What does a data acquisition controller do?
It drives the interface to an analog-to-digital converter, sequences conversions across channels, applies the required conversion timing, and delivers samples to the host bus with the correct handshake.
PRODUCT · FAMILY 01
Analog Data Acquisition Controller IP
A digital controller that interfaces to industry-standard analog-to-digital converters, handling the sequencing, timing and data handoff that sits between a converter and the rest of an SoC. It removes the part of a mixed-signal integration that is tedious, error-prone and identical on every project.
WHAT IT IS
The short version.
Every design that reads an analog signal needs the same layer: a controller that drives the converter's interface, sequences conversions across channels, applies the correct timing, and delivers samples to a bus with the right handshake. It is not difficult work, but it is exacting, and errors in it are found late because they present as intermittent data quality problems rather than as failures.
This core provides that layer, configurable to the converter and the host bus rather than written afresh per project. Channel sequencing, conversion timing and sample delivery are parameterised.
It is used both in SoCs with integrated converters and in designs interfacing to external converter devices, which is the more common case in instrumentation and industrial acquisition.
DETAIL
Characteristics
| Parameter | Detail |
|---|---|
| Function | Digital interface and sequencing controller for analog-to-digital converters |
| Converter support | Industry-standard ADC interfaces, configured to the target device |
| Channels | Configurable sequencing across multiple channels |
| Host interface | Configurable to the SoC bus in the target design |
| Delivery | Synthesisable RTL with integration documentation and verification collateral |
| Typical markets | Industrial, medical, instrumentation, test |
Maturity — silicon-proven, FPGA-validated or RTL stage — is confirmed at enquiry for the specific configuration you need, rather than claimed generically here.
APPLICATIONS
Where it is used.
- Industrial data acquisition — multi-channel process measurement with deterministic sequencing.
- Medical instrumentation — signal chains where sample timing and channel order carry clinical meaning.
- Test and measurement — acquisition front ends in instruments and characterisation equipment.
- Sensor front ends — conditioning and digitisation for pressure, temperature, strain and current sensing.
- Power and energy monitoring — synchronised multi-channel sampling for metering and protection.
- Grid edge and substation sensing — acquisition where sample timing correlates with protection logic.
WHAT YOU RECEIVE
Deliverables and support.
- Synthesisable RTL, configured to the target converter and host bus.
- Integration documentation covering interface, sequencing and timing configuration.
- Verification collateral for integration-level testing.
- Engineering support through integration and hardware bring-up.
Next step
Send the target node, the interface requirements and the integration context. If this is not the right fit, that will be said early rather than discovered at integration.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Questions asked before an evaluation.
Does this work with external converters or only integrated ones?
Both. In instrumentation and industrial acquisition the converter is more often an external device, and the core is configured to that device's interface.
Why licence this rather than write it?
Because it is exacting work whose errors present as intermittent data quality problems rather than clean failures, and it is substantially identical from project to project.
KEEP READING
Related work.
BUILD WITH FASTSTREAM
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