Analog-to-digital converter

An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) converts a continuously varying signal into a digital representation by sampling its values and assigning them discrete numbers.

Sampling (signal processing): Sampling measures a continuous signal at discrete moments to produce a sequence of values. An ADC begins by taking measurements of its input at discrete times.
Bit depth: The number of bits used to represent each digital sample. It determines how many distinct output codes an ADC can assign.
Flash ADC: An ADC architecture that compares an input simultaneously against many reference thresholds. It exemplifies very fast conversion at the cost of many comparators.
Digital audio: The representation, storage, and processing of sound as digital data. Audio interfaces use ADCs to turn microphone and instrument signals into samples.
Quantization (signal processing): Quantization maps a range of possible signal values to a finite set of levels. An ADC rounds each sampled amplitude to one of its available digital levels.
Sampling rate: The number of samples taken from a signal per unit of time. It sets how quickly an ADC records changes in its input.
Successive-approximation ADC: An ADC that determines its output code through a sequence of binary-search comparisons. It offers a widely used balance of speed, resolution, and power.
Image sensor: A device that converts incident light into electrical signals to form an image. Digital cameras use ADCs to encode pixel signals as image values.
Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem: A theorem stating conditions under which a band-limited signal can be reconstructed from uniform samples. It sets the minimum sampling rate needed to avoid losing recoverable signal frequencies.
Dynamic range: The ratio between the largest and smallest signal levels a system can represent or measure. It describes the span of input amplitudes an ADC can capture usefully.

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