HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE ANALOG-TO-DIGITAL CONVERTER

摘要

A high speed analog to digital converter ("ADC") (12) that can be used in a detector system (10). The ADC is coupled to a detector (14) and a processor (18). The detector (14) generates an analog signal in response to the detection of a trace sample, such as an ionized molecule or a beam of light. The processor (18) determines a baseline value and threshold value. Portions of the analog signal at or below the threshold are assigned the baseline value. The threshold typically corresponds to a value above the noise level in the system. The detector (14) thus removes undesirable noise from the readout value. The process can compensate for factors such as DC drift while providing accurate data regarding detection of the trace sample.