AD9674:  Octal Ultrasound AFE

The AD9674 is designed for low cost, low power, small size, and ease of use for medical ultrasound. It contains eight channels of a variable gain amplifier (VGA) with a low noise preamplifier (LNA), a CW harmonic rejection I/Q demodulator with programmable phase rotation, an anti-aliasing filter (AAF), an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a digital highpass filter and an RF decimation by 2.

Each channel features a maximum gain of up to 52 dB, a fully differential signal path, and an active input preamplifier termination. The channel is optimized for high dynamic performance and low power in applications where a small package size is critical.

The LNA has a single-ended-to-differential gain that is selectable through the SPI. Assuming a 15 MHz noise bandwidth (NBW) and a 21.6 dB LNA gain, the LNA input SNR is 94 dB. In CW Doppler mode, each LNA output drives an I/Q demodulator that has independently programmable phase rotation with 16 phase settings.

Power-down of individual channels is supported to increase battery life for portable applications. Standby mode allows quick power-up for power cycling. In CW Doppler operation, the VGA, AAF, and ADC are powered down. The ADC contains several features designed to maximize flexibility and minimize system cost, such as a programmable clock, data alignment, and programmable digital test pattern generation. The digital test patterns include built-in fixed patterns, built-in pseudo random patterns, and custom user-defined test patterns entered via the serial port interface.