SEMICONDUCTOR

DEVICES
INTRODUCTION
 SEMICONDUCTORS AND
ELECTRONICS
Semiconductors are materials whose electrical
conductivities are higher than those of insulators but
lower that those of conductors.
Silicon, Germanium, Gallium, Arsenide, Indium,
Antimonide and cadmium sulphide are some
commonly used semiconductors.
Semiconductors have negative temperature
coefficients of resistance, i.e. as temperature
increases resistivity deceases.
 ENERGY BANDS IN
INSULATORS & CONDUCTORS
ENERGY BANDS IN
SEMICONDUCTORS
Forbidden band small for
semiconductors.
Less energy required for
electron to move from
valence to conduction band.
A vacancy (hole) remains
when an electron leaves the
valence band.
Hole acts as a positive charge
carrier.
INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR
Both silicon and germanium are tetravalent, i.e. each
has four electrons (valence electrons) in their
outermost shell.
Both elements crystallize with a diamond-like
structure, i.e. in such a way that each atom in the
crystal is inside a tetrahedron formed by the four
atoms which are closest to it.
Each atom shares its four valence electrons with its
four immediate neighbours, so that each atom is
involved in four covalent bonds.
 INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR
At zero Kelvin all of the four valence
electrons of each atom in the silicon crystal
form part of the covalent bond with the four
neighboring atoms.
The valence band is completely full and the
conduction band completely empty.
The semiconductor behaves as a
perfect insulator because there are
no conducting electrons present.
 INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR
At temperatures above zero Kelvin some of the
valence electrons are able to break free from their
bonds to become free conduction electrons.
The vacancy that is left behind is referred to as a
hole. This hole is treated as a positive carrier of
charge.
Conduction due solely to thermally
generated electron-hole pairs is
referred to as intrinsic conduction.
 EXTRINSIC CONDUCTION
A pure or intrinsic conductor has thermally generated holes
and electrons. However these are relatively few in number.
An enormous increase in the number of charge carriers can
by achieved by introducing impurities into the
semiconductor in a controlled manner. The result is the
formation of an extrinsic semiconductor. This process is
referred to as doping. There are basically two types of
impurities: donor impurities and acceptor impurities. Donor
impurities are made up of atoms (arsenic for example)
which have five valence electrons. Acceptor impurities are
made up of atoms (gallium for example) which have three
valence electrons.
 N-TYPE EXTRINSIC
SEMICONDUCTOR
Arsenic has 5 valence
electrons, however, only
4 of them form part of
covalent bonds. The 5th
electron is then free to
take part in conduction.

The electrons are said to

be the majority carriers
and the holes are said to
be the minority carriers.
 P-TYPE EXTRINSIC
SEMICONDUCTOR
Gallium has 3 valence
electrons, however,
there are 4 covalent
bonds to fill. The 4th
bond therefore remains
vacant producing a hole.

The holes are said to be

the majority carriers and
the electrons are said to
be the minority carriers.
 P-N JUNCTION DIODE
On its own a p-type or n-type semiconductor is not
very useful. However when combined very useful
devices can be made.

The p-n junction can be formed by allowing a p-type

material to diffuse into a n-type region at high
temperatures.

The p-n junction has led to many inventions like the

diode, transistors and integrated circuits.
 P-N JUNCTION DIODE

Free electrons on the n-side and free holes on the p-side can
initially diffuse across the junction. Uncovered charges are
left in the neighbourhood of the junction.

This region is depleted of mobile carriers and is called the

DEPLETION REGION (thickness 0.5 – 1.0 µm).
 P-N JUNCTION DIODE
The diffusion of electrons and holes stop due to the
barrier p.d (p.d across the junction) reaching some
critical value.
The barrier p.d (or the contact potential) depends
on the type of semiconductor, temperature and
doping densities.
At room temperature, typical values of barrier p.d.
are:
Ge ~ 0.2 – 0.4 V
Si ~ 0.6 – 0.8 V
 FORWARD BIAS P-N
JUNCTION
When an external voltage is applied to the P-N junction
making the P side positive with respect to the N side the
diode is said to be forward biased (F.B).

