Agilent Technologies 93000 SOC Series Training Manual page 568

Appendix B
This appendix summarizes definitions of the typical characteristics
DACs and ADCs are tested for.
DAC Linearity Characteristics
DAC linearity is measured by applying a digital ramp signal which
covers the full code range.
DAC linearity measurements include:
• Differential Non-Linearity (DNL)
• Integral Non-Linearity (INL)
• Gain Error
• Offset Error
• Gain Mismatch
DAC Static Parameters (Linearity)
DAC Differential Non-Linearity
Differential non-linearity (DNL) measures the deviation of the
actual step size from the ideal step size of 1 LSB. The DNL is
expressed in fractions of 1 LSB.
The DNL of an ideal DAC is zero.
Definition of DAC DNL
As the DNL is measured from step to step, the number of values
returned by the DNL calculation is 2
of the DAC (the number of bits). A DAC DNL test checks the
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n
–1 where n is the resolution