Differential Non-linearity

Differential Non-Linearity (DNL) is defined as the maximum and minimum difference between the step width and the perfect width (1 LSB) of any output step.

Non-linearity produces quantization steps with varying widths. All steps should be 1 LSB wide, but some are narrower or wider.

To measure DNL, a ramp input voltage is applied and all output value transitions are recorded. The step lengths are found from the distance between the transitions, and the most positive and negative deviations from 1 LSB are used to report the maximum and minimum DNL.