The MAX2870 ultra-wideband phase-locked loop (PLL) and voltagecontrol oscillator (VCO) can operate in both integer-N and Fractional-Nmodes, similar to the Analog Devices ADF4350 wideband synthesizer.This application note compares the MAX2870 and ADF4350 registers andloop filter design in detail. Users who already familiar with ADF4350 canuse this application note as a quick design reference.
Differential Nonlinearity: Ideally, any two adjacent digitalcodes correspond to output analog voltages that are exactlyone LSB apart. Differential non-linearity is a measure of theworst case deviation from the ideal 1 LSB step. For example,a DAC with a 1.5 LSB output change for a 1 LSB digital codechange exhibits 1⁄2 LSB differential non-linearity. Differentialnon-linearity may be expressed in fractional bits or as a percentageof full scale. A differential non-linearity greater than1 LSB will lead to a non-monotonic transfer function in aDAC.Gain Error (Full Scale Error): The difference between theoutput voltage (or current) with full scale input code and theideal voltage (or current) that should exist with a full scale inputcode.Gain Temperature Coefficient (Full Scale TemperatureCoefficient): Change in gain error divided by change in temperature.Usually expressed in parts per million per degreeCelsius (ppm/°C).Integral Nonlinearity (Linearity Error): Worst case deviationfrom the line between the endpoints (zero and full scale).Can be expressed as a percentage of full scale or in fractionof an LSB.LSB (Lease-Significant Bit): In a binary coded system thisis the bit that carries the smallest value or weight. Its value isthe full scale voltage (or current) divided by 2n, where n is theresolution of the converter.Monotonicity: A monotonic function has a slope whose signdoes not change. A monotonic DAC has an output thatchanges in the same direction (or remains constant) for eachincrease in the input code. the converse is true for decreasing codes.
