Datasheet

AD5590
Rev. A | Page 25 of 44
ADC Peak Harmonic or Spurious Noise
Peak harmonic or spurious noise is defined as the ratio of the
rms value of the next largest component in the ADC output
spectrum (up to f
S
/2 and excluding dc) to the rms value of the
fundamental. Normally, the value of this specification is deter-
mined by the largest harmonic in the spectrum, but for ADCs
where the harmonics are buried in the noise floor, it is a
noise peak.
ADC Intermodulation Distortion
With inputs consisting of sine waves at two frequencies, fa
and fb, any active device with nonlinearities creates distortion
products at sum and difference frequencies of mfa ± nfb, where
m, n = 0, 1, 2, 3, and so on. Intermodulation distortion terms
are those for which neither m nor n are equal to zero. For
example, the second-order terms include (fa + fb) and (fa − fb),
while the third-order terms include (2fa + fb), (2fa − fb), (fa +
2fb), and (fa − 2fb).
The ADC is tested using the CCIF standard where two input
frequencies near the top end of the input bandwidth are used.
In this case, the second-order terms are usually distanced in
frequency from the original sine waves whereas the third-order
terms are usually at a frequency close to the input frequencies.
As a result, the second- and third-order terms are specified
separately. The calculation of the intermodulation distortion
is as per the THD specification, where it is the ratio of the rms
sum of the individual distortion products to the rms amplitude
of the sum of the fundamentals expressed in decibels.