Editing Analog-to-digital converter (section)

== Commercial ==
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In many cases, the most expensive part of an integrated circuit is the pins, because they make the package larger, and each pin has to be connected to the integrated circuit's silicon. To save pins, it is common for ADCs to send their data one bit at a time over a [[serial interface]] to the computer, with each bit coming out when a [[clock signal]] changes state. This saves quite a few pins on the ADC package, and in many cases, does not make the overall design any more complex.

Commercial ADCs often have several inputs that feed the same converter, usually through an analog [[multiplexer]]. Different models of ADC may include [[sample and hold]] circuits, instrumentation [[amplifier]]s or [[differential signalling|differential]] inputs, where the quantity measured is the difference between two inputs.