ADC

An analog-to-digital converter (abbreviated ADC, A/D or A to D) is a device that converts a continuous physical quantity (usually voltage) to a digital number that represents the quantity's amplitude. The result is a sequence of digital values that have converted a continuous-time and continuousamplitude analog signal to a discrete-time and discrete-amplitude digital signal.

Acquisition Time The time required for the sampling mechanism to capture the voltage after the sample command is given for the hold capacitor to charge. Conversion Time The time required for the A/D converter to complete a single conversion once the signal has been sampled. Throughput Rate or Samples Per Second (SPS) The time required for the converter to sample, acquire, digitize, prepare, and output a conversion.

DAC
In electronics, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC or D-to-A) is a device that converts a digital (usually binary) code to an analog signal (current, voltage, or electric charge). An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) performs the reverse operation. Signals are easily stored and transmitted in digital form. Resolution The number of possible output levels the DAC is designed to reproduce. This is usually stated as the number of bits it uses, which is the base two logarithm of the number of levels. For instance a 1 bit DAC is designed to reproduce 2 (21) levels while an 8 bit DAC is designed for 256 (28) levels. Resolution is related to the effective number of bits which is a measurement of the actual resolution attained by the DAC. Resolution determines color depth in video applications and audio bit depth in audio applications. Maximum sampling rate It's a measurement of the maximum speed at which the DACs circuitry can operate and still produce the correct output. As stated in the NyquistShannon sampling theorem defines a relationship between the sampling frequency and bandwidth of the sampled signal.