What are the challenges in high-speed data acquisition systems?

High-speed DAQ challenges include: ADC selection (flash for highest speed, pipeline for balance), sample-and-hold settling time and aperture jitter, clock jitter (limits SNR at high frequencies), anti-aliasing filter design (steep rolloff needed), PCB layout (controlled impedance, signal integrity), memory bandwidth (continuous streaming requires high throughput), triggering precision, channel-to-channel skew (simultaneous vs multiplexed), and real-time processing capacity. For RF applications, undersampling may be used. Deep memory enables long captures. Timing accuracy better than 1ns needed for high-frequency signals.