The ADC package contains analogue to digital converters (ADCs). These components can be used to convert an analogue (continuous) signal to a digital one (sampled and quantised at discrete intervals).
A digital signal is amenable to processing with digital microprocessors, whereas an analogue one is not. As such, ADC components can be considered to be the interface between the real world and the digital microprocessor world - they are the gateway through which data passes before it becomes available for processing.
Individual components in the ADC package are described on separate pages. Drill down through the links below for more information on a particular component.
The ADCn components are named for the number of output pins they have (eg. ADC8 has eight output pins). Each component accepts analogue input on one pin, and outputs a digital signal with n-bit precision, where n is the number of output pins. The precision of the signal refers to the number of different levels at which the signal is sampled - each sample of an 8-bit signal, for example, can take one of 256 values.