SBAA051A January 1994 – April 2015 MSC1210Y2 , MSC1210Y3 , MSC1210Y4 , MSC1210Y5
2.3 Resolution
The number of bits in an A/D converter determines the resolution of the data acquisition system. A/D converter resolution is defined as:
Equation 2. 
- LSB = least significant bit
- VFSR = full scale input voltage range
- n = number of bits
- D = number of decimal digits
where
The number of bits defines the number of digital codes and is 2n discrete digital codes for A/D converters.
For this discussion, we will use binary successive-approximation A/D converters. Table 1 shows resolutions and LSB values for typical A/D converters.
Table 1. Relationship of A/D Converter LSB Values and Resolutions for Binary Codes
| A/D Converter Resolution (Binary Code) | Value of 1LSB | Value of 1/2LSB | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Bits (n) | Number of Increments (2n) | 0 to 10 V Range (mV) | 10 V Range (mV) | 0 to 10 V Range (mV) | 10 V Range (mV) |
| 16 | 65536 | 0.152 | 0.305 | 0.076 | 0.152 |
| 12 | 4096 | 2.44 | 4.88 | 1.22 | 2.44 |
| 11 | 2048 | 4.88 | 9.77 | 2.44 | 4.88 |
| 10 | 1024 | 9.77 | 19.5 | 4.88 | 9.77 |
| 9 | 512 | 19.5 | 39.1 | 9.77 | 19.5 |
| 8 | 256 | 39.1 | 78.2 | 19.5 | 39.1 |