Predictive analog-to-digital converter for Fourier-transform spectrometers

Area of Science:

• Spectroscopy
• Signal Processing
• Instrumentation

Background:

• Fourier-transform spectrometers (FTS) face dynamic range limitations.
• Accurate signal acquisition is crucial for spectroscopic measurements.
• Existing methods may not fully address the challenge of wide dynamic ranges in FTS.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and experimentally validate the use of predictive analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) for enhancing dynamic range in FTS.
• To demonstrate a practical implementation of predictive ADC technology in a spectroscopic system.
• To compare the performance of predictive ADCs against conventional systems.

Main Methods:

• Development of several predictive ADC approaches.
• Experimental implementation of a chosen predictive ADC technique.
• System integration with 16-bit ADCs and 8-bit digital-to-analog converters (DACs) for comparison.
• Spectroscopic measurements using a blackbody source at 900 °C.

Main Results:

• The implemented predictive ADC system achieved an effective 13-bit performance.
• The technique successfully addressed dynamic range challenges in the Fourier-transform spectrometer.
• Performance was ultimately limited by the input noise of the data acquisition card.

Conclusions:

• Predictive ADCs offer a viable solution for overcoming dynamic range limitations in Fourier-transform spectrometers.
• Experimental validation confirms the effectiveness of the proposed predictive approach.
• Further improvements may focus on reducing system noise to fully leverage ADC capabilities.