Texas Instruments (TI) Incorporated announced a 12-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC) from the company's Burr-Brown product line featuring an I²C serial interface and an unmatched combination of high resolution, small packaging (MSOP-8), and low power consumption (350uA in high-speed mode).

The high-performance ADS7823 is specifically designed for voltage supply monitoring, remote data acquisition, supervisory circuitry, and transducer interface applications found in personal computers, network servers, and industrial process control.

Customers that use the I²C protocol will now have the ability to upgrade the precision and performance of their system to 12 bits with the miniature ADS7823,'' said Wayne Talley, product marketing engineer for TI's Data Acquisition products.

The industry-standard I²C control bus simplifies circuit design and maximizes hardware efficiency in modern electronic systems where a number of peripheral ICs communicate with each other and the outside world on a single serial port. The ADS7823 supports all three I²C serial bus and data transmission protocols: standard (up to 100kbps), fast (up to 400kbps), and high-speed (up to 3.4Mbps).

The ADS7823 offers a sample-and-hold amplifier and an internal asynchronous clock. Key features include 50kHz sampling rate, guaranteed no missing codes to 12 bits, 2.7V to 5V operation, and an internal four-word FILO. An eight-channel version, the ADS7828, will be available in 3Q01.

Texas Instruments Incorporated, 12500 TI Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75243-4136. Phone: 800-336-5236

The combination of an I²C serial two-wire interface and micropower consumption makes the ADS7823 ideal for applications that require the A/D converter to be close to the input source and for applications requiring isolation. The I²C is a simple two-wire serial bus (created by Philips Semiconductors) that uses one wire for the serial data address line and the other for the serial clock line. This is a good move by TI for the ADS7823 because it costs significantly less than the RS-232 bus.

One of its main functions will be for power supply monitoring and compatible power supplies contain an I²C bus chip. The chips sends information about a power supply's status and operating parameters to a central location to monitor the power supply or take any corrective action. It also supports the I²C in standard, fast, and high-speed modes. The converter, however, must be controlled by a master device, since it operates as a slave on the bus. The master device must generate the serial clock, control the bus access, and generate the start and stop conditions.

The ADS7823 is a successive approximation register converter based on 0.6 micron CMOS process technology and is controlled by an internally generated clock. When its not performing any functions its not using any power.

The ADS7823 is available now in an MSOP-8 package. Suggested resale pricing starts at $2.98 in 1,000 piece quantities.

Data sheet:
www-s.ti.com/sc/psheets/
sbas180/sbas180.pdf