ADC Signal-to-Noise Ratio and Distortion (SINAD)

The Signal-to-Noise Ratio and Distortion (SINAD) is measured with a sinusoidal input near full-scale applied to the ADC. The SINAD is found by computing the ratio of the RMS level of the input signal to the RMS value of the root-sum-square of all noise and distortion components in the FFT analysis, excluding the DC components. The SINAD value is a useful measure of ADC performance because it includes the effect of all noise, distortion, and harmonics introduced by the ADC. SINAD can be calculated with Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) and Total Harmonic Distortion Value (THD) as given below.

(1) SINAD=−10∙log(10−SNR/10+10THD/10)

​Learn More

• Understanding Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) Specifications
• ADC Basics
• ADC DC Specifications
• ADC AC Specifications
• ADC Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR)
• ADC Total Harmonic Distortion plus Noise
• Pipeline ADC Utility User's Guide
• Data Converter ICs