ADC architecture selection - small amplitude signal, low power & small form factor

Question

What ADC architecture should I choose for my design, I need to measure the signals from multiple sensors that are in the mV range, I want to be able to achieve a low power and also, I have a space that is pushing to a small form factor? What do I need to consider as part of my decision?

aine · Accepted Answer

The choice of ADC architecture will really depend on your key design requirements. There are many different types available from analog.com that when compared are different not only in terms of architecture but also the available resolution that can be obtained, the input bandwidths that can be measured, and the overall accuracy that can be achieved. These together with size requirements lead to package options as well as power. I could go into detail here but I think it's best to point you to some key education material that should help you decided based on your requirements. 
 Analog to Digital Converter Architectures and Choices for System design can be found here 
 Design Tradeoffs of using Precision SAR and Sigma Delta Converters for Multiplexed Data Acquisition Systems can be found here 
 
 Also please take a look at the Precision at Low power signal chains, here you will see that we have chosen both SAR and Sigma Delta ADCs in our signal chain recommendations. Each for different considerations, based on power, size, accuracy and the number of sensors that must be measured, these signal chains will give you an excellent starting point when making the decision for your design.)