The barrier p.d. is decreased by the external applied

voltage. The depletion band narrows which urges majority
carriers to flow across the junction.

A F.B. diode has a very low resistance.

REVERSE BIAS P-N JUNCTION
When an external voltage is applied to the PN junction
making the P side negative with respect to the N side the
diode is said to be Reverse Biased (R.B.).

The barrier p.d. increases. The depletion band widens

preventing the movement of majority carriers across the
junction.

A R.B. diode has a very high resistance.

REVERSE BIAS P-N JUNCTION
Only thermally generated minority carriers are urged across
the p-n junction. Therefore the magnitude of the reverse
saturation current (or reverse leakage current) depends on the
temperature of the semiconductor.
When the PN junction is reversed biased the width of the
depletion layer increases, however if the reverse voltage gets
too large a phenomenon known as diode breakdown occurs.
I-V CHARACTERISTICS
 I-V CHARACTERISTICS
When the diode is F.B., the current increases
exponentially with voltage except for a small range
close to the origin.
When the diode is R.B., the reverse current is
constant and independent of the applied reverse bias.
Turn-on or cut-in (threshold) voltage Vγ: for a F.B.
diode it is the voltage when the current increases
appreciably from zero.
It is roughly equal to the barrier p.d.:
For Ge, V γ ~ 0.2 – 0.4 V (at room temp.)
For Si, Vγ ~ 0.6 – 0.8 V (at room temp.)
 DIODE DESTRUCTION
Diode breakdown occurs when either end of the depletion
region approaches its electrical contact, the applied voltage
has become high enough to generate an electrical arc straight
through the crystal. This will destroy the diode.

It is also possible to allow too much current to flow through

the diode in the forward direction. The crystal is not a perfect
conductor; it does exhibit some resistance. Heavy current
flow will generate some heat within that resistance. If the
resulting temperature gets too high, the semiconductor
crystal will actually melt, destroying its usefulness.
 Zener diode Theory
 The Zener diode is like a general-purpose signal diode.
When biased in the forward direction it behaves just like
a normal signal diode, but when a reverse voltage is
applied to it, the voltage remains constant for a wide
range of currents.
 Avalanche Breakdown: There is a limit for the reverse
voltage. Reverse voltage can increase until the diode
breakdown voltage reaches. This point is called
Avalanche Breakdown region. At this stage maximum
current will flow through the zener diode. This
breakdown point is referred as “Zener voltage”.
 The Zener Diode is used in its "reverse bias". From the I-
V Characteristics curve we can study that the zener diode
has a region in its reverse bias characteristics of almost a
constant negative voltage regardless of the value of the
current flowing through the diode and remains nearly
constant even with large changes in current as long as the
zener diodes current remains between the breakdown
current IZ(min) and the maximum current rating IZ(max).
 This ability to control itself can be used to great effect to
regulate or stabilise a voltage source against supply or
load variations. The fact that the voltage across the diode
in the breakdown region is almost constant turns out to be
an important application of the zener diode as a voltage
regulator
 Characteristics
 Figure 2 shows the current versus voltage
curve for a Zener diode. Observe the nearly
constant voltage in the breakdown region.
ZENER DIODE
 FET
Unipolar device i. e. operation depends on only one type of
charge carriers (h or e)
Voltage controlled Device (gate voltage controls drain current)
Very high input impedance (109-1012 )
Source and drain are interchangeable in most Low-frequency
applications
Low Voltage Low Current Operation is possible (Low-power
consumption)
Less Noisy as Compared to BJT
No minority carrier storage (Turn off is faster)
Self limiting device
Very small in size, occupies very small space in ICs
Low voltage low current operation is possible in MOSFETS
Zero temperature drift of out put is possible
 FET
 JFET

MOSFET (IGFET)
 OSCILLATOR
Oscillation: an effect that repeatedly and
regularly fluctuates about the mean value

Oscillator: circuit that produces oscillation

Characteristics: wave-shape, frequency,

amplitude, distortion, stability
 OSCILLATOR
Oscillators are used to generate signals, e.g.
 Used as a local oscillator to transform the RF
signals to IF signals in a receiver;
 Used to generate RF carrier in a transmitter

