There is a rapid development of the performance of state-of-the-art analog to digital converters (ADC). Resolution and sampling rate are increasing continuously. Sampling rates in the high intermediate frequency (IF) range with sufficient dynamic range for communication applications were introduced about the turn of the millennium. Post-correction methods enable fast ADCs with modest linearity, and thereby weak dynamic performance, for high-speed applications.

A post-correction procedure involves a characterization of the ADC non-linearity and then utilizing this information by processing the ADC output samples to remove the distortion. ADC characterization is usually performed by estimating ADC characteristics from measurements. Consequently, successful characterizations require both developed test methods and high performance test-beds.

Characterization and testing ADCs are interesting in many different aspects. Not only that a proper characterization can be used for error compensation, testing is a major factor of cost for manufacturers, and shortening of the test cycle implies large savings. Testing ADCs is complicated, time consuming and demands high-performance instrumentation.