National Semiconductor expanded its data-conversion portfolio with the introduction of 12 low-power, 10 and 12bit ADCs that it claims offer guaranteed performance across three speed ranges between 50ksamples/s and 1Msample/s. National plans to complete the launch of this new family of products by the end of summer, when it will introduce 24 additional general-purpose ADCs, including two- and four-channel 8bit ADCs and single- and eight-channel products.

In consumer applications such as digital cameras, the continuous demand for newer models mean design engineers have to develop platforms that are easily upgraded every six to eight months. With National's ADCs, designers can upgrade their products by dropping in a higher-speed or higher-resolution ADC without modifying their boards.