 Used to generate clocks in digital systems;

 Used as sweep circuits in TV sets and CRO

Regulated power supply
 Introduction to Feedback
 Feedback is used in virtually all amplifier system.
 Invented in 1928 by Harold Black – engineer in Western
Electric Company
 methods to stabilize the gain of amplifier for use
in telephone repeaters.
 In feedback system, a signal that is proportional to the
output is fed back to the input and combined with the
input signal to produce a desired system response.
 However, unintentional and undesired system response
may be produced.
 Feedback Amplifier
 Feedback is a technique where a proportion of
the output of a system (amplifier) is fed back and
recombined with input
input A output

b
 There are 2 types of feedback amplifier:
 Positive feedback
 Negative feedback
 Positive Feedback
 Positive feedback is the process when the output is
added to the input, amplified again, and this process
continues.

input A output
+

b
 Positive feedback is used in the design of oscillator
and other application.
 Positive Feedback - Example
 In a PA system

get feedback when you put the microphone in

front of a speaker and the sound gets
uncontrollably loud (you have probably heard
this unpleasant effect).
 Negative Feedback
 Negative feedback is when the output is
subtracted from the input.

input A output

b
 The use of negative feedback reduces the gain.
Part of the output signal is taken back to the input
with a negative sign.
 Negative Feedback - Example
 Speed control

If the car starts to speed up above the desired

set-point speed, negative feedback causes the
throttle to close, thereby reducing speed;
similarly, if the car slows, negative feedback
acts to open the throttle
 Feedback Amplifier - Concept

Basic structure of a single - loop feedback amplifier

 Advantages of Negative
Feedback
1. Gain Sensitivity – variations in gain is reduced.
2. Bandwidth Extension – larger than that of basic
amplified.
3. Noise Sensitivity – may increase S-N ratio.
4. Reduction of Nonlinear Distortion
5. Control of Impedance Levels – input and output
impedances can be increased or decreased.
Disadvantages of Negative Feedback

1. Circuit Gain – overall amplifier gain is

reduced compared to that of basic amplifier.
2. Stability – possibility that feedback circuit
will become unstable and oscillate at high
frequencies.
 Basic Feedback Concept

Basic configuration of a feedback amplifier

 Introduction
 An oscillator is a circuit that produces a repetitive signal from
a dc voltage.
 The feedback oscillator relies on a positive feedback of the
output to maintain the oscillations.
 The relaxation oscillator makes use of an RC timing circuit to
generate a nonsinusoidal signal such as square wave
Sine wave

Square wave

Sawtooth wave
 Types of oscillators
1. RC oscillators
 Wien Bridge
 Phase-Shift
2. LC oscillators
 Hartley
 Colpitts
 Crystal
3. Unijunction / relaxation oscillators
 An electromagnetic oscillator
Capacitor initially charged. Initially, current is zero, energy is all
stored in the capacitor.

A current gets going, energy gets split between the capacitor and
the inductor.

Capacitor discharges completely, yet current keeps going. Energy is all

in the inductor.

The magnetic field on the coil starts to collapse, which will start to
recharge the capacitor.

Finally, we reach the same state we started with (with

opposite polarity) and the cycle restarts.
 Basic principles for oscillation
 An oscillator is an amplifier with positive
feedback. Ve Vo
V
s A
+
Vf
Ve  Vs  V f (1) b
V f  βVo (2)
Vo  AV e  AVs  V f   AVs  βVo  (3)
 Basic principles for oscillation
Vo  AV e
 AVs  V f   AVs  βVo 
Vo  AV s  A Vo
 1  A Vo  AV s
Vo A
Af  
Vs  1  Aβ 
 The closed loop gain is:
 Basic principles for oscillation
 In general A and  are functions of frequency
and thus may be written as;
Vo A s 
Af  s   s 
Vs 1  A s  β  s 
A s  β  s 
is known as loop gain
 Basic principles for oscillation
 Writing T  s   A s  β  s  the loop gain
becomes;
A s 
Af  s 
1  T  s
 Replacing s with j
A jω
A f  jω 
1  T  jω
 and
T  jω  A jω β  jω
 Basic principles for oscillation
 At a specific frequency f0
T  jω0   A jω0  β  jω0   1

 At this frequency, the closed loop gain;

A jω0 
A f  jω0  
1  A jω0  β  jω0 
will be infinite, i.e. the circuit will have finite
output for zero input signal - oscillation
 Basic principles for oscillation
 Thus, the condition for sinusoidal oscillation
of frequency f0 is;
A jω0  β  jω0   1

 This is known as Barkhausen criterion.

