EDN's 19th Annual Innovation Awards Finalists

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Category: ADCs and DACs
Finalist: MAX5661 single 16-bit DAC (Maxim Integrated Products)

Maxim has designed the MAX5661, the industry’s first programmable-output 16-bit DAC with integral cable safety monitoring. It provides robust industrial-grade protected outputs of either ±10V or 0-20mA. In addition to integrated high-voltage output amplifiers, it provides a unique way to compensate for longer cable lengths in noisy factory environments. The 16-bit DAC also includes an adjustable over-range control, providing up to ±25% adjustment of voltage or current outputs with 0.05% (10 bit) precision. The MAX5661 communicates through a 4-wire 10MHz SPI™-/QSPI™-/MICROWIRE™-compatible serial interface and operates over an extended industrial temperature range of -40°C to +105°C. Safety, surge, and transient protection features are included in the bipolar or unipolar voltage/current outputs.

Factory automation safety and robotics are driving programmable logic controller design toward greater modularity. The challenges include programmable control of voltage or current output, protecting those outputs from transients, compensating for longer cable lengths, and safety monitoring for cable damage. Designers typically will use voltage-output DACs and discrete components to address these issues. The end result is wasted board space, increased design time and higher bill-of-materials cost. The MAX5661 integrates all these functions into a single chip.