Glossary
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AC coupled
the passing of a signal through a filter network that removes the
DC component of the signal
ADC
analog-to-digital converter—an electronic device, often an integrated
circuit, that converts an analog voltage to a digital number
ADC resolution
the resolution of the ADC, which is measured in bits. An ADC with16 bits
has a higher resolution, and thus a higher degree of accuracy, than a 12-bit
ADC.
alias
a false lower frequency component that appears in sampled data acquired
at too low a sampling rate
amplification
a type of signal conditioning that improves accuracy in the resulting
digitized signal and reduces noise
amplitude flatness
a measure of how close to constant the gain of a circuit remains over a range
of frequencies
attenuate
to reduce in magnitude
B
b
bit—one binary digit, either 0 or 1
B
byte—eight related bits of data, an eight-bit binary number. Also used
to denote the amount of memory required to store one byte of data.
bandwidth
the range of frequencies present in a signal, or the range of frequencies to
which a measuring device can respond
buffer
temporary storage for acquired or generated data (software)
bus
the group of conductors that interconnect individual circuitry in a computer.
Typically, a bus is the expansion vehicle to which I/O or other devices are
connected. Examples of PC buses are the PCI and ISA bus.
C
C
Celsius
channel
pin or wire lead to which you apply or from which you read the analog or
digital signal
