
MAX1240/MAX1241
+2.7V, Low-Power,
12-Bit Serial ADCs in 8-Pin SO
10
______________________________________________________________________________________
Using
SHDN to Reduce Supply Current
Power consumption can be reduced significantly by
shutting down the MAX1240/MAX1241 between con-
versions. Figure 6 shows a plot of average supply cur-
rent versus conversion rate. Because the MAX1241
uses an external reference voltage (assumed to be pre-
sent continuously), it “wakes up” from shutdown more
quickly (in 4s) and therefore provides lower average
supply currents. The wake-up time (tWAKE) is the time
from when SHDN is deasserted to the time when a con-
version may be initiated (Figure 5). For the MAX1240,
this time depends on the time in shutdown (Figure 7)
because the external 4.7F reference bypass capacitor
loses charge slowly during shutdown.
External Clock
The actual conversion does not require the external
clock. This allows the conversion result to be read back
at the P’s convenience at any clock rate from up to
2.1MHz. The clock duty cycle is unrestricted if each
clock phase is at least 200ns. Do not run the clock
while a conversion is in progress.
Timing and Control
Conversion-start and data-read operations are controlled
by the CS and SCLK digital inputs. The timing diagrams
of Figures 8 and 9 outline serial-interface operation.
A CS falling edge initiates a conversion sequence: the
T/H stage holds the input voltage, the ADC begins to
convert, and DOUT changes from high impedance to
logic low. SCLK must be kept low during the conver-
sion. An internal register stores the data when the con-
version is in progress.
10
1
0.01
0.001
0.1
1
10
100
1k
10k
100k
0.1
CONVERSION RATE (Hz)
SUPPLY
CURRNET
(mA)
VDD = VREF = 3.0V
RLOAD =
∞, CLOAD = 50pF
CODE = 010101010000
MAX1241
FIG.
06a
MAX1241
MAX1240
Figure 6. Average Supply Current vs. Conversion Rate
1.0
0.0
0.001
0.01
0.1
1
10
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
TIME IN SHUTDOWN (sec)
POWER-UP
DELAY
(ms)
MAX1240/41-07a
Figure 7. Typical Reference Power-Up Delay vs. Time in
Shutdown
EOC
INTERFACE IDLE
CONVERSION
IN PROGRESS
EOC
0
μs
TRAILING
ZEROS
IDLE
CLOCK OUT SERIAL DATA
TRACK/HOLD
STATE
TRACK
HOLD
TRACK
DOUT
B11 B10
B9
B8
B7
B6
B5
B4
B3
B2
B1
B0
SCLK
14
8
12
16
7.5
μs (tCONV)
HOLD
0
μs
(tCS)
TOTAL = 13.7
μs
12.5
× 0.476μs = 5.95μs
CYCLE TIME
CS
0.24
μs
Figure 8. Interface Timing Sequence