V09N3 - SEPTEMBER

LINEAR TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOG
TECHNOLOGY
SEPTEMBER 1999
IN THIS ISSUE…
Four New Amplifiers
Serve Many Applications ................. 1
Issue Highlights .............................. 2
LTC® in the News… .......................... 2
DESIGN FEATURES
JFET Op Amps Equal Low Noise
Bipolars and Have Picoamp
Current Noise .................................. 3
Alexander Strong
LT®1813: 100MHz, 750V/µ s Amplifier
Draws Only 3mA ............................. 5
George Feliz
Micropower, Precision Current Sense
Amplifier Operates from 2.5V to 60V
....................................................... 7
Richard Markell, Glen Brisebois and
Jim Mahoney
Triple 300MHz Current Feedback
Amplifiers Drive RGB/Component
Video and LCD Displays ................ 12
Brian Hamilton
LTC1702/LTC1703 Switching
Regulator Controllers Set a New
Standard for Transient Response
..................................................... 16
Dave Dwelley
An 8-Channel, High-Accuracy,
No Latency ∆Σ™ 24-Bit ADC ........... 21
Michael K. Mayes
Micropower 5-Lead SOT-23 Switching
Regulators Extend Battery Life in
Space-Sensitive Applications ........ 24
Bryan Legates
Versatile Ring Tone Generator Finds
Uses in Motor Drivers and Amplifiers
..................................................... 28
Dale Eagar
DESIGN IDEAS
35 Watt Isolated DC/DC Converter
Replaces Modules at Half the Cost
..................................................... 30
Robert Sheehan
Comparator Circuit Provides
Automatic Shutdown of the LT1795
High Speed ADSL Power Amplifier
..................................................... 33
Tim Regan
(More Design Ideas on pages 35–37;
complete list on page 30)
New Device Cameos ....................... 38
Design Tools ................................. 39
Sales Offices ................................. 40
VOLUME IX NUMBER 3
Four New Amplifiers Serve
Many Applications
This issue of Linear Technology
features a quartet of exciting new
amplifiers from LTC: The LT1792/
LT1793 low noise JFET op amps, the
LT1813 high slew rate op amp, the
LT1787 high-side current sense
amplifier and the LT1399/LT1399HV
triple current feedback amplifiers.
The LT1792/LT1793 single JFET
op amps offer both very low voltage
noise and low current noise, providing the lowest total noise over a wide
range of transducer impedances.
These op amps are unconditionally
stable for gains of one or more, even
with capacitive loads of 1000pF. Their
low offset voltage and high DC gain
allow the LT1792/LT1793 to fit into
precision applications, especially
those involving high impedance,
capacitive transducers.
The LT1813 is a 100MHz, 750V/µs
dual operational amplifier. Requiring
only 3mA of supply current, it uses
LTC’s advanced, low voltage complementary bipolar process and a few
design tricks to exceed the performance of its older siblings. A key
figure of merit for amplifiers is the
ratio of gain bandwidth to supply
current (expressed as MHz/mA). The
new process employed by the LT1813
forsakes high supply voltage operation
for a 3×–4× increase in MHz/mA.
Blazing speed from such a modest
amount of supply current (3mA) is
extremely attractive for low power
applications. The LT1813 extends the
frequency response of applications
such as filters, instrumentation
amplifiers and buffers.
The LT1787 employs precision
technology to build a superior highside current sense amplifier. The
LT1787 will find uses in cellular
phones, portable instruments and
wireless telecom devices for precisely
monitoring the current into or out of
a battery. The LT1787 monitors bidirectional currents via the voltage
across an external sense resistor. It
features a minute input offset voltage
of 40µV with a full-scale input of up to
500mV. This translates to a dynamic
range of over 12 bits. The LT1787HV
features a 60V maximum input, which
allows it to be used in telecom and
industrial applications that require
the sensing of higher voltages. The
device is self-powered from the supply that it monitors and requires only
60µA supply current.
For video and computer display
applications, LTC introduces the
LT1399/LT1399HV triple current
feedback amplifiers. These devices
contain three independent 300MHz
CFAs, each with a shutdown pin.
Each CFA has 0.1dB gain flatness of
150MHz and a slew rate of 800V/µs.
The LT1399 operates on supplies from
4V to ±6V. The LT1399HV operates
on supplies ranging from 4V to ±7.5V.
Each amplifier can be enabled in 30ns
and disabled in 40ns, making them
ideal in spread-spectrum and portable equipment applications. With
the addition of a small series resistor,
the parts can drive large capacitive
loads. This feature, combined with
the LT1399HV’s high voltage operation, makes it ideal for driving LCD
displays.
, LTC and LT are registered trademarks of Linear Technology Corporation. Adaptive Power, Burst Mode, C-Load,
FilterCAD, Hot Swap, LinearView, Micropower SwitcherCAD, No Latency ∆Σ, No RSENSE, Operational Filter, OPTI-LOOP,
PolyPhase, PowerSOT, SwitcherCAD and UltraFast are trademarks of Linear Technology Corporation. Other product
names may be trademarks of the companies that manufacture the products.
EDITOR’S PAGE
Issue Highlights
In addition to the four new amplifiers described on page one, this issue
of Linear Technology features a variety of power and data converter
products.
In the power area, we introduce the
LTC1702/LTC1703. The LTC1702 is
the first in a new family of low voltage,
high speed switching regulator controllers. It is designed to operate from
the standard 5V logic rail and generate two lower voltage, high current
regulated outputs. Running at a fixed
550kHz switching frequency, each
side of the LTC1702 features a voltage feedback architecture using a
25MHz gain-bandwidth op amp as
the feedback amplifier, allowing loopcrossover frequencies in excess of
50kHz. Large onboard MOSFET drivers allow the LTC1702 to drive high
current external MOSFETs efficiently
at 550kHz and beyond, allowing the
use of small external inductors and
capacitors while maintaining excellent output ripple and transient
response. The LTC1703 is a modified
LTC1702 with a 5-bit DAC controlling the output voltage at side 1. The
DAC conforms to the Intel Mobile VID
specification.
Two other new switchers debuted
in this issue are the micropower
LT1615 and LT1617. These devices
can be used in a number of topologies, including boost, SEPIC and
positive-to-negative. With an input
voltage range of 1.2V to 15V, they are
ideal for a wide range of applications
and work with a variety of input
sources. An internal 36V switch allows them to easily generate output
voltages of up to ±34V without the
use of costly transformers. The
LT1615 is designed to regulate positive output voltages, whereas the
LT1617 is designed to directly regulate negative output voltages without
the need for level-shifting circuitry.
Both parts use a current-limited, fixed
off-time control scheme, which helps
achieve high efficiency operation over
a wide range of load currents. Both
devices use tiny, low profile inductors
and capacitors to minimize the overall system footprint and cost.
A new ∆Σ ADC is also featured in
this issue: the LTC2408 is the offspring of the LTC2400 24-bit ∆Σ
converter, introduced in our November 1998 issue. The LTC2408
combines the high performance
LTC2400 with an 8-channel analog
input multiplexer. The resulting device offers many unique features. The
single-cycle settling characteristics
lead to simplified multiplexer hookup and channel selection, without the
added overhead seen with other
converters. The exceptional noise performance of the device eliminates the
need for a programmable gain amplifier (PGA). The unprecedented 10ppm
absolute accuracy of the device allows
measurement of microvolt signals
superimposed upon large DC voltages. A wide range of sensor inputs
and voltage levels can be applied simultaneously to the LTC2408.
Our final Design Feature spotlights
some unusual applications for the
LT1684 ring tone generator, introduced in the June issue. The LT1684
was specifically designed for OEM
telephone equipment. Because of the
versatility of the device, the LT1684
ring tone chip finds itself at home in
motor drives, digital input amplified
speakers, alarm systems and sine
wave UPS systems.
Our Design Ideas section features
an isolated 35 watt DC/DC converter
designed to replace “half-brick” power
modules at half the cost and a
comparator circuit that provides
automatic shutdown for the LT1795
high speed ADSL power amplifier.
We conclude with a trio of New
Device Cameos.
For more information on parts featured in this issue, see
http://www.linear-tech.com/go/ltmag
2
LTC in the News…
On July 20, Linear Technology Corporation announced its financial
results for fiscal year 1999. Robert
H. Swanson, Chairman & CEO,
stated, “We had record levels of
sales and profits as we finished the
year strongly. As we commence our
first fiscal year in the new millennium, we are encouraged by the
increasing opportunity for high
performance analog circuits.” The
Company reported net sales for the
fourth quarter of $140,524,000 (a
6% increase over net sales for the
fourth quarter of the previous year).
