ENOB: The Best Digitizer Perfomance Metric

Transfer function of an idealized amplifier. Small signal (green) and large signal (red) regions are indicated.

by Andrew Dawson, Ph.D.

While the nominal vertical resolution of a high-speed waveform digitizer (specified in bits) is often promoted, its true performance is provided by its measured Dynamic Parameters and in particular by its Effective Number of Bits (ENOB). This article describes measurement of the Dynamic Parameters and presents measurements for a leading-edge GaGe 12-bit Digitizer.

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