Noise reduction during digital signal generation

Quantitative methods are presented for ensuring that the digital oscillator noise introduced into a digital signal generation circuit is below the quantization error of the digital-to-analog converter (DAC), and will thus not affect system performance. An overview of digital methods of generating RF waveforms is also presented. It is shown that careful selection of computer algorithms and attention to algorithm timing and table storage requirements can ensure that the DAC inputs are sufficiently close to a theoretically perfect sine wave that the difference is below the DAC resolution, or quantization error. This knowledge allows a calculation of RAM (random-access memory) and CPU performance requirements without expensive empirical tests.<>