Net income for the fourth quarter
was $54,179,000 compared with
$49,503,000 a year ago. For the
year, the Company’s net sales were
$506,669,000 (up 5% over the previous year), with net income of
$194,293,000 (up 7% versus the
prior year).
The Company was also featured
in “America’s Favorite Stocks,” an
article in the July issue of Money
magazine that detailed which stocks
are most popular among investment clubs in the United States.
Linear Technology ranked 94th in
terms of number of clubs holding
the stock, and 68th in terms of the
value of Linear Technology stock
held by clubs.
Linear Technology was included
in Business Week’s annual Global
1,000 rankings. The Company
ranked 289th among U.S. companies and 570th among companies
internationally.
http://www.linear-tech.com/ezone/zone.html
Articles, Design Ideas, Tips from the Lab…
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
DESIGN FEATURES
JFET Op Amps Equal Low Noise
Bipolars and Have Picoamp
by Alexander Strong
Current Noise
The LT1792 and LT1793 are single
JFET op amps that offer both very low
voltage noise (4nV/√Hz for the LT1792
and 6nV/√Hz for the LT1793) and low
current noise (10fA/√Hz for the
LT1792 and 0.8fA/√Hz for the
LT1793), providing the lowest total
noise over a wide range of transducer
impedance. Traditionally, op amp
users have been faced with a choice:
which op amp will have the lowest
noise for the transducer at hand. For
high transducer impedance, the
LT1792/LT1793 JFET op amps will
win over the lowest voltage noise
bipolar op amps due to lower current
noise. The current noise (2qIB) of an
amplifier is a function of the input
bias current (IB). For lower transducer impedance, bipolar op amps
usually win over typical JFET op amps
due to lower voltage noise for the
same tail current of the differential
input pair. The LT1792/LT1793 op
amps are designed to have voltage
noise that approaches that of bipolar
op amps. All of these op amps are
unconditionally stable for gains of
one or more, even with capacitive
10k
LT1007*
INPUT NOISE VOLTAGE (nV/√Hz)
CS
LT1792*
–
1k
RS
+
LT1793*
(AND RESISTOR
NOISE)
VO
RS
100
CS
LT1007†
LT1793
LT1792
10
LT1792/†
LT1793
1
100
LT1007
RESISTOR NOISE ONLY
1k 10k 100k 1M 10M 100M
TOTAL SOURCE RESISTANCE (Ω)
1G
LT1169 • F02
SOURCE RESISTANCE = 2RS = R
* PLUS RESISTOR
† PLUS RESISTOR ⏐⏐ 1000pF CAPACITOR
en = AV en2(OP AMP) + 4kTR + 2qIBR2
Figure 1. Comparison of LT1792/LT1793 and
LT1007 input voltage noise vs source
resistance
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
loads of 1000pF. The low offset voltage of 250µV and high DC gain of four
million allow the LT1792/LT1793 to
fit into precision applications. Voltage
noise, slew rate and gain-bandwidth
product are 100% tested. All of the
specifications are maintained in the
SO-8 package.
The combination of low voltage and
current noise offered by the LT1792/
LT1793 makes them useful in a wide
range of applications, especially with
high impedance, capacitive transducers such as hydrophones, precision
accelerometers and photo diodes. The
total noise in such systems is the gain
times the square root of the sum of
the op amp input–referred voltage
noise squared, the thermal noise of
the transducer (4kTR) and the op
amp’s bias current noise times the
transducer resistance squared (2qIB
× R2). Figure 1 shows total input
voltage noise versus source resistance.
In a low source resistance application
(<5k), the op amp’s voltage noise will
dominate the total noise. In this region
of low source resistance, the LT1792/
LT1793 JFET op amps are way ahead
of other JFET op amps; only very low
noise bipolar op amps such as the
LT1007 and LT1028 have the edge.
As source resistance increases from
5k to 50k, the LT1792/LT1793 will
match the best bipolar or JFET op
amp for noise performance, since the
thermal noise of the transducer (4kTR)
will dominate the total noise. A further increase in source resistance, to
above 50k, brings us to the region
where the op amp’s current noise
(2qIB × RSOURCE) will dominate the
total noise. At these high source
resistances, the LT1792/LT1793 will
outperform the lowest noise bipolar
op amp due to the inherently low
current noise of FET input op amps.
In some conditions it may be neces-
Table 1. LT1792/LT1793 specifications
Parameter
LT1792 LT1793 Units
VOS (Max)
0.56
0.73
mV
IB (Max)
450
10
pA
eN (1kHz)
4.2
6
nV/√Hz
i N (1kHz)
10
0.8
fA/√Hz
GBWP
(fO = 100kHz)
6
5
MHz
IS
4.2
4.2
mA
sary to add a capacitor in parallel
with a source resistor to cancel the
pole that is caused by the source
impedance and the input capacitance
(14pF for the LT1792 and 1.5pF for
the LT1793). Observe what happens
to noise with source resistances over
100k; the overall noise for the LT1792
and LT1793 actually decreases.
The high input impedance JFET
front end makes the LT1792 and
LT1793 suitable for applications
where very high charge sensitivity is
required. Figure 2 illustrates the
LT1792 and LT1793 in inverting and
noninverting modes of operation. A
charge amplifier is shown in the
inverting mode example; here the gain
depends on the principle of charge
conservation at the input of the
amplifier. The charge across the transducer capacitance, CS, is transferred
to the feedback capacitor, CF, resulting in a change in voltage, dV, equal to
dQ/CF, resulting in a gain of CF/CS.
For unity gain, the CF should equal
the transducer capacitance plus the
input capacitance of the amplifier and
RF should equal RS. In the noninverting mode example, the
transducer current is converted to a
change in voltage by the transducer
capacitance; this voltage is then buff3
DESIGN FEATURES
RF
R2
CB
RB
CS
RS
LT1792
+
TRANSDUCER
CB
RB
OUTPUT
–
R1
CB = CF ⎪⎪CS
RB = RF ⎪⎪RS
Q = CV; dQ = I = C dV
dt
dt
+
CS
RS
LT1792
OUTPUT
CB ≅ CS
RB = RS
RS > R1 OR R2
TRANSDUCER
Figure 2. LT1792/LT1793 inverting and noninverting gain configurations
ered by the amplifier, with a gain of
1 + R2/R1. A DC path is provided by
RS, which is either the transducer
impedance or an external resistor.
Since RS is usually several orders of
magnitude greater than the parallel
combination of R1 and R2, RB is added
to balance the DC offset caused by
the noninverting input bias current
and RS. The input bias currents,
although small at room temperature,
can create significant errors over
increasing temperature, especially
with transducer resistances of up to
1000M or more. The optimum value
for RB is determined by equating the
thermal noise (4kTRS) to the current
noise times RS, (2qIB) RS, resulting in
RB = 2VT/IB (VT = kT/q = 26mV at
25°C). A parallel capacitor, CB, is used
to cancel the phase shift caused by
the op amp input capacitance and RB.
The LT1792 has the lowest voltage
noise (4nV/√Hz) of the two, which
makes it the best choice for transducer impedances of 5k or less. For
transducer impedances over 100M,
the LT1793, with a typical input bias
current of only 3pA, will have lower
output noise than the LT1792. The
LT1793 has the additional advantage
of very high input resistance (1013
ohms). Unlike most JFET op amps,
the LT1792 and LT1793 have input
bias currents that remains almost
constant over the entire common
mode range. The specifications for
the LT1792 and LT1793 are summarized in Table 1.
The low noise of the LT1792 and
LT1793 is achieved by maximizing
the gm of the input pair. The polygate
JFETs have a higher gm-to-area ratio
than standard, single-gate JFETs.
This is done by maximizing the tail
current and the size of the input JFET
geometeries. Forty percent of the total
supply current is used as the tail
current for the LT1792 and LT1793.
These op amps are best used with
very high impedance transducers. The
low noise hydrophone amplifier in
Figure 3 is an application where the
LT1792 excels. The AC current output of the hydrophone is converted to
a voltage output by the 100M input
resistor (R8). This signal is amplified
R1*
100M
R3
3.9k
5V TO 15V
2
–
3
+
8
LT1792
R2 C1*
200Ω
1
OUTPUT
C2
0.47µF
4
–5V TO –15V
CT
HYDROPHONE
R8
100M
R6
100k
7
1/2
LT1464
+
–
by the R3/R2 ratio. DC leakage currents at the output of the hydrophone
are subtracted by the servo action of
the feedback amplifier. This amplifier
need not have the low voltage noise of
the LT1792; therefore, it can be chosen to minimize the overall system
supply current. The LT1464 has less
than an order of magnitude of supply
current of the LT1792 and LT1793
and picoampere input bias current.
