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Category: Analog ICs
Finalist: AD9272 eight-channel ultrasound receiver (Analog Devices)
 The Analog Devices’ AD9272 is an analog front end (AFE) that is used to condition and digitize the sensors in an ultrasound machine. As such, it includes a variable gain amplifier (VGA) and anti-aliasing filter (AAF) in front of an analog to digital converter (ADC). It has eight sets of these components integrated to allow the conditioning of eight ultrasound sensors. What sets the device apart is the fact hat it also includes a low-noise amplifier for each of channels. The input noise is 0.85nV/√Hz while input noise current is 1pA/√Hz. Outputs are LVDS (low voltage differential signaling). The part can sample at 80 Msps. Power consumption is 195 mW/channel at 40 Msps. This power consumption includes the low-noise amplifiers that are external in most other designs. The part is programmed via a SPI (serial peripheral interface).
Speed and low power improvements are expected in each generation of CMOS parts. What is remarkable about the AD9272 is that Analog Devices has reduced the noise of the channel while keeping power at manageable levels. Perhaps the most remarkable achievement is attaining this low noise performance while integrated into a part that has digital sections injecting substrate currents at 80Msps.
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