The DAC8550 is a small, low-power, voltage output, 16-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC). It is monotonic, provides good linearity, and minimizes undesired code-to-code transient voltages. The DAC8550 uses a versatile, 3-wire serial interface that operates at clock rates of up to 30MHz and is compatible with standard SPI?, QSPI?, Microwire?, and digital signal processor (DSP) interfaces.

The DAC8550 requires an external reference voltage to set its output range. The DAC8550 incorporates a power-on reset circuit that ensures that the DAC output powers up at midscale and remains there until a valid write takes place to the device. The DAC8550 contains a power-down feature, accessed over the serial interface, that reduces the current consumption of the device to 200nA at 5V.