Current Characterization Application Note

Aeroflex Colorado Springs Application Note
Recommended Bypass Capacitance Values for the VDD Pins of the UT7R995/C
RadClockTM
1.0 Overview
The UT7R995 and UT7R995C RadClock are clock buffers with PLL capable of independently driving four banks of
outputs to 200 MHz with programmable skews relative to the feedback input. The devices consist of independent
power supplies for the core and for each of the four output banks. VDD powers the core, which consists of the PLL,
the clock circuitry, and the control logic. There are also independent power supply pins for each output buffer designated as VDDQn (n:1-4). The purpose of this application note is to characterize typical current requirements for each
power supply and to provide recommended bypass capacitors.
The core and the four output drivers are independent and electrically isolated. Also, the structure of the four output
drivers is the same. Therefore, it is sufficient to characterize IDD and one output driver supply IDDQn, where n is
either 1, 2, 3 or 4. Channel 3 is selected as the output.
2.0 Lab Setup
In order to characterize the bypass requirements for each VDD pin, it is first necessary to characterize IDD and IDDQ3
under controlled conditions. These conditions are captured in Table 1.
Table 1: RadClock Test Configuration
Creation Date: December 2006
Parameter
Value
Input Frequency
25 MHz
PLL Frequency
50 MHz, 100 MHz,
150 MHz
Load
25pF
Output Drive Level
24mA
VDD
3.3V
VDDQ3
3.3V
Temperature
25oC
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Modification Date: January 2007
Aeroflex Colorado Springs Application Note
The laboratory setup is shown in Figure 1. One side of the 25pF load capacitor is tied to VDDQ3, with the other side
soldered to the copper ground plane as shown. To measure IDD or IDDQ3, several capacitors are tied close to the input
pins to ensure there is adequate charge needed to supply the ac component of the current. An ac-coupled current
probe is used to monitor the ac component of IDD or IDDQ3.
Current Probe
3.3V
+
0.1uF and 10uF filter
capacitors
VDD / VDDQ3
25pF load
capacitor
3Q0
Ground Plane
UT7R995/C
Figure 1. Laboratory Setup for Current Characterization.
In the case where IDD is being measured, VDDQ3 is connected normally through the power plane in the PCB. Likewise, when IDDQ3 is being measured, VDD is connected to 3.3V through the PCB. For the IDD measurement, all VDD
pins are tied together.
Creation Date: December 2006
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Modification Date: January 2007
Aeroflex Colorado Springs Application Note
3.0 Lab Results
The input frequency to the UT7R995/C is 25 MHz. The output frequency is set to 50 MHz, 100 MHz, and 150 MHz
using the internal PLL divider. Worst-case current for IDDQ3 occurs at an output frequency of 50 MHz. Figure 2
shows the supply current in the top trace where the scale is 5mV/mA. The bottom trace is the output voltage 3Q0,
shown for reference. As a first-order approximation, IDDQ3 will be modeled as a 100 MHz sine wave. The doubling
of frequency in the current waveform relative to the output voltage is due to reflections caused by the capacitive load,
as no attempt is made to match the source impedance to the load. The peak-to-peak current is 100mA.
Figure 2. IDDQ3 and Output Voltage for Channel 3Q0.
Creation Date: December 2006
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Modification Date: January 2007
Aeroflex Colorado Springs Application Note
For the core power supply, worst-case IDD occurs at an output frequency of 150 MHz. Figure 3 shows IDD in the top
trace where the scale factor is 1mV/mA. The bottom trace is the output voltage 3Q0, shown for reference. The peakto-peak current is 53mA, and is approximated as a sine wave at 150 MHz.
Figure 3. IDD and Output Voltage for Channel 3Q0.
Creation Date: December 2006
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Modification Date: January 2007
Aeroflex Colorado Springs Application Note
4.0 Simulation Results
The voltage seen at the supply pin is derived by simulating a circuit using the models for the current waveforms
shown in Section 3.0. The voltage source is an ideal 3.3V dc source separated from the UT7R995/C power pins by
15cm traces represented by a 150nH inductor and 25mΩ resistor on both sides of the power supply. This represents a
worst-case scenario where there is no ground plane and where the voltage regulator is located some distance from the
UT7R995/C. A capacitor is placed directly on the power pin whose ESR is determined by assuming a 2.5% dissipation factor, typical for ceramic multi-layer chip capacitors. The circuit is simulated and the ripple voltage on the
power pin is determined. Tables 2 and 3 show the ripple voltage with several different capacitor values.
Table 2: Peak-to-Peak Ripple Voltage for VDDQ3
Capacitance
ESR
Ripple Voltage
(Vp-p)
0.001uF
40mΩ
140mV
0.01uF
4mΩ
10mV
0.1uF
0.4mΩ
1.6mV
Table 3: Peak-to-Peak Ripple Voltage for VDD
Capacitance
ESR
Ripple Voltage
(Vp-p)
0.001uF
26mΩ
55mV
0.01uF
2.6mΩ
5.5mV
0.1uF
0.26mΩ
0.6mV
5.0 Conclusion
In order to minimize ripple voltage, a 0.1uF capacitor should be placed on each VDD and VDDQn input, as close to
the pin as possible. VDD pins that are close together may share a bypass capacitor, but VDD should be isolated from
the VDDQn inputs. Use of the recommended bypass capacitors will reduce only the ripple voltage due to the ac component of the supply current. The designer should use additional filtering as required to reduce the coupling of transients within the system or due to neighboring components.
Creation Date: December 2006
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Modification Date: January 2007