This allows the time constant of this
loop to be set using high value resistors and less expensive low value
capacitors.
The LT1792 and LT1793 op amps
are in a class by themselves when
amplifying low level signals from high
impedance sources. The design and
process have been optimized to produce both low power consumption
and low current and voltage noise.
Most competing JFET op amps will
have higher voltage noise or much
higher supply current. Practically all
bipolar op amps will have higher current noise. No other op amp will deliver
the noise performance for a given
supply current. For applications
where low noise and power are issues,
the LT1792 and LT1793 are the best
choices.
–
CF
R7
1M
6
R4
1M
5
R5
1M
DC OUTPUT ≤ 2.5mV FOR TA < 70°C
OUTPUT VOLTAGE NOISE = 128nV/√Hz AT 1kHz (GAIN = 20)
C1 ≈ CT ≈ 100pF TO 5000pF; R4C2 > R8CT; *OPTIONAL
Figure 3. Low noise hydrophone amplifier with DC servo
Authors can be contacted
at (408) 432-1900
4
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
DESIGN FEATURES
LT1813: 100MHz, 750V/µs Amplifier
by George Feliz
Draws Only 3mA
Introduction
The LT1813 is a 100MHz dual operational amplifier that has been
optimized for supply voltages under
12V. It features an easy-to-use voltage
feedback topology with high impedance inputs, yet it slews 750V/µs
with only 3mA supply current. DC
performance has not been neglected
—the device has a 1.5mV maximum
VOS and a 400nA maximum IOS.
Performance
A summary of important specifications of the LT1813, compared to its
higher voltage brethren, is shown in
Table 1. A key figure of merit is the
ratio of gain bandwidth to supply
current (GBW/ISUPPLY, expressed in
units of MHz/mA). The new process
employed by the LT1813 forsakes high
supply voltage operation for a 3×–4×
increase in MHz/mA compared to the
LT1361 and LT1364. Blazing speed
from such a modest amount of supply
current is extremely attractive for low
power applications. The LT1813 also
propagates the family traits of
matched, high input impedance inputs and low VOS, IB, IOS and input
noise. The improved common mode
input range of the LT1813 adds to its
utility in low supply voltage applica-
Table 1. Comparison of dual, high speed op amps (VS = ±5V, 25°C)
LT1813
LT1364
LT1361
100MHz
50MHz
37MHz
3.0mA
6.0mA
3.8mA
33.3MHz/mA
8.3MHz/mA
9.7MHz/mA
750V/µs
450V/µs
350V/µs
Input Common Mode Range
±4.0V
+3.4V, –3.2V
+3.4V, –3.2V
Output Swing
±4.0V
±4.1V
±4.0V
Output Current (VOUT = ±3V)
60mA
45mA
38mA
Gain Bandwidth
Supply Current per Amplifier
GBW/I SUPPLY
Slew Rate
VOS (Max)
1.5mV
1.5mV
1.0mV
IB (Max)
4.0µA
2.0µA
1.0µA
IOS (Max)
400nA
350nA
250nA
A VOL (Min)
1.5V/mV
3.5V/mV
3V/mV
Input Noise Voltage
8nV/ Hz
9nV/ Hz
9nV/ Hz
Input Noise Curent
1pA/ Hz
1pA/ Hz
0.9pA/ Hz
CLOAD
1000pF
∞
∞
12.6V
36V
36V
+
–
Max Supply Voltage (V to V )
tions. Stability with capacitive loading is another distinctive and desirable
feature. Although the LT1813 is not
stable with unlimited capacitive loads,
it is stable with nearly two orders of
magnitude more capacitance than
competitors’ high speed amplifiers.
The small-signal transient response
100mV/DIV
100pF
500pF
1000pF
Circuit Design
200ns/DIV
Figure 1. LT1813 in a gain-of-one configuration, no RL; CL = 100pF, 500pF or 1000pF
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
in unity gain with CLOAD =100pF,
500pF and 1000pF is shown in
Figure 1.
The LT1813 extends the frequency
response of applications such as active
filters, instrumentation amplifiers and
buffers. Figure 2 shows the LT1813
converting a single-ended signal to a
differential drive for the LTC1417
14-bit analog-to-digital converter
(ADC). Note that the top amplifier
provides unity voltage gain, but the
amplifier is configured in a noise-gain
of 2 to match the phase response of
the bottom amplifier, which has a
gain of –1. The filter in front of the
ADC reduces broadband noise. The
spurious free dynamic range (SFDR)
of this circuit is –79dB for a 425kHz,
2VP-P input.
A simplified schematic of the circuit
is shown in Figure 3. The circuit looks
similar to a current feedback amplifier, but both inputs are high
5
DESIGN FEATURES
impedance as in a traditional voltage
feedback amplifier. A complementary
cascade of emitter followers, Q1–Q4,
buffers the noninverting input and
drives one side of resistor R1. The
other side of the resistor is driven by
Q5–Q8, which form a buffer for the
inverting input. The input voltage
appears across the resistor, generating currents in Q3 and Q4 that are
mirrored by Q9–Q11 and Q13–Q15
into the high impedance node. Transistors Q17–Q24 form the output
stage. Bandwidth is set by R1, the
gm’s of Q3, Q4, Q7 and Q8 and the
compensation capacitor, CT.
The voltage drops of Q1–Q4 and
the diodes Q10 and Q14 set the input
common mode range of the amplifier.
The emitters of Q3 and Q4 follow the
noninverting input. As the input
approaches either supply rail, the
limiting voltage is determined by the
saturation of Q3 or Q4, which occurs
at approximately a VBE plus a VSAT
from the supply rail. Typically, the
input common mode range is 1V from
either supply rail, and is guaranteed
by the CMRR specification to be 1.5V
from either rail. This excellent input
range is achieved without compromising the output impedance of the
mirrors Q9–Q11 and Q13–Q15,
because Q25 and Q26 provide floating bias points for cascode devices Q9
and Q13. Lower bandwidth processes
cannot successfully use this tech-
1k
–
100Ω
1k
LT1813
+
IN
1k
1k
SERIAL
OUT
14 BITS
LTC1417
500pF
–
100Ω
+
LT1813
Figure 2. Single-ended to differential ADC buffer: 2VP-P input at 425kHz yields –79dB SFDR
nique and maintain high bandwidth,
due to phase shift in the mirror.
The current available to slew compensation capacitor CT is proportional
to the voltage that appears across R1.
This method of “slew boost” achieves
low distortion due to its inherent linearity with input step size. Large slew
currents can be generated without
increasing quiescent current. A low
value for R1 reduces the input noise
voltage to 8nV/√Hz and helps reduce
input offset voltage and drift. The
LT1813 is built with small-geometry,
multi-GHz transistors that produce
abundant bandwidth with meager
operating currents and allow for further reduction of idling supply current.
The output stage buffers the high
impedance node from the load by
providing current gain. The simplest
output stage would be two pairs of
complementary emitter followers,
which would provide a current gain of
BetaNPN × BetaPNP. Unfortunately, this
gain is insufficient for driving even
modest loads. Adding another emitterfollower or a Darlington configuration
reduces output swing and creates
instability with large capacitive loads.
The solution used on the LT1813
was to create a pair of composite
transistors formed by transistors
Q19–Q21 and Q22–Q24. The current
mirrors attached to the collectors of
emitter followers Q19 and Q22 provide additional current gain. The ratio
of transistor geometries Q20 to Q21
and Q23 to Q24 increase the current
gain by approximately fifteen. There
continued on page 15
V+
Q11
Q25
Q10
Q20
Q12
Q9
Q21
Q19
Q17
RC
Q7
–IN
Q5
CC
Q3
OUT
R1
Q6
Q2
Q8
C1
Q1
Q18
+IN
CT
Q4
Q22
C2
Q13
Q14
Q26
Q15
Q16
Q23
Q24
V–
Figure 3. LT1813 simplified schematic
6
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
DESIGN FEATURES
Micropower, Precision Current Sense
Amplifier Operates from 2.5V to 60V
by Richard Markell, Glen Brisebois and Jim Mahoney
Introduction
The LT1787 is a precision, high-side
current sense amplifier designed for
monitoring of the current either into
or out of a battery or other element
capable of sourcing or sinking current. The LT1787 features a miniscule
40µV (typical) input offset voltage with
a 128mV full-scale input voltage. (The
part is generally used at ±128mV fullscale, although it is specified for
500mV minimum full-scale.) This
translates to a 12-bit dynamic range
in resolving currents. A hefty 60V
maximum input voltage specification
allows the part to be used not only in
low voltage battery applications but
also in telecom and industrial applications where higher voltages may be
present.
The device is self-powered from the
supply that it is monitoring and
requires only 60µA of supply current.
