What is ADC (Analog-to-Digital Converter)?

What is an ADC?

An ADC (Analog-to-Digital Converter) is an electronic component that converts continuous (analog) signals from the real world (temperature, pressure, sound, voltage) into discrete (digital) numbers (0s and 1s) that computers and processors can understand. A microprocessor can only "see" the outside world through an ADC.

How It Works

The ADC samples the analog signal at specific intervals and assigns a numerical value to each sample (quantization). The quality of this process is determined by two main factors:

1. Resolution (Bit Depth): Indicates how many distinct levels the ADC can divide the signal into.
   • 12-bit ADC: Divides the signal into 4096 parts.
   • 24-bit ADC: Divides the signal into 16.7 million parts.
   • Amazeng Note: In industrial precision weighing and measurement, 24-bit is the standard. Low resolution causes small changes (e.g., a 10-gram change in a tank) to go unnoticed.
2. Sampling Rate: How many times the signal is read per second. Higher speeds increase the chance of capturing sudden changes.

Our ZMA Data Acquisition modules utilize ultra-low noise 24-bit Delta-Sigma ADC technology to achieve laboratory-quality measurements.