 The frequency of oscillation is solely
determined by the phase characteristic of the
feedback loop – the loop oscillates at the
frequency for which the phase is zero.
 Basic principles for oscillation
 The feedback oscillator is widely used for
generation of sine wave signals.
 The positive (in phase) feedback arrangement
maintains the oscillations.
 The feedback gain must be kept to unity to
keep the output from distorting.
Basic principles for oscillation
In phase

Vf Vo
Av

Noninverting
amplifier

Feedback
circuit
 Design Criteria for Oscillators
1. The magnitude of the loop gain must be unity
or slightly larger
Aβ  1 – Barkhaussen criterion

2. Total phase shift, of the loop gain must be

Nx360° where N=0, 1, 2, …
CLASSIFICATIONS OF
OSCILLATORS:
 Application of Oscillators
 Oscillators are used to generate signals, e.g.
 Used as a local oscillator to transform the RF
signals to IF signals in a receiver;
 Used to generate RF carrier in a transmitter

 Used to generate clocks in digital systems;

 Used as sweep circuits in TV sets and CRO.

 Phase-Shift Oscillator
• The phase shift oscillator
utilizes three RC circuits to
provide 180º phase shift
that when coupled with the
180º of the op-amp itself
provides the necessary
feedback to sustain
oscillations.
• The gain must be at least
29 to maintain the
oscillations.
• The frequency of
resonance for the this type
is similar to any RC circuit
oscillator:
1
fr 
2 6 RC
Wein bridge
Crystal oscillator
Converters

ADC
DAC
 Sampling

Most input signals to an electronic system start out as analog signals. For
processing, the signal is normally converted to a digital signal by sampling the
input.

Before sampling, the analog

input must be filtered with a Analog
input Sampling
low-pass anti-aliasing filter. signal circuit

The filter eliminates Sampling

pulses
frequencies that exceed a
certain limit that is determined
by the sampling rate.
Sampled
version of
input signal

Floyd, Digital Fundamentals, 10th ed © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved
 Anti-aliasing Filter

To understand the need for an anti-aliasing filter, you need to understand the
sampling theorem which essentially states:

In order to recover a signal, the sampling rate must be greater than twice
the highest frequency in the signal.

Stated as an equation, fsample > 2fa(max)

where fsample = sampling frequency
fa(max) = highest harmonic in the analog signal

If the signal is sampled less than this, the recovery process will
produce frequencies that are entirely different than in the original
signal. These “masquerading” signals are called aliases.

Floyd, Digital Fundamentals, 10th ed © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved
 Anti-aliasing Filter

The anti-aliasing filter is a low-pass filter that limits high frequencies in the
input signal to only those that meet the requirements of the sampling theorem.

Filtered
Unfiltered
analog analog Sampling frequency
frequency
frequency
spectrum
spectrum spectrum

f
fc fsample
Overlap causes
aliasing error
The filter’s cutoff frequency, fc, should be less than ½ fsample.

Floyd, Digital Fundamentals, 10th ed © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved
 Analog-to-Digital Conversion

To process naturally occurring analog quantities with a digital system, the analog
signal is converted to digital form after the anti-aliasing filter.

