Evaluation of analog to digital conversion error for wideband signals

One of the most significant types of error in Digital Signal Processing (DSP) systems working with wideband signals is the error introduced by the Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC). This paper investigates an accurate, simple and low cost method, which can be used for calibrating, testing and quick monitoring ADC. The proposed method analyzes the deviation of a value of the converted signal, which is similar to the ADC working signal, from its true value. The deviation represents the tested ADC error evaluated for both frequency and voltage ranges of ADC operations using statistical data processing. It gives the only necessary ADC accuracy characteristic to a user leaving the rest to the designer. Comparisons between the proposed ADC testing approach and the known techniques are provided. The errors incurred by the method are analyzed. A special source of random signal with controlled statistical parameters and its calibration technique are also described.