Analog-to-digital conversion

A book is like a window that allows you to look into the world. The window is shaped by the author and that makes that every window presents a unique view of the world. This is certainly true for this book. It is shaped by the topics and the projects throughout my career. Even more so, this book re?ects my own style of working and thinking. That starts already in Chap. 2. When I joined Philips Research in 1979, many of my colleagues used little paper notebooks to keep track of the most used equations and other practical things. This notebook was the beginning for Chap. 2: a collection of topics that form the basis for much of the other chapters. Chapter2 is not intended to explain these topics, but to refresh your knowledge and help you when you need some basics to solve more complex issues. In the chapters discussing the fundamental processes of conversion, you will r- ognize my preoccupation with mathematics. I really enjoy ?nding an equation that properly describes the underlying mechanism. Nevertheless mathematics is not a goalonitsown:theequationshelptounderstandthewaythevariablesareconnected to the result. Real insight comes from understanding the physics and electronics. In the chapters on circuit design I have tried to reduce the circuit diagrams to the s- plest form, but not simpler. . . I do have private opinions on what works and what should not be applied.