The power supply rejection ratio of
the LT1787 is in excess of 130dB.
The LT1787 allows the use of a
user-selectable sense resistor, the
value of which depends on the current to be monitored. This allows the
input voltage to be optimized to the
128mV value, maximizing dynamic
RSENSE
VS–
VS+
RG1
RG2
FIL–
FIL+
RG1A
RG2A
–
+
A1
VBIAS
Q1
Q2
ROUT
VOUT
VEE
1:1 MIRROR
1787 F 01
Figure 1. LT1787 function diagram
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
range. The part has a fixed voltage
gain of eight from input to output.
Additional LT1787 features include
provisions for input noise filtering
(both differential and common mode)
and the ability to operate over a very
wide supply range of 2.5V to 60V. The
part is available in both 8-lead SO
and MSOP packages.
Operation of the LT1787
Figure 1 shows a function diagram of
the LT1787 integrated circuit. When
current is flowing from VS+ to VS–, a
sense voltage of VSENSE = ISENSE •
RSENSE is generated. Because amplifier A1’s positive and negative inputs
are forced equal by feedback, VSENSE
also appears across the RG side with
the higher VS potential. Hence, for the
situation where VS+ is greater than
VS–, VSENSE appears across RG2A and
RG2B. This current flows through Q2
and becomes the output current, IOUT.
Q1 is kept off by the amplifier and
does not contribute to IOUT.
For split-supply operation, where
VS+ and VEE range from ±2.5V to
±30V; with VBIAS at ground, VOUT
becomes (IOUT • ROUT). In this case,
and for the above described direction
of sense current, VOUT is positive or
“above” VBIAS; thus Q2 is sourcing
current.
When current flows from VS– to
+
VS , input VS– is at a higher potential
than VS+, so VSENSE will appear across
RG1A and RG1B. The current, IOUT =
VSENSE/(RG1A + RG1B), will be conducted
through Q1, while Q2 remains off.
IOUT then duplicates itself through a
one-to-one current mirror at VOUT.
VOUT is negative or “below” VBIAS; Q1
sources current and the mirror sinks
the current at the VOUT node.
The output voltage across ROUT is
related to the input sense voltage by
the following relationships:
VOUT – VBIAS = IOUT • ROUT
VSENSE = ISENSE • RSENSE
IOUT = VSENSE/RG,
RG = RG1A + RG1B = RG2A + RG2B
RG(TYP) = 2.5k
VOUT – VBIAS = (ROUT) (VSENSE)/
RG, ROUT/RG = 8
ROUT(TYP) = 20k
VOUT – VBIAS = 8 (VSENSE),
VSENSE = VS+ – VS–
VOUT = 8 (VSENSE) + VBIAS
Selection of RSENSE
Maximum sense current can vary for
each application. To sense the widest
dynamic range, it is necessary to select
an external sense resistor that fits
each application. 12-bit dynamic
range performance can be achieved
regardless of the maximum current to
be sensed, whether it is 10mA or 10A.
The correct RSENSE value is derived so
that the product of the maximum
sense current and the sense resistor
value is equal to the desired maximum sense voltage (usually 128mV).
For instance, the value of the sense
resistor to sense a maximum current
of 10mA is 128mV/10mA = 12.8Ω.
Since the LT1787 is capable of 12-bit
resolution, the smallest measurable
current is 10mA/4096 counts =
2.44µA/count. In terms of sense voltage, this translates to 128mV/4096
= 31.25µ V/count. Other current
ranges can be accommodated by a
simple change in value in the sense
resistor. Care should also be taken to
ensure that the power dissipated in
the sense resistor, IMAX.2 • RSENSE,
does not exceed the maximum power
rating of the resistor.
7
DESIGN FEATURES
Application Circuits
and negative current flow being from
VS– to VS+, where the output varies
from 0V to –1.024V for VSENSE = 0mV
to –128mV. Figure 3 shows the output voltage versus VSENSE for this
configuration.
Dual-Supply,
Bidirectional Current Sense
Figure 2 shows the schematic diagram of the LT1787 operated with
dual supplies. This circuit can sense
current in either direction, positive
current flow being from VS+ to VS–,
where the output ranges from 0V to
1.024V for VSENSE = 0mV to 128mV,
Operation with Bias
If a negative supply is not available, a
voltage reference may be connected
to the VBIAS pin of the LT1787. The
value of the reference is not critical, it
simply biases the output of the part to
a new “zero” point (for VSENSE = 0V);
zero is now at VBIAS = VREF, which, for
the case of Figure 4, is equal to 1.25V.
This configuration can be used for
both unipolar and bipolar current
sensing, with VOUT ranging either
“above” or “below” VBIAS, depending
on the direction of the current flow.
This can be seen from the graph shown
in Figure 5. (Note that the reference
must be able to both source and sink
1.5
1.0
C1
1µF
1
FIL–
FIL+
8
2
VS –
VS+
7
3
4
LT1787
6
VBIAS
DNC
5
VOUT
VEE
15V
OUTPUT
C2
1µF
–5V
OUTPUT VOLTAGE (V)
RSENSE
TO
CHARGER/
LOAD
VS = ±1.65V TO ±30V
TA = – 40°C TO 85°C
0.5
0
–0.5
–1.0
1000pF
–1.5
–128 –96 –64 –32 0
32 64 96
SENSE VOLTAGE (VS+ – VS–) (mV)
Figure 2. Split-supply, bidirectional operation
128
Figure 3. VOUT vs VSENSE in bipolar mode
2.75
C1
1µF
1
FIL–
2
VS–
FIL+
8
3.3V
TO
60V
OUTPUT VOLTAGE (V)
RSENSE
TO
CHARGER/
LOAD
VS = 3.3V TO 60V
TA = – 40°C TO 85°C
2.25
3.3V
RBIAS
20k
5%
7
VS+
LT1787HV
3
6
VBIAS
DNC
4
5
VOUT
VEE
C2
1µF
LT1634-1.25
1.75
1.25
0.75
0.25
1000pF
–0.25
–128 –96 –64 –32 0
32 64 96
SENSE VOLTAGE (VS+ – VS–) (mV)
OUTPUT
Figure 4. Bidirectional operation with a reference
128
Figure 5. VOUT vs VSENSE in bipolar mode
4500
1Ω
IS
4000
FIL–
7
VS+
3
4
DNC
VEE
LT1787
FIL+
8
3500
5V
3000
VS– 2
VBIAS 6
100pF
5
VCC
COUNTS
1
SINGLE 5V SUPPLY
VREF = 1.25V
I–V CONVERTER
USING INTERNAL ROUT
–
VOUT
36k
VCC
+
LT1495
LTC1404
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
LT1634-1.25
Figure 6. Operation with a buffer
8
0
–250 –200 –150 –100 –50
0
INPUT CURRENT (mA)
50
100
Figure 7. Output counts vs input current
for Figure 6’s circuit
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
DESIGN FEATURES
2.5V TO
60V
C
0.1µF
FIL+
FIL–
8
7
VS +
VS –
LT1787HV
6
3
VBIAS
DNC
2
4
VEE
VOUT
5
VOUT
Figure 8. Output voltage referred to ground—
unidirectional sensing mode
current from the VBIAS pin—refer to
the block diagram in Figure 1.)
Operation with a Buffer
Figure 6 uses a rail-to-rail op amp,
the LT1495, as an I/V converter to
buffer the LT1787’s output. The
LT1634-1.25 reference is used to bias
the LT1787’s output so that zero current is now represented by a 1.25V
output. This allows the device to monitor current in either direction while
the circuit operates on a single supply. This also allows lower voltage
operation, since VOUT of the LT1787 is
held constant by the op amp. Figure
7 shows input current versus output
counts (from the LTC1404 A/D converter), showing excellent linearity.
Single-Supply Current Sense
The circuit in Figure 8 provides good
accuracy near full-scale, but has a
limited dynamic range. In this circuit,
the LT1787 is operated from a single
supply of 2.5V minimum to 60V maximum. Current is allowed to flow
through RSENSE in both directions but
7
VS+
3
VEE
4
DNC
VEE
LT1787
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
IDEAL
0
0
Figure 10 shows the details of an
LT1787 connected to a LTC1404 12bit serial A/D converter. Details of the
circuit are similar to those shown
previously in Figures 2 and 8 and in
the text detailing these circuits. The
main difference in the applications is
that the circuits in Figures 2 and 8
provide an analog output voltage proportional to the current, whereas the
circuit shown in Figure 10 digitizes
that analog voltage to provide a digital output. Figures 11 and 12 show
the output of the LTC1404 A/D converter. The data in Figure 11 was
collected with VEE operated from –5V;
in other words, both the LT1787 and
the LTC1404 used a negative supply
of –5V. Similarly, the data in Figure
12 was taken with VEE connected to
ground.