The first step in converting a signal to digital form is to use a sample-

and-hold circuit. This circuit samples the input signal at a rate
determined by a clock signal and holds the level on a capacitor until
the next clock pulse.
10 V
A positive half-wave from 0-10 V
is shown in blue. The sample-and-
hold circuit produces the staircase
representation shown in red.
0V

Floyd, Digital Fundamentals, 10th ed © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved
 Analog-to-Digital Conversion

The second step is to quantize these staircase levels to binary coded

form using an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The digital values
can then be processed by a digital signal processor or computer.
0.0000
What is the maximum unsigned binary value 10.0001
for the waveform? 100.0001
101.1110
111.0111
10 V = 10102 V. The table lists the quantized 1000.1011
1001.1001
binary values for all of the steps. Peak = 10 V 1010.0000
1010.0000
10 V 1001.1001
1000.1011
111.0111
101.1110
100.0001
10.0001
0V 0.0000

Floyd, Digital Fundamentals, 10th ed © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved
 Anti-aliasing Filter

Most signals have higher frequency harmonic and noise. For most ADCs, the
sampling and filter cutoff frequencies are selected to be able to reconstruct the
desired signal without including unnecessary harmonics and noise.

An example of a reasonable sampling rate is in a digital audio CD. For

audio CDs, sampling is done at 44.1 kHz because audio frequencies
above 20 kHz are not detectable by the ear.

What cutoff frequency should an

anti-aliasing filter have for a
digital audio CD?
Less than 22.05 kHz.

Floyd, Digital Fundamentals, 10th ed © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved
 Sample-and-Hold and ADC

Following the anti-aliasing filter, is the sample-and-hold circuit and the

analog-to-digital converter. At this point, the original analog signal has been
converted to a digital signal.

Samples held for

one clock pulse

0100 0101 1100 1010

ADC

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Many ICs can perform both functions on a single chip and
include two or more channels. For audio applications, the
AD1871 is an example of a stereo audio ADC.

Floyd, Digital Fundamentals, 10th ed © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved
 Analog-to-Digital Conversion Methods
+VREF
Op-amp
R comparators

Input from +
sample-
–
and-hold
R + Priority
– encoder

The flash ADC: R +

7
6
–
5
The flash ADC uses a series high- R
+ 4
1
2
D0 Parallel
D 1 binary
3
speed comparators that compare the
– output
4 D2
2
R + 1
input with reference voltages. Flash – 0 EN

ADCs are fast but require 2n – 1 R

+
–

comparators to convert an analog R

+
Enable

input to an n-bit binary number.

– pulses

How many comparators are needed by a 10-bit flash ADC?

1023

Floyd, Digital Fundamentals, 10th ed © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved
 Analog-to-Digital Conversion Methods

The dual-slope ADC:

1. The dual-slope ADC integrates the input voltage for a fixed time
while the counter counts to n.
2. Control logic switches to the VREF input.
2. A fixed-slope ramp starts from –V as the counter counts. When it
reaches 0 V, the counter output is latched.
V in I

+ – CLK
I C
SW
SW – -V
R ≈0 V A 1 – HIGH C
+ A 2 C o u n te r
+ R
– VR EF Fixedtime
Variable interval n
0 0 t = n counts
Variable Variable
voltage slope
Fixed-slope
–V –V
ramp
C o n tr o l L a tc h e s
lo g ic
EN

D 7 D 6 D 5 D 4 D 3 D 2 D 1 D 0

Floyd, Digital Fundamentals, 10th ed © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved
 Summary
Analog-to-Digital Conversion Methods

The successive approximation ADC:

1. Starting with the MSB, each bit in the successive approximation
register (SAR) is activated and tested by the digital-to-analog converter
(DAC). Vout
DAC
2. After each test, the DAC
produces an output voltage that
D0
represents the bit.
D1 Parallel
3. The comparator compares Comparator D2
binary
– output
this voltage with the input Input + D3
signal. If the input is larger, signal (MSB) (LSB)
the bit is retained; otherwise D
SAR Serial
binary
it is reset (0). C output
CLK
The method is fast and has a fixed conversion time for all inputs.
Floyd, Digital Fundamentals, 10th ed © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved
 Summary
Digital-to-Analog Conversion Methods

Binary-weighted-input DAC:
The binary-weighted-input DAC is a basic DAC in which the input current in
each resistor is proportional to the column weight in the binary numbering
system. It requires very accurate resistors and identical HIGH level voltages
for accuracy.

