What is the Arduino Nano ADC Sample Rate?

The maximum sampling rate of the Arduino Nano Analog-to-Digital converter is 15 kilo-samples per second or 15,000 samples per second.

It’s a 10 bit ADC which means it has 10 bits of resolution.

Background

The Arduino Nano is based on the ATmega 328 (hence the ADC is the same). This device has a QFN package with 8 ADC channels. A 10-bit ADC has a digital output from 0 to 1023. Use this calculator to find the ADC resolution.

The Arduino Nano is small, complete, and breadboard-friendly. It shares much of its functionality with the Arduino Uno but in a more compact form factor, making it suitable for projects where space is at a premium.

What is an ADC?

An analog-to-digital converter (abbreviated ADC, A/D, or A-to-D) is a component that converts an analog signal to its digital equivalent. Once this conversion is performed, the digital signal can be processed by the microcontroller. Every digital system that interfaces with real world analog signals requires an ADC.

What is Sampling Rate?

The sampling rate of an Analog-to-digital converter is the speed or frequency at which it samples an Analog waveform or signal. If it is sampled 10 times every second then the sampling rate is 10 Hz.

This post explains how the ADC sampling rate is calculated.

Why is ADC Sampling Rate important?

Knowing this rate is useful as it determines the highest input signal frequency (also called the Nyquist frequency) that can be sampled without aliasing. In the case of the Arduino Nano it is half the sampling rate or 7.5 kHz – the maximum analog input signal frequency should not exceed this number.

Increasing the sampling frequency will not damage the device. It will however cause aliasing. This post explains aliasing and also includes a calculator to find the aliased signal components.

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