Digital to analog converter (DAC) having an adjustable dynamic range

• Main Authors: LEE JIINYUAN, WONG ISAAC H
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 08.10.2002
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: BASIC ELECTRONIC CIRCUITRY; CODE CONVERSION IN GENERAL; CODING; DECODING; ELECTRICITY

A digital to analog converter (DAC) has an adjustable dynamic range. Specifically, the adjustable DAC has a control port that receives a control signal indicative of the dynamic range, and the DAC produces an analog signal of the specified dynamic range in response to a corresponding digital signal. In one embodiment, the adjustable DAC includes a bitstream generator that repeatedly generates a bitstream and a low pass filter that receives and filters the repeated bitstream. The bitstream generator is adjustable, and can produce bitstreams of different lengths, depending on the control signal. Increasing the bitstream length results in a greater dynamic range of the analog signal, and vice versa. A user can use a preexisting filter to perform the low pass filtering, by simply selecting a value of the control signal. Alternatively, the user can set a value of the control signal (based on an application's dynamic range requirement), and design the low pass filter based on the selected value of the control signal.