COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado -- February 4, 2002 -- Signal Processing Technologies, Inc. announces the SPT7722, the best performing 8-bit 250 MSPS analog-to-digital converter (ADC) on the market today. With the SPT7722, SPT adds another new part to its 8-bit 200-250 MSPS family of ADCs. The SPT7722 delivers both improved linearity and dynamic performance at the same speed and resolution as its predecessor, the SPT7721. An additional member of this family is the SPT7720, an 8-bit 200 MSPS ADC.

"The SPT7722 is an excellent choice in applications requiring a high sample rate and superior performance," says Olav Lindquist, SPT's marketing manager. A DLE of ý0.4 LSB and ILE of ý0.9 LSB (typ), combined with a high input bandwidth of 350 MHz, make the part ideal for applications that require digitization of pre-sampled waveforms and very accurate presentation of these waveforms (for example, digital instrumentation such as oscilloscopes). Another important requirement of these applications is the capability to shut down the converter when not in use to save on overall system power. The SPT7722 has a built-in sleep mode feature with typical power dissipation of only 13.5 mW.

The SPT7722's low power dissipation of 450 mW and its low price (both 30% less than the nearest competitor) make this device particularly well-suited for cost- and power-sensitive communications applications such as wireless local loops and wireless network applications.

Another key application is RGB video displays, where the SPT7722's high sample rate allows designers to create flat panel displays with higher resolution than ever before. Portable solid-state projectors can also benefit from the high sample rate with a higher-resolution projection element.

Signal Processing Technologies, Inc., Marketing Communications Department, 4755 Forge Road, Colorado Springs, CO 80907. Tel: 719-528-230; 800-643-3SPT (3778), http://www.spt.com.

All of SPT's high-speed converters, which range from 100 MSPS to 300MSPS, use a folding architecture in a Bi-CMOS process technology. It may seem curious that SPT is using Bi-CMOS when many of the leading makers of high-end ADCs are moving away from it in favor of all-CMOS to boost the performance. Bi-CMOS, which combines bipolar and CMOS elements, uses a bipolar process as a way of achieving higher accuracy, resolution, and speed. But bipolar manufacturing is more expensive. For example, the CMOS process requires 12 process steps, while BiCMOS requires 20 steps. For those reasons, many think that bipolar is at the end of the road when compared to CMOS performance levels. But, on the horizon processes like SiGe will provide even faster speeds, with the low power consumption of CMOS.

SPT says the main markets for the 7722 and the company's other high-speed converters are instrumentation, video imaging, and wireless infrastructure. Designers for these markets are looking for more speed, more resolution and less power consumption. And that's where SPT is betting the 7722 and the earlier version, the 7721, will make the biggest impact on the market. The 8-bit, 250-MSPS SPT7721 and 7722 combine fast sampling with low power dissipation of 310 mW and 450 mW, respectively.

The company uses a patented architecture that enables them to get down to 450 mW power dissipation even though they use BiCMOS. The standard CMOS process would allow them to get the power dissipation even lower but CMOS pipeline technology is speed limited to 115 MSPS.

The SPT7722 is designed for digital markets like digital sampling scopes. Scopes require good linearity to provide the smooth lines on the output desired by scope users. The linearity of the 7722 is one reason why scope vendors will like it because it provides a smooth curve on the output. Many oscilloscope manufacturers also provide units that are portable, so they need good power dissipation. Just for these manufacturers SPT provides a power down mode. In some of these applications scope manufacturers would like to shut down the analog front end while the digital processor does the math. The shutdown gives an overall power reduction, a nice feature for portable applications.

The SPT7722 is available in a 44-lead TQFP surface mount package over the industrial temperature range of -40 to +85 degrees C. Samples and production quantities are now available. The product sells for $24.20 each in quantities of 1,000.