austriamicrosystems unveils 12-bit, 8-channel, low power A/D converter featuring an IІC compatible interface

austriamicrosystems (SWX: AMS), a leading global designer and manufacturer of analog ICs for communications, industrial, medical and automotive applications, has introduced the AS1538 ¨C an I²C interfaced ADC with power consumption in the µA range, expanding austriamicrosystems high-performance ADC portfolio. The AS1538 combines low-power operation, maximum possible conversion speed for I²C and fully-differential or single-ended analog input modes together with outstanding dynamic performance (THD -75dB) in a 16-pin TSSOP package. All this and its ease of use makes the AS1538 well-suited for 2.7 to 5.25V battery-powered and industrial applications using an I²C bus.

The AS1538 offers 12-bit resolution on each of the eight input channels. With a conversion speed of 50ksps while using less as 850µA supply current (including the internal reference), austriamicrosystems again demonstrates its continued leadership in low power consumption. In shutdown mode the supply current drops to less than 1.5µA. The internal 2.5V reference or an external reference in the 1V to 5.25V range determines the full-scale analog input range.

"The AS1538 has software-configurable analog inputs offering the choice of 4-channel fully differential or 8-channel single-ended mode and providing utmost flexibility for a broad range of applications. At the same time, the fully differential input mode enables especially precise measurements under noisy conditions commonly found in industrial environments," said Walter Moshammer, Marketing Director Standard Linear at austriamicrosystems.

The AS1538¡¯s I2C-compatible interface supports interface speeds up to 3.4MHz including industry-standard speeds of 100kHz and 400kHz. User-programmable I2C addresses allow up to 4 devices on one I2C bus.

The AS1538 is available in a 16-pin TSSOP package suitable for operating environments ranging from -40¡ãC to +85¡ãC. Product-specific information and free samples via austriamicrosystems¡¯ online shop ICDirect can be found at http://www.austriamicrosystems.com/AS1538/description_AS1538.htm