What is Voltage to Frequency Converter : Top Manufacturers

A voltage to frequency converter is an electronic circuit that converts an analog voltage input into a proportional frequency output signal. These devices are commonly used in instrumentation, industrial control systems, data acquisition equipment, sensor interfaces, telemetry systems, and analog to digital conversion applications. The popular manufacturers include Analog Devices, National Semiconductor, Texas Instruments, Fairchild Semiconductor, Microchip, Nexperia, MaxLinear Inc., etc.

Selection Guide

The VFC (Voltage to Frequency Converter) is an oscillator circuit where the output frequency is proportional to the input voltage. It is used in PLL (Phase Locked Loop), FM (Frequency Modulation) and Frequency Synthesizers. The most common ICs used for frequency to voltage conversion are the LM331 and NE555.

Following are the typical specifications of a Voltage to Frequency Converter (VFC):

• Input type: single-ended/Differential
• Voltage input range
• Output frequency range
• Linearity (% Max.)
• Supply current (Amp.)
• Supply voltage range
• Package type (DIP, SOIC)

Voltage to Frequency Converter Vendors or Manufacturers

The following table mentions vendors or manufacturers of Voltage to Frequency Converter ICs.

Manufacturers	Part number with features
Analog Devices	Synchronous VFCs part numbers: AD7740, AD7741, AD7742 Non-synchronous VFCs part numbers: ADVFC32, AD537, AD650, AD652, AD654 Features: Above VFCs support different output frequencies at different input voltages with different accuracies. Visit analog.com for information.
National Semiconductor (Acquired by Texas Instruments)	Part numbers LM231/LM331 are voltage to frequency converters, whereas part number LM2917N8 is a frequency to voltage converter. Visit ti.com for more information.
Texas Instruments	Part numbers of voltage to frequency converter ICs are VFC32, VFC100, VFC110, VFC121, VFC320 etc. Features of VFC32: Output up to 500 KHz, Input Voltage (0V to -10V) etc. Visit ti.com for more information.
Fairchild Semiconductor (Acquired by ON Semiconductor)	Part number: KA331 Features: The part is obsolete now. Visit onsemi.com for more information.
Microchip Technology Inc.	Part numbers: TC9400, TC9401, TC9402 Features: DC to 100 KHz (F/V converter), 1 Hz to 100 KHz (V/F converter), Linearity (%): 0.01 (in TC9401), 0.05 (in TC9400), 0.25 (in TC9402), low power dissipation, etc. Visit microchip.com for more information.
Nexperia	Part number: HEF4046B (PLL IC) with voltage range from 3 to 15 V, Max. frequency from 1.0 MHz to 2.7 MHz (Typically) Refer nexperia.com for more information.
MaxLinear Inc.	Part number: XR4151CP functions as V2F and F2V, available in 8 pin PDIP package Refer maxlinear.com for more information.

Summary

A voltage to frequency converter transforms analog voltage signals into proportional frequency outputs. Manufacturers provide V/F converters for instrumentation, industrial automation, measurement systems, and sensor interface applications.