Connecting the optional section of
the schematic (still operating the circuit from a single supply) allows the
A/D’s reference to “bias up” the
LT1787 exactly as shown in Figure 5.
Of course, the graph of the output
would then be recast as similar to
Figure 11 (counts versus VSENSE).
5
10
15
20
25
30
VSENSE (mV)
Figure 9. Expanded scale of VOUT vs VSENSE,
unidirectional current sensing mode
Auto Shutdown
Linear Regulator
Figure 13 shows the details of a linear
regulator with high-side current
sensing and latched shutdown capability. The circuit shuts down power
to the load when the current reaches
its overcurrent trip point. Power can
then be restored only by cycling the
main power off and on again. This
circuit features the LT1787 and the
LTC1440 precision comparator with
on-chip reference. The LT1528 is a 3A
low dropout linear regulator with
shutdown.
The circuit uses the LT1787, U1,
as a precision current sensor; the
gain of the LT1787 allows the use of a
0.05Ω sense resistor, which dissipates a mere 0.312W of power. The
LTC1440 ultralow power comparator, U2, with its internal reference, is
used as a precision trigger, followed
by a 74HC00 connected as an RS flipflop (U3C and U3D) to latch the error
condition until power is removed and
reapplied. The other two NAND gates
VCC = 5V
1Ω 1%
FIL–
0.25
Operation with
an A/D Converter
IS
1
0.30
FIL+
VS– 2
VOUT 5
~20k
1
8
1000
10µF
16V
800
600
VOUT (±1V)
6
VBIAS
CONV
2
AIN
3
VREF
4
10k
10µF
16V
CLK
DOUT
GND
8
10k
OPTIONAL:
CONNECT TO VBIAS;
DISCONNECT VBIAS
FROM GROUND
LTC1404
7
6
5
10µF
16V
DOUT
200
0
–200
–400
–600
VEE
Figure 10. Connection to an A/D converter (current-to-counts converter)
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
VCC = 5V
VEE = –5V
400
CLOCKING
CIRCUITRY
COUNTS
1
is measured in a single direction only,
with current flow from VS+ to VS–. In
this connection, VBIAS and VEE are
grounded. The output voltage (VOUT )
of the LT1787 for this circuit is equal
to 8 • VSENSE, for VSENSE = VS+ – VS– =
0mV to 128mV. The dynamic range
limits of this circuit can be seen in the
graph shown in Figure 9.
OUTPUT VOLTAGE (V)
RSENSE
TO
LOAD
–800
–1000
–128 –96 –64 –32 0
32
VSENSE (mV)
64
96
128
Figure 11. LT1787 input to LTC1404 ADC
9
DESIGN FEATURES
1000
Battery Fuel Gauge
VCC = 5V
VEE = –5V
COUNTS
800
600
400
200
0
0
20
40
60
80
VSENSE (mV)
100
120
Figure 12. LT1787 input to LTC1404 ADC—
single supply
are used to provide a power-on reset
of the RS flip-flop. The 1M resistor,
R7, and the 0.33µF capacitor, C3, at
pin 2 of U3A provide a long enough
time constant to properly initialize
the flip-flop.
As shown, the circuit’s trip point
for shutdown is just under 2.5A. This
may be changed by altering the value
of current sense resistor R1. Consult
the LT1787 data sheet for details on
how to alter this resistor to sense
different current ranges.
The industry standard method for
gauging battery charge is to keep
track of the endpoints, the full charge
and discharged states, and, in
between, to measure how much discharge has occurred since the last
full charge (and vice versa). In an
automobile, this would be analogous
to having only a “full” reading and an
“empty” reading on the gas tank, and,
in between, to keep track of mileage.
Applying this strategy to batteries is
called “Coulomb-counting”; it is
achieved by measuring (and
numerically accumulating in a
microcontroller) the current flow from
the battery over time. Keeping track
of the history of battery currents and
voltages allows the present state of
the battery charge to be determined.
Hence the need for an accurate current sense amplifier like the LT1787.
Figure 14 shows a schematic for
measuring battery current using the
LT1787 and measuring battery voltage using the micropower LT1635
with 200mV internal reference. The
LT1787 is configured for single-supply, bidirectional operation, with the
2.0V reference coming from U2B, the
LT1635 (created by amplifying its internal 200mV reference by a gain of
ten.) Note that the reference voltage is
fed to the ADC, so its absolute value
is not critical, except in that it will
form the center point for the battery
voltage measurement and will thus
determine the valid battery input voltage range. Resistors R1 and R2 form
a divide-by-five, bringing the battery
voltage down from ~10.8V to ~2.1V to
put it within the input range of a
downstream ADC. Op amp U2A with
resistors R3 and R4 level shift this by
the reference voltage and apply a gain
of five. If a 12-bit ADC with a 5V
reference is used, the following equations apply:
VBATT = 4 (VREF ) + VB
= (5/4095) (4(Ch1) + Ch2)
IBATT = VS / RS
= (1/8) (VI – VREF) / 0.05
= 2.5 (VI – VREF)
= 2.5 (5/4095) (Ch0 – Ch1)
where Ch0, Ch1 and Ch2 are in counts
from 0 to 4095.
5V
5V
R7
1M
R1 0.05Ω
VIN
5V
POWER-ON
R8
RESET
10k
1
3
2 U3A
C7
0.1µF
R2
20k
C1 0.1µF
U2 LTC1440
U1 LT1787
8
FIL–
FIL+
7
2
VS+
VS–
3
5
DNC
VOUT
4
6
VEE
VBIAS
3 IN+
1
4
IN–
+
V+ 7
C4
0.01µF 5V
–
6 REF
2
R10
180k
10
9
R4 3.24k
R6
430Ω
R9
10k
5
U3B 4
6
OUT 8
5 HYST
R5 20k
R3
2.4M
C2
1µF
5V
C3
0.33µF
8
D1
1N5712
2
V–
U3C
GND
13
12
U3D
11
U3 = 74HC00
U4 LT1528
5
4
C5
1µF
VIN
OUTPUT
SHDN
1
2
SENSE
GND
R11
3
330Ω
VOUT
3.3V/2.5A
+
C6
100µF
LATCHED SHUTDOWN
Figure 13. LT1787 auto shutdown with latch
10
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
DESIGN FEATURES
The LT1787 high-side current sense
amplifier provides an easy-to-use
method of sensing current with 12bit resolution for a multiplicity of
application areas. The part can oper-
14
VOLTAGE (V)
Conclusion
ate to 60V, making it ideal for higher
voltage topologies such as might be
used in telecom or industrial applications. Additionally, the part can find
homes in battery-powered, handheld
equipment and computers, where the
need for gauging the amount of current consumed and/or the amount of
charge remaining in the battery is
critical.
12
VBATT
10
8
6
4
CURRENT (A)
Figure 15 shows a typical discharge
and charge cycle for a 10.8V, 4A-hour
Li-Ion battery.
2
IBATT
0
–2
–4
0
30
60
90
120
TIME (MINUTES)
150
180
Figure 15. Discharge and charge cycle
of a 10.8V Li-Ion battery
SENSE VBATT AT
THE POSITIVE BATTERY – V +
S
TERMINAL
RS 0.05Ω
VBATT
IBATT
SONY LIP9020
10.8V, 4AH
Li-Ion BATTERY
STAR GROUND
AT NEGATIVE
BATTERY
TERMINAL
LOAD
CHARGE
(12.5V MAX)
C1 0.22µF
U1 LT1787
8
FIL–
FIL+
7
–
+
VS
VS
3
5
DNC
VOUT
4
6
VEE
VBIAS
C2 100pF
1
R5 9.09k
2
ADC CH0
R9 1k
VI
C6
0.22µF
7
R8 1k
1
VREF
VBATT
C5
0.22µF
U2B
1/2 LT1635
R6
1k
1%
+
R2
249k
1%
8
–
ADC CH1
R1
1M
1%
5V
200mV
3
2
+
U2A
1/2 LT1635
–
6
R3
1M
1%
R7 1k
ADC CH2
4
VB
C3
100pF
C4
0.22µF
R4
249k 1%
Figure 14. Battery “fuel gauging” system
For more information on parts featured in this issue, see
http://www.linear-tech.com/go/ltmag
http://www.linear-tech.com/ezone/zone.html
Articles, Design Ideas, Tips from the Lab…
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
11
DESIGN FEATURES
Triple 300MHz Current Feedback
Amplifiers Drive RGB/Component
by Brian Hamilton
Video and LCD Displays
Introduction
With the advent of HDTV and DVD
video, there is a renewed focus on
RGB/component video to maximize
picture quality. LCD displays have
also entered the mainstream for high
end and portable computer displays.
