What is DAC? Digital to analog converter (DAC) is used to get analog voltage corresponding to input digital data.

Data in Binary digital form can be converted to an analog form by using an R-2R ladder (binary weighted resistor) network and a summing amplifier. It is more common and practical. Here is the circuit and output simulated waveform of R-2R ladder network DAC. It uses an op amp (741) summing amplifier. Learn how to build a Digital to Analog converter using the simple technique explained in this page. Actually different types of Digital to Analog converter ICs are available commercially based on this same principle. The R-2R ladder network is build by a set of resistors of two values. It makes the circuit more simple and economical for different applications. What is DAC? Digital to analog converter (DAC) is used to get analog voltage corresponding to input digital data. Data in Binary digital form can be converted to an analog form by using an R-2R ladder (binary weighted resistor) network and a summing amplifier. It is more common and practical. Here is the circuit and output simulated waveform of R-2R ladder network DAC. It uses an op amp (741) summing amplifier. Learn how to build a Digital to Analog converter using the simple technique explained in this page. Actually different types of Digital to Analog converter ICs are available commercially based on this same principle. The R-2R ladder network is build by a set of resistors of two values. It makes the circuit more simple and economical for different applications.

Components Required
1. Resistors (1Kx4, 2Kx5) 2. 741 Op Amp 3. 7493 Counter IC

Working of R-2R ladder network DAC

R-2R weighted resistor ladder network uses only 2 set of resistors R and 2R. If you want to build a very precise DAC, be precise when choosing the values of the resistors that will exactly match the R-2R ratio. This is a 4 bit DAC, Consider the digital data D3D2D1D0= 0001 is applied to the DAC, and then the Thevenin equivalent circuit reduction is shown below. If we proceed in this manner (Thevenin equivalent reduction), we will get

In this circuit the 7493 IC is simply provide digital inputs to DAC it is a counter IC and not an integral part of DAC circuit. You can apply any combinations of binary inputs to D3D2D1D0

Output waveform

Components pin out

i-St@r Lab

The advantage of Digital to analog converters A digital to analog converter has drawbacks, but it has advantages of allowing signals to be controlled and processed to the best of speed and precision with the use of a micro processor. One can generate a perfect sine or triangular wave with a microprocessor and convert it into a real analog wave. One can process audio with a CPU or DSP and convert it back to audio. Once you have audio inside a processor the sky is the limit to what you can do with it and with custom firmware. Then the use is also obvious for precision digital instrumentation such as reading a load cell, thermo-couple or any sensor, converting it into an industry standard 4-20mA , 020mA or 0-5V or 0-10V output for PLCs or other instruments to interface with. Digital to analog converters may offer an economical and compact way to have precision signals. For a 24bit resolution, an 16.7million divisions of it's full scale deflection can be expected and perform thousands of conversions per second. The drawbacks are that they don't always produce perfectly smooth outputs, which may be subjected to some quantisation noise and the use of external filters may be required in some cases. Very nice technologies are available these days that allow SPI, I2C serial interfacing with high speed, high resolution and compact SMD chipsets at economical prices. The thing to note is that a digital to analog converter is rather useless without a micro processor to control and feed it with data and commonly they are build into DSP (digital signal processors) already.

Applications

Radio frequency, medical, telecommunications, magnetic, military, plasma devices use DC AC converter chips. They are also found in computers, instrumentation, and lasers.