Does AD9116 needs to be SPI configured before use?

Hi stefaniecg ,

No need to configure via SPI but it would be good practice to at least apply a soft reset (Register 0x00, Bit 5) to set registers to default values, but you are correct that it's required to issue a Hardware Reset (applying active high pulse to RESET pin) to the DAC upon power-up.

Best regards,
Marco 

 Marco thank you for your reply. 

so currently i am only driving the pins:

DB[11:0] -> with data

RESET/PINMD -> 0 for 5.09us, then 1 for 2.57us, then 0 for the rest of the session

DCLKIO -> is my clock sync to the data

i have a question does DCLKiO always needs to be running, or only when i transfer data?

Hi stefaniecg ,

Apologies for the delayed response. You are correct that DCLKIO can be kept on only when transferring data, but it would be best to keep it on even when not transmitting data to the DAC.

This is so the internal data retimer for comparing the internal DAC CLK (CLKIN-INT) and the internal Data Clock (DCLKIO-INT) is fixed to a certain value. Turning DCLKIO off and on may result to variable phase relationship between DCLKIO and CLKIO which may affect timing of data transfer in the digital interface.

Best regards,
Marco