Understanding the load presented by the reference pin of SAR ADCs is key when designing dataacquisition systems with low harmonic distortion.The internal circuitry connected to the reference pin of most successive-approximationregister analog-to-digital converters (SAR ADCs) (and some wideband delta-sigma ADCs) consists of switched-capacitor loads. During the conversion process, a switched-capacitor load imposes a current demand that can cause the external system’s reference-output voltage to fluctuate in time. Consequently, the SAR ADC reference-pin voltage also fluctuates.