Question
I am trying to figure out how to abort a conversion on the LTC2497 so we can switch from channel to channel with minimal time. From what I understand, we need to: a) Initiate a conversion by writing ChX b) Wait 150 ms before reading c) Read the result d) Wait another 150 ms to allow new conversion to stop e) Start a new conversion on ChX+1 How do I avoid the 150 ms delay in step d). The documentation is not at all clear
Part Number(s) : LTC2497
Answer
The device is a bit tricky. Once you finish a read, the part automatically starts a conversion. Once the conversion starts, you cannot communicate with the device. If you are trying to step through the channels, it seems as though you'll have half throughput, because you cannot change the channel until after the second conversion because the conversion starts right after the read, and you cannot write to the device until the next conversion is finished.
There is a workaround, and it's stated on page 17 of the datasheet.
Continuous Read/Write
Once the conversion cycle is concluded, the LTC2497 can
be written to and then read from using the Repeated Start
(Sr) command.
You can write then read in the same transaction (no STOP command after the write), then he can avoid the extra conversion.