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Dictionary definition: A/D converter
- Article from:
- A Dictionary of Computing
- Author:
Copyright© A Dictionary of Computing 2004, originally published by Oxford University Press 2004. (Hide copyright information)
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A/D converter (
ADC
) Short for analog-to-digital converter.
A device that can accept an analog, i.e. continuous, signal whose amplitude lies within a given range, and produce an equivalent digital signal, i.e. an
n
-bit parallel binary word that represents this analog signal. The analog signal is “examined” at discrete fixed intervals of time by means of a
sampling
process in order to produce the digital signal. Analog signals originating from devices such as analog sensors or tachogenerators may thus be converted into a form that can then be processed by, say, a ...