Both of these applications require
high speed triple amplifiers for routing and conditioning video signals.
LCD displays also require voltage
swings of over 10V, with fast settling,
into large capacitive loads. With these
applications in mind, Linear Technology has introduced the LT1399
and LT1399HV triple current feedback amplifiers. The LT1399 and
LT1399HV contain three independent
300MHz current feedback amplifiers,
each with a shutdown pin. Each
amplifier has exceptional 0.1dB gain
flatness of 150MHz and a slew rate of
800V/µs. Output drive current is a
minimum of 80mA over temperature.
The LT1399 operates on all supplies from a single 4V to ±6V. The
LT1399HV supports higher supply
voltages and will operate on supplies
ranging from a single 4V to ±7.5V.
Each of the three amplifiers draws
4.6mA when active. When disabled,
each amplifier draws zero supply current and its output becomes high
impedance. Each amplifier can be
enabled in 30ns and disabled in 40ns,
making the LT1399 and LT1399HV
ideal in spread-spectrum and portable equipment applications.
With the addition of a small series
resistor at the output, the LT1399
and LT1399HV are capable of driving large capacitive loads. The
LT1399HV’s high voltage operation,
when combined with its ability to
drive capacitive loads, makes it ideal
for driving LCD displays.
What’s Inside
Figure 1 is a simplified schematic for
one of the three amplifiers found in
the LT1399/LT1399HV. Tying EN low
allows current to flow through J1,
Q1–Q4 and R1. Q3 and Q6 mirror this
current on top, while Q5 and Q7
mirror the current on the bottom. Q6
and Q7 thus act as current sources
for input-stage transistors Q8–Q11.
+IN is a high-impedance input, driving the bases of Q8 and Q9. The
emitters of these transistors then drive
the bases of Q10 and Q11, which
V+
Q1
Q3
Q13
Q12
Q16
Q6
R1
Q10
have their emitters tied together and
form a buffered representation of +IN.
This node is the inverting input –IN.
Any current flowing into or out of –IN
modulates the collector currents of
Q12 and Q14. This, in turn, modulates the collector currents of Q13
and Q15, which drive the high impedance node. Transistors Q16–Q21 and
resistors R2 and R3 form the output
stage that buffers the signal at the
high impedance node from the output.
Using the LT1399HV
to Drive LCD Displays
Driving present-day XGA and UXGA
LCD displays can be a difficult problem because they require drive
voltages of up to 12V, usually present
a capacitive load of over 300pF and
require fast settling. The LT1399HV
is particularly well suited for driving
these LCD displays because it is
capable of swinging more than ±6V
on ±7.5V supplies and, with a small
series resistor RS at the output, can
drive large capacitive loads with good
settling time. This circuit topology
can be seen in Figure 2. As seen in
Figure 3, at a gain of three, with a
16.9Ω output series resistor and a
330pF load, the LT1399HV is capable
of settling to 0.1% in 30ns for a 6V
step. Similarly, as seen in Figure 4, a
12V output step will settle in 70ns.
Q20
Q2
J1
Q18
Q8
Q4
R2
+
VIN
–IN
+IN
HI-Z
Q9
1/3
LT1399HV
OUT
Q19
RS
VOUT
–
R3
CLOAD
RF
Q21
Q11
EN
RG
Q5
Q7
Q14
Q15
Q17
V–
Figure 1. LT1399 simplified schematic (one amplifier)
12
Figure 2. Adding an output series resistor for
driving capacitive loads
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
DESIGN FEATURES
VIN
1V/DIV
VOUT
2V/DIV
VIN
2V/DIV
VS = ±5V
RF = 324Ω
RG = 162Ω
RS = 16.9Ω
CL = 330pF
VS = ±7V
RF = 324Ω
RG = 162Ω
RS = 16.9Ω
CL = 330pF
VOUT
5V/DIV
50ns/DIV
20ns/DIV
Figure 3. LT1399/LT1399HV large-signal pulse response
driving 330pF (typical LCD loading)
Figure 4. LT1399HV output-voltage swing is
>12V with ±7V supplies
A 3-Input Video Multiplexer
and Cable Driver
Figure 5 shows a low cost, 3-input
video MUX cable driver. The scope
photo in Figure 6 displays the cable
output of a 30MHz square wave driving 150Ω. In this circuit, the active
amplifier is loaded by the sum of RF
and RG of each disabled amplifier.
Resistor values have been chosen to
keep the total back termination at
75Ω while maintaining a gain of one
at the 75Ω load. Figure 7 shows the
envelope of the output signal as the
multiplexer is switched from channel
A to channel B. Channel A is being
driven by a 2VP-P, 3.58MHz sine wave.
The switching envelope of the output
is well behaved and the switching
time is approximately 32ns.
input of a second amplifier, A2, which
also sums the weighted G and B inputs to create a –0.5 • Y output.
Amplifier A3 then takes the –0.5 • Y
output and amplifies it by a gain of
minus two, resulting in the Y output.
Amplifier A1 is configured in a noninverting gain-of-two configuration, with
the bottom of the gain resistor R2 tied
to the Y output. The output of amplifier
A1 thus results in the color-difference output R – Y.
The B input is similar to the R
input. It arrives via 75Ω coax and is
routed to 2940Ω resistor R10 and the
noninverting input of amplifier A4.
There is also a 76.8Ω termination
resistor R13, which yields a 75Ω input
Buffered RGB to
Color-Difference Matrix
Two LT1399s can be used to create
buffered color-difference signals from
RGB inputs. In the application shown
in Figure 8, a total of four amplifiers
is used to create color-difference signals. The luminance signal Y is created
using amplifiers A2 and A3. The
remaining color-difference signals
each use a single amplifier and the
newly created Y output to perform the
appropriate difference function.
The R input arrives via 75Ω coax
and is routed to 1082Ω resistor R8
and the noninverting input of LT1399
amplifier A1. There is also an 80.6Ω
termination resistor, R11, which
yields a 75Ω input impedance at the
R input when considered in parallel
with R8. R8 connects to the inverting
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
A
+
VIN A
RG
200Ω
impedance when considered in parallel with R10. R10 also connects to the
inverting input of amplifier A2, adding the B contribution to the Y signal
as discussed above. Amplifier A4 is
configured in a noninverting gain-oftwo configuration with the bottom of
the gain resistor R4 tied to the Y
output. The output of amplifier A4
thus results in the color-difference
output B – Y.
The G input also arrives via 75Ω
coax and adds its contribution to the
Y signal via a 549Ω resistor R9 that is
tied to the inverting input of amplifier
A2. There is also an 86.6Ω termination resistor, R12, which yields a 75Ω
termination when considered in par-
CHANNEL
SELECT
B C
EN A
97.6Ω
1/3 LT1399
–
75Ω
CABLE
RF
324Ω
VOUT
+
VIN B
RG
200Ω
RG
200Ω
75Ω
97.6Ω
1/3 LT1399
–
+
VIN C
EN B
RF
324Ω
EN C
97.6Ω
1/3 LT1399
–
1399 TA01
RF
324Ω
Figure 5. 3-input video mux/cable driver
13
DESIGN FEATURES
EN A
5V/DIV
VINA = VINB =
2VP-P AT 3.58MHz
VS = ±5V
EN B
OUTPUT
200mV/DIV
OUTPUT
5V/DIV
RL = 150Ω
RF = RG = 340Ω
f = 30MHz
5nS/DIV
10ns/DIV
Figure 6. 30MHz square wave response
Figure 7. 3-input video mux switching response
allel with R9. Using superposition, it
is straightforward to determine the
output of amplifier A2. Although
inverted, it sums the R, G and B
signals in the standard proportions of
0.3R, 0.59G and 0.11B, which are
used to create the Y signal. Amplifier
A3 then inverts and amplifies the
signal by two, resulting in the Y output. Two additional LT1399 amplifiers
remain unused, available for additional signal conditioning as needed.
Buffered Color-Difference
to RGB Matrix
The LT1399 can also be used to create buffered RGB outputs from
color-difference signals. As seen in
Figure 9, the R output is a backterminated 75Ω signal created using
resistor R5 and LT1399 amplifier A1
configured for a gain of two via 324Ω
resistors R3 and R4. The noninverting input of amplifier A1 is connected
via 1k resistors R1 and R2 to the Y
and R – Y inputs, respectively, resulting in cancellation of the Y signal at
the amplifier input. The remaining R
signal is then amplified by A1.
