July 1, 2008 -- ChipX Corp. today announced the addition of a family of 10-bit, 210MSPS current steering digital-to-analog converters (DACs) to its line-up of analog and mixed-signal IP.

Designed for high-speed applications, the single-, dual-, triple- and multi-channel ChipX DACs are ideal for system-chip designs used in component (RGB) or composite video encoding, WiMAX or 802.11 front-ends, and a variety of medical and industrial products. Fully characterized in high-volume process technologies of ChipX foundry partners, the DACs can be combined with other proven ChipX communications, memory and microcontroller IP for system-on-chip (SOCs) designs.

Technical details

Conversion speeds from DC to 210MSPS are achievable in 130nm depending on configuration. Multi-channel (two or more) solutions can share resources, such as the built-in reference source, to optimize space and power requirements, or have individual references for design flexibility. The DACs are capable of driving up to 34.5mA per channel into 75-Ohm differential terminations, for 1.2-V level signals compatible with most video standards. Subjective image tests show a significant improvement when comparing a standard test image displayed by the ChipX DAC to a standard PC graphics card, in the same resolution.

In addition to a small die area the DACs support a variety of power limiting technologies to achieve typical active power consumption of 120mW per channel at maximum frequency, 10mW in standby mode and 4µW in power-down mode. Applications requiring less than the maximum drive strength can conserve significant power by changing a single reference resistor.