TIDUFC1 November   2025

 

  1.   1
  2.   Description
  3.   Resources
  4.   Features
  5.   Applications
  6.   6
  7. 1System Description
    1. 1.1 Key System Specifications
  8. 2System Overview
    1. 2.1 Block Diagram
    2. 2.2 Design Considerations
    3. 2.3 Highlighted Products
      1. 2.3.1 ADS127L21B
      2. 2.3.2 REF81
      3. 2.3.3 REF54
      4. 2.3.4 RES21A
      5. 2.3.5 THP210
      6. 2.3.6 OPA828
  9. 3System Design Theory
    1. 3.1 Range Selection
    2. 3.2 Linearity and Low-Noise Signal Chain
    3. 3.3 Calibration
    4. 3.4 Additional System Design Considerations
  10. 4Hardware, Software, Testing Requirements, and Test Results
    1. 4.1 Hardware Description
      1. 4.1.1 PCB Interface
      2. 4.1.2 Input Multiplexer
      3. 4.1.3 Gain Multiplexer
      4. 4.1.4 Power Supplies
      5. 4.1.5 Clock Tree
    2. 4.2 Software Requirements
    3. 4.3 Test Setup
    4. 4.4 Test Results
      1. 4.4.1 Integral Nonlinearity Measurements
      2. 4.4.2 Noise Simulation
      3. 4.4.3 Noise Measurements
      4. 4.4.4 Conclusion
  11. 5Design and Documentation Support
    1. 5.1 Design Files
      1. 5.1.1 Schematics
      2. 5.1.2 BOM
    2. 5.2 Tools
    3. 5.3 Documentation Support
    4. 5.4 Support Resources
    5. 5.5 Trademarks
  12. 6About the Author

1 System Description

This reference design is a linear, low-noise signal chain for systems that perform precision voltage measurements, including digital multimeters (DMMs), data acquisition (DAQ), source measurement units (SMUs), and other precision test and measurement applications. This document focuses on DMM applications.

DMMs need high linearity and low noise to accurately measure signals. Multiple input ranges are required to match signal levels with consistent resolution. Calibration corrects initial gain and offset errors.

This design features a precision resistor network, RES21A, and a high-performance data converter, ADS127L21B, to achieve effective linearity and noise performance. OPA828 and TMUX6104 create a programmable gain input amplifier, which allows for multiple input ranges. This design also has an onboard calibration source, REF81, to calibrate out gain and offset errors from the entire signal chain.