The B output is also a back-terminated 75Ω signal created using
resistor R16 and amplifier A3
configured for a gain of two via 324Ω
resistors R14 and R15. The noninverting input of amplifier A3 is
connected via 1kΩ resistors R12 and
R13 to the Y and B – Y inputs respectively, resulting in cancellation of the
Y signal at the amplifier input. The
remaining B signal is then amplified
by A3.
The G output is the most complicated of the three. It is a weighted
sum of the Y, R – Y and B – Y inputs.
The Y input is attenuated via resistors R6 and R7 such that amplifier
A2’s noninverting input sees 0.83Y.
Using superposition, we can calculate the positive gain of A2 by assuming
that R8 and R9 are grounded. This
results in a gain of 2.41 and a contribution at the output of A2 of 2Y. The
R – Y input is amplified by A2 and
resistors R8 and R10, giving a gain of
–1.02. This results in a contribution
at the output of A2 of 1.02Y – 1.02R.
The B – Y input is amplified by A2 and
resistors R9 and R10, giving a gain of
–0.37. This results in a contribution
at the output of A2 of 0.37Y – 0.37B.
If we now sum the three contributions at the output of A2, we get:
A2OUT = 3.40Y – 1.02R – 0.37B
It is important to remember though,
that Y is a weighted sum of R, G, and
B such that:
Y = 0.3R + 0.59G + 0.11B.
If we substitute for Y at the output
of A2, we then get:
A2OUT = (1.02R – 1.02R) + 2G +
(0.37B – 0.37B) = 2G
The back-termination resistor R16
then halves the output of A2, resulting in the G output.
+
75Ω
SOURCES
R8
1082Ω
A1
1/3 LT1399
R
R11
80.6Ω
–
R9
549Ω
R7
324Ω
G
R12
86.6Ω
R–Y
R1
324Ω
R10
2940Ω
B
R13
76.8Ω
–
A2
1/3 LT1399
+
R6
162Ω
R5
324Ω
R2
324Ω
–
A3
1/3 LT1399
Y
+
R4
324Ω
–
ALL RESISTORS 1%
VS = ±5V
A4
1/3 LT1399
+
R3
324Ω
B–Y
Figure 8. Buffered RGB to color-difference matrix
14
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
DESIGN FEATURES
Single-Supply RGB
Video Amplifier
The LT1399 can be used with a single
supply voltage of 6V or more to drive
ground-referenced RGB video. As seen
in Figure 10, two 1N4148 diodes, D1
and D2, have been placed in series
with the output of the amplifier A1,
but within the feedback loop formed
by resistor R8. These diodes effectively level-shift A1’s output downward
by 2 diodes, allowing the circuit output to swing to ground.
Amplifier A1 is used in a positive
gain configuration. The feedback
resistor R8 is 324Ω. The gain resistor
is created from the parallel combination of R6 and R7, giving a
R1
1k
Thevenin-equivalent 80.4Ω connected
to 3.75V. This gives an AC gain of five
from the noninverting input of amplifier A1 to the cathode of D2. However,
the video input is also attenuated
before arriving at A1’s positive input.
Assuming a 75Ω source impedance
for the signal driving VIN, the Thevenin-equivalent signal arriving at A1’s
positive input is 3V + (0.4 • VIN), with
a source impedance of 714Ω. The
combination of these two inputs gives
an output at the cathode of D2 of 2 •
VIN with no additional DC offset. The
75Ω back termination resistor R9
halves the signal again such that
VOUT equals a buffered version of VIN.
Y
R2
1k
+
A1
1/3 LT1399
R-Y
–
R
R3
324Ω
R4
324Ω
R6
205Ω
+
R2
1k
R8
316Ω
R5
75Ω
A2
1/3 LT1399
–
Linear Technology has introduced the
LT1399 and LT1399HV triple 300MHz
current feedback amplifiers. Both of
these products are well suited for use
in component video applications. The
higher supply voltage rating of the
LT1399HV makes it an excellent
choice for LCD driver applications.
Both products feature 4.6mA of supply current per amplifier, 300MHz
–3dB bandwidth, an exceptional
0.1dB gain flatness of 150MHz, 800V/
µs slew rate and a shutdown pin for
each channel.
G
5V
R10
324Ω
R1
1000Ω
R6
107Ω
A1
1/3 LT1399
R2
1300Ω
+
A3
1/3 LT1399
–
ALL RESISTORS 1%
VS = ± 5V
R16
75Ω
VIN
–
R3
160Ω
C1
4.7µF
VS
6V TO 12V
+
B-Y
R13
1k
Conclusion
R11
75Ω
R9
845Ω
R12
1k
It is important to note that the
4.7µF capacitor C1 is required to
maintain the voltage drop across
diodes D1 and D2 when the circuit
output drops low enough that the
diodes might otherwise be reverse
biased. This means that this circuit
works fine for continuous video input,
but will require that C1 be charged
after a period of inactivity at the input.
+
D2
D1
1N4148 1N4148
R9
75Ω
VOUT
R8
324Ω
B
R14
324Ω
R4
75Ω
R5
2.32Ω
R7
324Ω
R15
324Ω
Figure 9. Buffered color-difference to RGB matrix
LT1813, continued from page 6
is no output swing penalty as the
swing is limited at the collectors of Q9
and Q13. The dynamics of the composites are not as benign as those of
emitter followers, so compensation is
required and is provided by C1 and
C2.
The stability with capacitive loads
is provided by the RC, CC network
between the output stage and the
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
Figure 10. Single-supply RGB video amplifier (one of three channels)
gain node. When the amplifier is driving a light or moderate load, the output
can follow the high impedance node
and the network is bootstrapped and
has no effect. When driving a heavy
load such as a capacitor or smallvalue resistor, the network is
incompletely bootstrapped and adds
to the compensation provided by CT.
The added capacitance provided by
CC slows down the amplifier and the
zero created by RC adds phase margin
to increase stability.
Conclusion
The combination of a high slew rate,
DC accuracy and a frugal 3mA-peramplifier supply current make the
LT1813 a compelling choice for low
voltage and low power, high speed
applications.
15
DESIGN FEATURES
LTC1702/LTC1703 Switching Regulator
Controllers Set a New Standard for
by Dave Dwelley
Transient Response
Introduction
The LTC1702 dual switching regulator controller uses a high switching
frequency and precision feedback circuitry to provide exceptional output
regulation and transient response
performance. Running at a fixed
550kHz switching frequency, each
side of the LTC1702 features a voltage feedback architecture using a
25MHz gain-bandwidth op amp as
the feedback amplifier, allowing loopcrossover frequencies in excess of
50kHz. Large onboard MOSFET drivers allow the LTC1702 to drive high
current external MOSFETs efficiently
at 550kHz and beyond. The high
switching frequency allows the use of
small external inductors and capacitors while maintaining excellent
output ripple and transient response,
even as load currents exceed the 10A
level. The dual-output LTC1702 is
packaged in a space-saving 24-pin
narrow SSOP, minimizing board space
consumed.
Mobile PCs using the most recent
Intel Pentium® III processors require
LTC1702-level performance coupled
with a DAC-controlled voltage at the
core supply output. The LTC1703 is
designed specifically for this application and consists of a modified
LTC1702 with a 5-bit DAC controlling the output voltage at side 1. The
DAC conforms to the Intel Mobile VID
specification. Figure 6 shows an
example of a complete mobile Pentium III power supply solution using
the LTC1703. The LTC1703 is packaged in the 28-pin SSOP package,
conserving valuable PC board real
estate in cramped mobile PC designs.
LTC1702/LTC1703
Architecture
The LTC1702/LTC1703 each consist
of two independent switching regulator controllers in one package. Each
controller is designed to be wired as a
voltage feedback, synchronous stepdown regulator, using two external
N-channel MOSFETs per side as
power switches (Figure 1). A small
external charge pump (DCP and CCP in
Figure 1) provides a boosted supply
voltage to keep M1 turned fully on.
The switching frequency is set
internally at 550kHz. A user-programmable current limit circuit uses the
synchronous MOSFET switch, M2,
as a current sensing element, eliminating the need for an external low
value current sensing resistor. The
LTC1702/LTC1703 are designed to
operate from a 5V or 3.3V input supply, provided either by the main
off-line supply in an AC powered system or a primary switching regulator
in battery powered systems. Maximum input voltage is 7V.
Pentium is a registered trademark of Intel Corp.
