Drift Specs

All things change, nothing last forever; so they say. Electronic equipment changes in behavior are due to a variety of factors. For example, moisture, temperature, and age are just a few such factors. Perhaps the single most troublesome factor is temperature. Available charge-carrying particles move throughout a material when excited by an applied voltage. This charged particle flow (current) interacts with the internal molecular structure of atoms and impurities. These interactions are governed by electron quantum behavior and uniquely determine the voltage-current characteristics of all electronic components such as; resistors, capacitors, diodes, and transistors. These interactions are very complex and extremely sensitive to temperature. Often, this behavior is sensitive to age; primarily because internal impurities slowly migrate through the host material and influence the interaction with moving charge carrying particles.

Imagine an electronic module with 9 integrated semiconductor circuits (ICs) each having in excess of 100,000 internal components. In addition, this module has 113 single components, 343 solder connections, and 3 connectors. Designing such a module to minimize temperature drift and eliminate aging requires expertise in component selection, circuit topology, and product testing. Dataforth design engineers have decades of experience in these areas and are accomplished at producing high quality stable signal conditioning modules.

Customers can be assured of quality in all Dataforth’s products. Dataforth’s robust designs, exhaustive 100% testing program, and rigorous thermal burn-in (eliminating time-dependent defects) all contribute to assure quality products. Interested readers are encouraged to examine Dataforth AN504, Application Note on Calculating Drift (67kb pdf).

Remember, our Application Engineers can assist you with signal conditioner selection over the phone or via fax and email. Call us at our manufacturing facility in Tucson at 520-741-1404 (fax 520-741-0762) or Email us at support@dataforth.com.