Analog-to-digital conversion. part 5

In part 4 of the series (Schmalzel and Rauth, 2005), the signal conditioning stage for a variety of transducer types and sensors was discussed. The output of this stage in the measurement chain is typically an analog signal that can drive an actuator or display or be converted into digital form. Since the advent of monolithic analog/digital converters (ADCs) in the 1970s, digital measurement systems have become the standard. Today, almost all signal processing takes place in the digital domain where signals can be flexibly manipulated in complex ways when compared to their analog counterparts. Before we can enter the Utopian realm of digital signal processing, analog signals need to be converted into digital form, which is the subject of this tutorial.