Heidelberg University, Institute of Environmental Physics Simple LTC2440/Arduino Prototype Built by Stefan Schäfer
This photo shows the detail of an LTC2440 with an Arduino board as a controller in the simplest possible form with the minimum number of components. This circuit is based on the first diagram on the main web page called "A Very Basic Way to Start". This is a real and working prototype and shows the amazing simplicity of the operation of a 24 bit ADC with good code to run the Arduino board. The point of this photo is to say there is nothing complicated or mysterious in the construction of a 24 bit ADC circuit. This circuit, just as it is, is capable of 5 place accuracy. With a few improvements, the accuracy can be increased to 6 and even 7 places of accuracy. It is the simplicity of this circuit that acts as a good starting point. And it is not necessary to build a complex and sophisticated final circuit the first time. It is much easier and faster to move in small steps, prove the idea is possible, and then improve the circuits in more small and simple steps, until a fully functional high performance ADC circuit is ready for your project.		This may sound odd but several of us have worked hard at building "down" this circuit - working at simplifying 24 bit ADC circuits to the bare minimum. This will provide a basic starting point from which anyone, with some electronics skill, can construct a functional 24 bit ADC circuit. It is important to understand that this circuit is NOT a place to stop. You must continue to install very important components, especially noise suppression capacitors and the inclusion of a high quality voltage reference source. An op amp as a buffer is another critical component not in this simple circuit. If your source is a very low voltage such as a thermocouple or ion beam current, you will probably need to increase the gain of your preamp-buffer op amp until you can read at least 5 places of your source voltage. Please keep in mind this circuit below is only the beginning of a series of component blocks necessary for a good ADC measurement. Examples of increased circuit improvements are on the main page of this website. Closing this window will not close the main website.