Switching Power Supplies and Analog-to-Digital Converters
Many modern electronic devices demand high performance with low power consumption. So they employ analog-to-digital convertors. Unfortunately, building high power solutions into these electronic systems can cause significant problems like excess heat which will leave the other objectives incomplete.
Traditionally, linear power regulators were used to provide clean power to the convertor. But switching power supplies can also power analog-to-digital converters directly without any loss in performance if you have followed careful design practice. So if you are careful, there will be no degradation with the use of a switching power supply over a linear power supply.
In fact, a switching power supply can increase supply efficiency by up to 40 percent, significantly reducing power consumption, without resorting to a lower denomination power convertor.
In many instances, the electrical devices that use these custom power supplies are running continuously. So using a switching power supply can actually reduce operating cost, with no loss of performance.
But you have to take care when using switching power supplies because they produce high currents, which, in turn, produce powerful magnetic fields. These magnetic fields can affect the other magnetic components on the board. Only careful layout techniques can prevent the coupling of these fields into the critical signals.
