(
Analog/
Digital converter) A device that converts continuously varying analog signals from instruments and sensors that monitor conditions, such as sound, movement and temperature into binary code for the computer. The A/D converter may be contained on a single chip or can be one circuit within a chip. See
codec and
sampling.
A/D Converters Are Everywhere
Every digital desk phone and cellphone has an A/D converter that turns electronic sound waves into digital PCM code. Every digital camera, camcorder and scanner uses A/D converters to transform the variable charges captured in CCD and CMOS chips into the binary pixel data that make up a digital image. See
modem,
DSP,
CCD sensor,
CMOS sensor,
PCM and
codec. Contrast with
D/A converter.
A/D Converter
Widely used in consumer electronics, as well as industrial machinery, the A/D converter can be a chip or a circuit within a chip.