Quantization error

Encyclopedia : Q : QU : QUA : Quantization error

When converting from an analog signal to a digital signal, error is unavoidable. An analog signal is continuous, with ideally infinite accuracy, while the digital signal's accuracy is dependent on the quantization resolution, or number of bits of the analog to digital converter. The difference in between the actual analog value and approximated digital value due to the "rounding" that occurs while converting is called quantization error.

Many physical quantities are actually quantized by physical entities. Examples of fields where this limitation applies include electronics (due to electrons), optics (due to photons), and chemistry (due to molecules). This is sometimes known as the "quantum noise limit" of systems in those fields. This is a different manifestation of "quantization error," in which theoretical models may be analog but physics occurs digitally. Around the quantum limit, the distinction between analog and digital quantities vanishes.

Quantization error

See also