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Information about Mixed Signal Integrated Circuit

A mixed-signal integrated circuit combines analog circuits with digital signal processing (DSP) circuits on a single semiconductor die. An integrated circuit that includes both analog and digital circuitry (but no DSP), like a 555 timer, is generally not considered a mixed-signal integrated circuit.

Typically, mixed-signal chips perform some whole function or sub-function in a larger assembly such as the radio subsystem of a cell phone, or the read data path and laser sled control logic of a DVD player. They often contain an entire system-on-a-chip.

Examples of mixed-signal integrated circuits include data converters using delta-sigma modulation, analog-to-digital converter/digital-to-analog converter especially using error detection and correction, digipot, and digital radio chips. Digitally controlled sound chips are also mixed-signal circuits. With the advent of cellular technology and network technology this category now includes cellular telephone, software radio, LAN and WAN router integrated circuits.

Because of the use of both digital signal processing and analog circuitry, mixed-signal ICs are usually designed for a very specific purpose and their design requires a high level of expertise and careful use of computer aided design (CAD) tools. Automated testing of the finished chips can also be challenging. Teradyne and Agilent are the major suppliers of the test equipment for mixed-signal chips.

The particular challenges of mixed signal include:
  • CMOS technology is usually optimal for digital performance and scaling while bipolar transistors are usually optimal for analog performance, yet until the last decade it has been difficult to either combine these cost-effectively or to design both analog and digital in a single technology without serious performance compromises. The advent of technologies like high performance CMOS, CMOS SOI and SiGe have removed many of the compromises that previously had to be made.
  • Testing functional operation of mixed-signal ICs remains complex, expensive and often a "one-off" implementation task
  • Systematic design methodologies comparable to digital design methods are far more primitve in the analog and mixed-signal arena. Analog circuit design can not generally be automated to nearly the extent that digital circuit design can. Combining the two technologies multiplies this complication.

Commercial examples

integrated circuit (also known as IC, microcircuit, microchip, silicon chip, or chip) is a miniaturized electronic circuit (consisting mainly of semiconductor devices, as well as passive components) that has been manufactured in the surface of a
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Analogue electronics (or analog in American English) are those electronic systems with a continuously variable signal. In contrast, in digital electronics signals usually take only two different levels.
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Digital signal processing ('DSP') is the study of signals in a digital representation and the processing methods of these signals. DSP and analog signal processing are subfields of signal processing.
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555 is an integrated circuit (chip) implementing a variety of timer and multivibrator applications. The IC was designed and invented by Hans R. Camenzind. It was designed in 1970 and introduced in 1971 by Signetics (later acquired by Philips).
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mobile phone or cell phone is a long-range, portable electronic device used for mobile communication. In addition to the standard voice function of a telephone, current mobile phones can support many additional services such as SMS for text messaging, email, packet switching
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Control logic is the part of a software architecture that controls what the program will do. This part of the program is also called the controller. Before the instruction reaches the control logic it is translated into binary through an instruction decoder or "decode unit".
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DVD

Media type: Optical disc
Capacity: 4.7 GB (single layer), 8.5 GB (dual layer)
Usage: Data storage, audio, video, games

Optical disc authoring
  • Optical disc
  • Optical disc image
  • Recorder hardware
  • Authoring software

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System-on-a-chip or system on chip (SoC or SOC) refers to integrating all components of a computer or other electronic system into a single integrated circuit (chip).
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The Delta-Sigma (ΔΣ) modulation is a kind of analog-to-digital or digital-to-analog conversion. An analog to digital converter (ADC) or DAC circuit which implements this technique can be easily realized using low-cost CMOS processes, such as the processes used to produce
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analog-to-digital converter (abbreviated ADC, A/D or A to D) is an electronic integrated circuit, which converts continuous signals to discrete digital numbers. The reverse operation is performed by a digital-to-analog converter (DAC).
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digital-to-analog converter (DAC or D-to-A) is a device for converting a digital (usually binary) code to an analog signal (current, voltage or electric charge).

An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) performs the reverse operation.
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In mathematics, computer science, telecommunication, and information theory, error detection and correction has great practical importance in maintaining data (information) integrity across noisy channels and less-than-reliable storage media.
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A digipot is a digital potentiometer. This device is often used for trimming and scaling analog signals by micro-controllers. A digipot is an electronic IC that is often controlled by digital signals like I²C and SPI. It is used as volume control for amplifiers.
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Digital radio describes radio technologies which carry information as a digital signal. The topic covers both broadcasting by radio and two-way communications. The acronym DAB has been used to identify the generic technology of digital audio broadcasting, although now it has become
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A sound chip is an integrated circuit (i.e. "chip") designed to produce sound (see chiptune). It might be doing this through digital, analog or mixed-mode electronics. Sound chips normally contain things like oscillators, envelope controllers, samplers, filters and amplifiers.
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mobile phone or cell phone is a long-range, portable electronic device used for mobile communication. In addition to the standard voice function of a telephone, current mobile phones can support many additional services such as SMS for text messaging, email, packet switching
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A software-defined radio (SDR) system is a radio communication system which can tune to any frequency band and receive any modulation across a large frequency spectrum by means of programmable hardware which is controlled by software.
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local area network (LAN) is a computer network covering a small geographic area, like a home, office, or group of buildings. The defining characteristics of LANs, in contrast to Wide Area Networks (WANs), include their much higher data transfer rates, smaller geographic range, and
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Wide Area Network (WAN) is a computer network that covers a broad area (i.e., any network whose communications links cross metropolitan, regional, or national boundaries [1]).
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router is a device that extracts the destination of a packet it receives, selects the best path to that destination, and forwards data packets to the next device along this path.[1] They connect networks together; a LAN to a WAN for example, to access the Internet.
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Computer-aided design (CAD) is use of a wide range of computerbased tools that assist engineers, architects and other design professions in their design activities. It is the main geometry authoring tool within the Product Lifecycle Management process and involves both
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Teradyne

Public (NYSE:  TER )
Founded 1960
Headquarters North Reading, Massachusetts

Industry Electronic Testing
Revenue US$1.6 billion (2006)
Website www.teradyne.
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This article needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article.
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Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) ("see-moss", IPA: /ˈsiːmɒs/), is a major class of integrated circuits.
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BJT redirects here. For the Japanese language proficiency test, see Business Japanese Proficiency Test.


A bipolar junction transistor (BJT) is a type of transistor.
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Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) ("see-moss", IPA: /ˈsiːmɒs/), is a major class of integrated circuits.
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Silicon on insulator technology (SOI) refers to the use of a layered silicon-insulator-silicon substrate in place of conventional silicon substrates in semiconductor manufacturing, especially microelectronics.
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SiGe (ˈsɪɡɪː), or silicon-germanium, is a general term for the alloy Si1-xGex which consists of any molar ratio of silicon and germanium.
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The Atari POKEY is a digital I/O chip found in the Atari 8-bit family of home computers and many arcade games in the 1980s. Its name comes from POtentiometer and KEY
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SID (Sound Interface Device) was the built-in Programmable Sound Generator chip of Commodore's CBM-II, Commodore 64, Commodore 128 and Commodore MAX Machine home computers.
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