ANALOG SIGNALS AND DIGITAL SIGNALS

Discriptions

An analog signal is any continuous signal for which the time varying feature (variable) of
the signal is a representation of some other time varying quantity, i.e., analogous to another time
varying signal. It differs from a digital signal in terms of small fluctuations in the signal which
are meaningful.
A digital signal uses discrete (discontinuous) values. By contrast, non-digital (or analog)
systems use a continuous range of values to represent information. Although digital
representations are discrete, the information represented can be either discrete, such as numbers or
letters, or continuous, such as sounds, images, and other measurements of continuous systems.
Analog and digital signals are used to transmit information, usually through electric
signals. In both these technologies, the information, such as any audio or video, is transformed
into electric signals.
The difference between analog and digital technologies is that in analog technology,
information is translated into electric pulses of varying amplitude. In digital technology,
translation of information is into binary format (zero or one) where each bit is representative of
two distinct amplitudes.

ANALOG VS DIGITAL SIGNAL

ANALOG

DIGITAL

Signal Analog signal is a continuous signal which represents

physical measurements.

Digital signals are discrete time signals

generated by digital modulation.

Waves Denoted by sine waves

Denoted by square waves

Representation Uses continuous range of values to

represent information
Example Human voice in air, analog electronic devices.
Technology Analog technology records waveforms as they are.
Cost Low cost and portable
Errors Analog instruments usually have a scale which is
cramped at lower end and give considerable
observational errors.
Flexibility Analog hardware is not flexible.
Uses Can be used in analog devices only. Best suited for
audio and video transmission.
Applications Thermometer
Power Analog instrument draws large power
Memory Stored in the form of wave signal

Uses discrete or discontinuous values to

represent information
Computers, CDs, DVDs, and other digital
electronic devices.
Samples analog waveforms into a limited
set of numbers and records them.
Cost is high and not easily portable
Digital instruments are free from
observational errors like parallax and
approximation errors.
Digital hardware is flexible in applications.
Best suited for Computing and digital
electronics.
PCs, PDAs
Digital instrument draws only negligible
power
Stored in the form of binary bit

ADC and DAC

In modern life, electronic equipment is frequently used in different fields such as
communication, transportation, entertainment, etc. Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) and Digital
to Analog Converter (DAC) are very important components in electronic equipment. Since most
real world signals are analog, these two converting interfaces are necessary to allow digital
electronic equipments to process the analog signals. Take the audio signal processing as an
example, ADC converts the analog signal collected by audio input equipment, such as a
microphone, into a digital signal that can be processed by computer. The computer may add sound
effect such as echo and adjust the tempo and pitch of the music. DAC converts the processed
digital signal back into the analog signal that is used by audio output equipment such as a speaker.
Why we need ADC ?

Microprocessors can only perform complex processing on digitized signals.

When signals are in digital form they are less susceptible to the deleterious effects of
additive noise.
ADC provides a link between the analog world of transducers and the digital world of
signal processing and data handling.

There are so many types of ADC , basically :

o
o
o
o
o
o

Digital-Ramp ADC
Successive Approximation ADC
Flash ADC
The Wilkinson ADC
A delta-encoded ADC
Time-interleaved ADC

The most common types of electronic DACs are:

o The pulse-width modulator
o The binary-weighted DAC
o The R-2R ladder