ADC and DAC ICs

ADC (analog-to-digital) and DAC (digital-to-analog) converter chips are the bridge between the analog world - continuously varying voltages from sensors, audio, or other analog sources - and the digital world a microcontroller works in. An ADC lets you read an analog signal with more precision or more channels than a microcontroller's built-in ADC offers, while a DAC lets a microcontroller output a genuine analog voltage rather than just PWM.