LSB 8R
D0 Rf
The MSB is represented by the + –
I0
4R If
largest current, so it has the D1
smallest resistor. To simplify 2R
I1 – Vout
analysis, assume all current D2 I=0
+ Analog
goes through Rf and none into R
I2
output
D3
the op-amp. MSB I3

Floyd, Digital Fundamentals, 10th ed © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved
 Summary
Digital-to-Analog Conversion Methods

A certain binary-weighted-input DAC has a binary input of

1101. If a HIGH = +3.0 V and a LOW = 0 V, what is Vout?
120 k
+3.0 V Rf

60 k 10 k
0V
–
30 k
+3.0 V Vout
+
15 k
+3.0 V

I out  ( I 0  I1  I 2  I3 )
 3.0 V 3.0 V 3.0 V 
  0 V    0.325 mA
 120 k  30 k 15 k 
Vout = Iout Rf = (−0.325 mA)(10 k) = −3.25 V

Floyd, Digital Fundamentals, 10th ed © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved
 Summary
Digital-to-Analog Conversion Methods

R-2R ladder:
The R-2R ladder requires only two values of resistors. By calculating
a Thevenin equivalent circuit for each input, you can show that the
output is proportional to the binary weight of inputs that are HIGH.
VS
Each input that is HIGH contributes to the output: Vout   n i
2
where VS = input HIGH level voltage
n = number of bits Inputs
i = bit number D0 D1 D2 D3
For accuracy, the resistors R1 R3 R5 R7 Rf = 2R
must be precise ratios, 2R 2R 2R 2R
R2 R4 R6 R8
which is easily done in –
integrated circuits. 2R R R R Vout
+

Floyd, Digital Fundamentals, 10th ed © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved
 Summary
Digital-to-Analog Conversion Methods

An R-2R ladder has a binary input of 1011. If a

HIGH = +5.0 V and a LOW = 0 V, what is Vout?
D0 D1 D2 D3
+5.0 V +5.0 V 0V +5.0 V

R1 R3 R5 R7 Rf = 50 k
50 k 50 k 50 k 50 k
R2 R4 R6 R8
–
50 k 25 k 25 k 25 k Vout
+

VS
Apply Vout   to all inputs that are HIGH, then sum the results.
2 n i
5V 5V
Vout ( D0 )   40  0.3125 V Vout ( D1 )   41  0.625 V
2 2
5V
Vout ( D3 )   43  2.5 V Applying superposition, Vout = −3.43 V
2
Floyd, Digital Fundamentals, 10th ed © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved
 Summary
Resolution and Accuracy of DACs

The R-2R ladder is relatively easy to manufacturer and is available in IC

packages. DACs based on the R-2R network are available in 8, 10, and 12-bit
versions. The resolution is an important specification, defined as the
reciprocal of the number of steps in the output.

What is the resolution of the BCN31 R-

2R ladder network, which has 8-bits?
28 – 1 = 255 1/255 = 0.39%
The accuracy is another important specification and is derived from a
comparison of the actual output to the expected output. For the
BCN31, the accuracy is specified as ±½ LSB = 0.2%.

Floyd, Digital Fundamentals, 10th ed © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved
 Summary
Reconstruction Filter

After converting a digital signal to analog, it is passed through a low-pass

“reconstruction filter” to smooth the stair steps in the output. The cutoff
frequency of the reconstruction filter is often set to the same limit as the anti-
aliasing filter, to block higher harmonics due to the digitizing process.

Reconstruction
Filter

Output of the DAC Final analog output

Floyd, Digital Fundamentals, 10th ed © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved
 Selected Key Terms
Nyquist frequency The highest signal frequency that can be sampled at a specified
sampling frequency; a frequency equal or less than half the
sampling frequency.
Quantization
The process whereby a binary code is assigned to each sampled
value during analog-to-digital conversion.
Analog-to-digital
converter (ADC)

DSP A circuit used to convert an analog signal to digital form.

Digital-to-analog Digital signal Processor; a special type of microprocessor that

converter (DAC) processes data in real time.

A circuit used to convert a digital signal to analog form.