An overview of different signal sources for histogram based testing of ADCs

In this paper starting from the standard histogram test an overview of alternative methods for histogram based testing of ADCs is drawn. The international and category level standards concerning ADC are first reviewed, then the different approaches to the histogram test using alternative stimulus signals are described. The main aim of researchers is to find stimuli that, compared to the sine waves, are easier to generate within a specified accuracy and require shorter test sessions to fully characterize the ADCs. The research activity is described by classifying the existing histogram test approaches in terms of the stimulus signals, divided in standard, non standard deterministic, and non standard stochastic ones. A particular attention is devoted to stochastic stimulus signals. The use of a stochastic stimulus instead of a deterministic one, in fact, presents some advantages recalled in the paper. The performances of the non standard approaches as reported in literature are compared with the standard ones and the advantages and drawbacks for each stimulus signal are discussed in detail.