
AD7730/AD7730L
–26–
REV. A
If the AD7730 is performing either an offset or gain calibration
and the NOREF bit becomes active, the updating of the respec-
tive calibration register is inhibited to avoid loading incorrect
coefficients to this register. If the user is concerned about verify-
ing that a valid reference is in place every time a calibration is
performed, then the status of the NOREF bit should be checked
at the end of the calibration cycle.
SIGMA-DE LT A MODULAT OR
A sigma-delta ADC generally consists of two main blocks, an
analog modulator and a digital filter. In the case of the AD7730,
the analog modulator consists of a difference amplifier, an inte-
grator block, a comparator and a feedback DAC as illustrated in
Figure 9. In operation, the analog signal sample is fed to the
difference amplifier along with the output of the feedback DAC.
T he difference between these two signals is integrated and fed to
the comparator. T he output of the comparator provides the
input to the feedback DAC so that the system functions as a
negative feedback loop that tries to minimize the difference
signal. T he digital data that represents the analog input voltage
is contained in the duty cycle of the pulse train appearing at the
output of the comparator. T his duty cycle data can be recovered
as a data word using the digital filter. T he sampling frequency of
the modulator loop is many times higher than the bandwidth of
the input signal. T he integrator in the modulator shapes the
quantization noise (which results from the analog-to-digital
conversion) so that the noise is pushed toward one half of the
modulator frequency. T he digital filter then bandlimits the re-
sponse to a frequency significantly lower than one half of the
modulator frequency. In this manner, the 1-bit output of the
comparator is translated into a bandlimited, low noise output
from the AD7730.
DAC
INTEGRATOR
ANALOG
INPUT
DIFFERENCE
AMP
COMPARATOR
DIGITAL
FILTER
DIGITAL DATA
Figure 9. Sigma-Delta Modulator Block Diagram
DIGIT AL FILT E RING
Filter Architecture
T he output of the modulator feeds directly into the digital filter.
T his digital filter consists of two portions, a first stage filter and
a second stage filter. T he first stage filter is a sinc
3
, low-pass
filter. T he cutoff frequency and output rate of this first stage
filter is programmable. T he second stage filter has three distinct
modes of operation. In its normal mode, it provides a low-pass
FIR filter that processes the output of the first stage filter. When
a step change is detected on the analog input, this second stage
filter enters a second mode where it performs a variable number
of averages for some time after the step change and then the
second stage filter switches back to the FIR filter. T he third
option for the second stage filter is that it is completely bypassed
so the only filtering provided on the AD7730 is the first stage.
T he various filter stages and options are discussed in the follow-
ing sections.
First Stage Filter
T he first stage filter is a low-pass, sinc
3
or (sinx/x)
3
filter whose
primary function is to remove the quantization noise introduced
at the modulator. T he cutoff frequency and output rate of this
filter is programmed via the SF0 to SF11 bits of the Filter Reg-
ister. T he frequency response for this first stage filter is shown in
Figure 10. T he response of this first stage filter is similar to that
of an averaging filter but with a sharper roll-off. T he output rate
for the filter corresponds with the positioning of the first notch
of the filter’s frequency response. T hus, for the plot of Figure 10,
where the output rate is 600 Hz (f
CLK IN
= 4.9152 MHz and
SF = 512), the first notch of the filter is at 600 Hz. T he notches
of this sinc
3
filter are repeated at multiples of the first notch. T he
filter provides attenuation of better than 100 dB at these notches.
Programming a different cutoff frequency via SF0 – SF11 does
not alter the profile of the filter response; it changes the fre-
quency of the notches as outlined in the Filter Registers section.
T his response is repeated at either side of the input sampling
frequency (307 kHz) and at either side of multiples of the input
sampling frequency.
FREQUENCY – Hz
0
–60
–100
0
1800
G
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
–10
–50
–70
–90
–30
–40
–80
–20
–120
–110
Figure 10. Frequency Response of First Stage Filter
T he first stage filter has two basic modes of operation. T he
primary mode of operation for weigh-scale applications is chop
mode, which is achieved by placing a 1 in the CHP bit of the
Filter Register. T he part should be operated in this mode when
drift and noise rejection are important criteria in the application.
T he alternative mode of operation is the nonchop mode, with
CHP at 0, which would be used when higher throughput rates
are a concern or in applications where the reduced rejection at
the chopping frequency in chop mode is an issue.
Nonchop Mode
With chop mode disabled on the AD7730, the first stage filter
continuously processes input data and produces a result at an
output rate determined by the SF word. Operating in nonchop
mode can result in a 20% reduction in noise for a given band-
width, but without the excellent drift and noise rejection ben-
efits which accrue from chopping the part. T he output update
and first notch of this first stage filter correspond and are deter-
mined by the relationship:
OutputRate
=
f
CLK IN
16
×
1
SF
where
SF
is the decimal equivalent of the data loaded to the SF
bits of the Filter Register and
f
CLK IN
is the master clock frequency.