digitizer
Digitizers are input devices for computers with which the user can digitize analogsignals or templates. Such digitizers can be used as AD converters for computer-aided measurement technology, data and measurement value acquisition, and for the conversion of image templates.
They are available as digitizer boards for racks or computers, but also as modules or stand-alone peripherals such as scanners, digital cameras, video cameras and camcorders. Digitizer technology is characterized by an enormous variety of performance. For example, multi- channel digitizer boards achieve sampling rates of 10 GSample/s( GS/s) at a sampling depth of 18 bits and more. Such digitizers are used in sensor technology, high-speed data acquisition and logging.
Digitizers can be designed for and controlled via system bus es and fieldbuses. They can also be connected wirelessly via WLAN or Bluetooth. Digitizers designed for instrumentation work with PCIExtension for Instrumentation( PXI).
Important characteristic values of digitizers concern the sampling rate, bandwidth and resolution. Other values include the signal-to- noise ratio( SNR), the spurious-free dynamic range( SFDR), the total harmonic distortion( THD), the signal-to-noise and distortion( SINAD) and the effective number of bits( ENOB).