The following figure shows the ADC timing for one single conversion. A conversion starts after the software or event start are synchronized with the GCLK_ADC clock. The input channel is sampled in the first half CLK_ADC period.
The sampling time can be increased by using the Sampling Time Length bit group in the Sampling Time Control register (SAMPCTRL.SAMPLEN). As example, the next figure is showing the timing conversion with sampling time increased to six CLK_ADC cycles.
The ADC provides also offset compensation, see the following figure. The offset compensation is enabled by the Offset Compensation bit in the Sampling Control register (SAMPCTRL.OFFCOMP).
In free running mode, the sampling rate RS is calculated by
RS = fCLK_ADC / ( nSAMPLING + nOFFCOMP + nDATA)
Here, nSAMPLING is the sampling duration in CLK_ADC cycles, nOFFCOMP is the offset compensation duration in clock cycles, and nDATA is the bit resolution. fCLK_ADC is the ADC clock frequency from the internal prescaler: fCLK_ADC = fGCLK_ADC / 2^(1 + CTRLB.PRESCALER)
The impact of resolution on the sampling rate is seen in the next two figures, where free-running sampling in 12-bit and 8-bit resolution are compared.
The propagation delay of an ADC measurement is given by: