DAC8408

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REV. A

CIRCUIT INFORMATION

The DAC8408 combines four identical 8-bit CMOS DACs

onto a single monolithic chip. Each DAC has its own reference

input, feedback resistor, and on-board data latches. It also fea-

tures a read/write function that serves as an accessible memory

location for digital-input data words. The DAC’s three-state

readback drivers place the data word back onto the data bus.

D/A CONVERTER SECTION

Each DAC contains a highly stable, silicon-chromium, thin-film,

R-2R resistor ladder network and eight pairs of current steering

switches. These switches are in series with each ladder resistor

and are single-pole, double-throw NMOS transistors; the gates

of these transistors are controlled by CMOS inverters. Figure 1

shows a simplified circuit of the R-2R resistor ladder section,

and Figure 2 shows an approximate equivalent switch circuit.

gardless of the digital input logic states.

Each transistor switch has a finite “ON” resistance that can in-

troduce errors to the DAC’s specified performance. These resis-

tances must be accounted for by making the voltage drop across

each transistor equal to each other. This is done by binarily-

scaling the transistor’s “ON” resistance from the most signifi-

cant bit (MSB) to the least significant bit (LSB). With 10 volts

applied at the reference input, the current through the MSB

switch is 0.5 mA, the next bit is 0.25 mA, etc.; this maintains a

constant 10 mV drop across each switch and the converter’s ac-

curacy is maintained. It also results in a constant resistance ap-

pearing at the DAC’s reference input terminal; this allows the

DAC to be driven by a voltage or current source, ac or dc of

positive or negative polarity.

Shown in Figure 3 is an equivalent output circuit for DAC A.

The circuit is shown with all digital inputs high. The leakage

current source is the combination of surface and junction leak-

ages to the substrate. The 1/256 current source represents the

constant 1-bit current drain through the ladder terminating re-

sistor. The situation is reversed with all digital inputs low, as

shown in Figure 4. The output capacitance is code dependent,

and therefore, is modulated between the low and high values.

Figure 1. Simplified D/A Circuit of DAC8408

Figure 2. N-Channel Current Steering Switch

Figure 3. Equivalent DAC Circuit (AII Digital Inputs HIGH)