High-performance DACs reduce board space and lower system costs, while increasing accuracy

TI's new DAC family benefits industrial automation, process control and building automation equipment

Texas Instruments (TI) introduced a new family of digital-to-analog converters (DACs) that enables engineers to increase the accuracy and performance of programmable logic controller (PLC) I/O modules, field sensors and transmitters, and building automation systems, while decreasing overall system size and cost. The DAC8760 family is also the industry's first to provide simultaneous voltage and current outputs, giving system designers the flexibility to use either one or both outputs.

Key benefits of the DAC8760 family:

• Highest precision:
  Maximum total unadjusted error (TUE) of 0.1 percent, eliminating the need for calibration.
   
• Highest integration for reduced board space and bill of materials:
  Each device in the family includes voltage output, 4- to 20-mA output, precision reference and low-dropout regulator (LDO), along with on-chip reliability and diagnostics via a watchdog timer and cyclic redundancy check.
   
• Greater design flexibility:
  Designers can program the ranges for voltage and current outputs using the serial peripheral interface (SPI).
   
• Widest temperature range:
  Supports temperatures ranging from –40 to +125 °C, 32 percent wider than similar DACs.

Tools and support

TI offers a range of support tools for the DAC8760 family to speed time to market, including reference designs, simulation models and hardware evaluation modules.
The following TI Designs reference design circuits provide theory, simulation, calculation, design methodology and more:

• Combined Voltage and Current Output Terminal for Analog Outputs (AO) in Industrial Applications (TIPD119)
   
• Single-Channel Industrial Voltage and Current Output Driver, Isolated, EMC/EMI Tested (TIPD153)
   
• 16-Bit Analog Output Module Reference Design for Programmable Logic Controllers (TIDA-00118)

Evaluation modules (EVMs) are available for each device in the DAC8760 family, providing an easy way to evaluate device performance and operating characteristics. This includes an enhanced EVM, which features additional components to increase immunity from electrostatic discharge (ESD) and electromagnetic interference (EMI) events. An IBIS model to perform various board-level signal integrity simulations and timing analyses is also available.

Customer support for the DAC8760 family is available on the Precision Data Converters Forum in the TI E2E™ Community, where engineers can search for solutions, get help, share knowledge and solve problems with fellow engineers and TI experts.

The DAC8760EVM Evaluation Module.

Package, availability and pricing

The DAC8760 family is available today in the following options:

newscenter.ti.com