
Bit Values to either High Or low, The Following Output – Input Relation Was Obtained at the
CRO.

Figure D: Cathode Ray Oscilloscope view of DAC with Counter Bit Inputs

AAIT, DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, LABORATORY REPORT FOR LAB V, DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTERS 5
 1.9 Conclusion
Observations made about Digital to analog Converters

 On this lab we tried to see how Digital to analog Converters manipulate many bit inputs and
compile them through an adder circuit (which adds the currents through the Resistors and
outputs the corresponding voltage).

 Using a counter to generate different Bit Values makes taking data much easier since it
automatically switches through the different possible bit values, instead we donot have to
Manually Set the Input Bit Values to either High Or low by pulling and plugging Jumpers
every time.

Observations made about errors created by Integrated circuitry

 ICs like all electronic devices are perceptible to production of errors:

 Intolerance to Temperature.

 Damage caused by humidity.

 Greater Resistance due to very small wires.

End of Document
AAIT, DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, LABORATORY REPORT FOR LAB V, DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTERS 6