VIN
LTC1702/ PVCC
LTC1703
BOOST
TG
+
DCP
CCP
1µF
QT
LEXT
SW
BG
CIN
VOUT
+
QB
COUT
PGND
Figure 1. LTC1702/LTC1703 switching architecture
16
Synchronous operation maximizes
efficiency at full load, where resistive
drops in the switching MOSFET and
the synchronous rectifier dominate
the power losses. As the load drops
and switching losses become a larger
factor, the LTC1702/LTC1703 automatically shifts into discontinuous
mode, where the synchronous rectifier MOSFET turns off before the end
of a switching cycle to prevent reverse
current flow in the inductor. As the
load current continues to decrease,
the LTC1702/LTC1703 switches
modes again and enters Burst Mode™,
where it will only switch as required
to keep the output in regulation, skipping cycles whenever possible to
reduce switching losses to a bare
minimum. With no output load in
Burst Mode, the supply current for
the entire system drops to the 3mA
quiescent current drawn by each side
of the LTC1702/LTC1703. Each side
can be shutdown independently; with
both sides shut down, the LTC1702/
LTC1703 enters a sleep mode where
it draws less than 50µA.
Inside the LTC1702/LTC1703
The LTC1702/LTC1703 features
peerless regulation and transient
response, due to both to its high
switching frequency and a carefully
designed internal architecture (Figure
2). Much of the transient response
improvement comes from a new feedback amplifier design. Unlike
conventional switching regulator
designs, the LTC1702/LTC1703 use
a true 25MHz gain-bandwidth op amp
as the feedback amplifier (FB in Figure 2). This allows the use of an
optimized compensation scheme that
can tailor the loop response more
precisely that the traditional RC from
COMP to ground. A “type 3” feedback
circuit (Figure 3) typically allows the
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
DESIGN FEATURES
PVCC
BOOST
BURST
LOGIC
TG
DRIVE
LOGIC
SW
BG
PGND
90% DC
OSC
550kHz
GAIN
DIS
FCB
SOFT
START
RUN/SS
100µs
DELAY
COMP
PGOODD
10µs
DELAY
ILIM
+
FB
MIN
–
MAX
FLT
IMAX
800mV
760mV
840mV
FAULT
920mV
FROM
OTHER
HALF
FB
1702 BD
SD TO THIS
HALF
LTC1703 ONLY
40k
VCC
SD TO
ENTIRE CHIP
500mV
VID0
40k
SENSE
VCC
FROM
OTHER
HALF
R11
VID1
40k
VCC
VID2
40k
FB1
SWITCH
CONTROL
LOGIC
RB1
VCC
VID3
40k
VCC
VID4
Figure 2. LTC1702/LTC1703 block diagram
loop to be crossed over beyond 50kHz
while maintaining good stability, significantly enhancing load transient
response. Two additional high speed
comparators (MIN and MAX in Figure
2) run in parallel with the main feedback amplifier, providing virtually
instantaneous correction to sudden
changes in output voltage. In a typical application, the LTC1702/
LTC1703 will correct the duty cycle
and have the output voltage headed
back in the right direction the very
next switching cycle after a transient
load is applied.
The positive input of the feedback
op amp is connected to an onboard
reference trimmed to 800mV ±3mV.
DC output error due to the reference
and the feedback amplifier are inside
0.5% and DC load and line regulation
are typically better than 0.1%, providing excellent DC accuracy. The
800mV reference level allows the
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
LTC1702/LTC1703 to provide regulated output voltages as low as 0.8V
without additional external components. This reference performance,
combined with the high speed internal feedback amplifier and properly
chosen external components, allows
the LTC1702 to provide output regulation tight enough for virtually any
microprocessor, today or in the future.
For those Intel processors that don’t
know what voltage they want until
they actually get powered up, the
LTC1703 with its onboard 5-bit VID
output voltage control is the best
solution.
Another architecture trick inside
the LTC1702/LTC1703 reduces the
required input capacitance with virtually no performance penalty. The
LTC1702/LTC1703 includes a single
master clock, which drives the two
sides such that side 1 is 180° out of
phase from side 2. This technique,
known as 2-phase switching, has the
effect of doubling the frequency of the
switching pulses seen by the input
capacitor and significantly reducing
their RMS value. With 2-phase switching, the input capacitor is sized as
required to support a single side at
maximum load. As the load increases
at the other side, it tends to cancel,
rather than add to, the RMS current
seen by the input capacitor; hence,
no additional capacitance needs to be
added.
External Components
The other half of the performance
equation is made up by the external
components used with the LTC1702/
LTC1703. The 550kHz clock frequency
and the low 5V input voltage allow the
use of external inductors in the 1µH
range or lower (LEXT in Figure 1) while
still keeping inductor ripple current
under control. This low inductance
17
DESIGN FEATURES
+
COMP
0.8V
C3
R3
FB
R1
FB
–
VOUT
RB
C2
C1
R2
Figure 3. Type-3 feedback loop
Each side of an LTC1702/LTC1703
circuit requires a pair of N-channel
power MOSFETs to complete the
power switching path. These are chosen for low RDS(ON) and minimum gate
charge, to minimize conductive losses
with heavy loads and switching losses
at lighter loads. MOSFET types that
work well with the LTC1702/LTC1703
include the IRF7805 from International Rectifier, the Si9802 and Si9804
from Siliconix and the FDS6670A from
Fairchild.
The compensation components
round out the list of external parts
required to complete an LTC1702/
LTC1703 circuit. Because the
LTC1702/LTC1703 uses an op amp
as the feedback amplifier, the compensation network is connected
between the COMP pin (at the output
value helps in two ways: it reduces
the energy stored in the inductor during each switching cycle, reducing
the physical core size required; and it
raises the attainable di/dt at the output of the circuit, decreasing the time
that it takes for the circuit to correct
for sudden changes in load current.
This, in turn, reduces the amount of
output capacitance (COUT in Figure 1)
required to support the output voltage during a load transient. Together
with the reduced capacitance at the
input due to the LTC1702/LTC1703’s
2-phase internal switching, this
significantly reduces the amount of
total capacitance needed, compared
to a conventional design running at
300kHz or less.
of the op amp) and the FB pin (the
inverting input) as a traditional op
amp integrator (Figure 3). A bias
resistor is added to set the DC output
voltage and two pole/zero pairs are
added to the circuit to compensate for
phase shift caused by the inductor/
output capacitor combination. Current limit and soft start time for each
side are programmed with a single
resistor (RIMAX) at each IMAX pin and a
single capacitor (CSS) at each RUN/
SS pin. Optional FAULT (LTC1702/
LTC1703) and PWRGD (LTC1702
only) flags are available to provide
status information to the host system.
Applications
Dual Outputs from a 5V Supply
A typical LTC1702 application is
shown in Figure 4. The input is taken
from the 5V logic supply. Side 1 is set
up to provide 1.8V at 10A and side 2
is set to supply 3.3V at a lower 3A load
level. System efficiency peaks at
greater than 90% at each side. This
circuit shows examples of both high
power and lower power output designs
possible with the LTC1702 controller.
Side 1 uses a pair of ultralow RDS(ON)
Fairchild FDS6670A SO-8 MOSFETs
VIN 5V
10Ω
1µF
DCP2
MBR0530T
DCP1
MBR0530T
PVCC
VCC
CCP1
1µF
LEXT1
1µH 12A
VOUT1
1.8V/10A
COUT1
470µF
×2
BOOST1
QT1
R31 4.7k
+
QB1
R11
10k
0.1%
C31
560pF
D2 MBR330T
RIMAX1 22k
RB1
7.96k
0.1%
C11
330pF
TG1
TG2
SW1
SW2
BG1
BG2
LTC1702
IMAX1
COMP1
GND
CSS1
0.1µF
CIN
470µF
×2
QT2
QB2
RIMAX2 47k
C32
820pF
COMP2
FB2
RUN/SS1
C21
680pF
CCP2
1µF
IMAX2
FB1
R21 13k
+
BOOST2
RUN/SS2
LEXT2
2.2µH 6A
VOUT2
3.3V/3A
R32 2.2k
+
R12
4.99k
0.1%
RB2
1.62k
0.1%
COUT2
470µF
R22 20k
PGND
C22
270pF
C12
120pF
CSS2
0.1µF
QT1, QB1: FAIRCHILD FDS6670A
QT2, QB2: 1/2 SILICONIX Si9802
LEXT1: MURATA LQT12535C1ROM12
LEXT2: COILTRONICS UP2B-2R2
(207) 775-4502
(800) 544-5565
(814) 237-1431
(561) 241-7876
Figure 4. Dual outputs from a 5V supply
18
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
DESIGN FEATURES
2-Step Conversion
As microprocessor operating voltages continue to decrease, power
conversion for CPU core power is
becoming a daunting challenge. A
core power supply must have fast
transient response, good efficiency
and low heat generation in the vicinity of the processor. These factors
will soon force a move away from
1-step power conversion directly
from battery or wall adapter to processor, to 2-step conversion, where
the CPU core power is obtained from
the 5V or 3.3V supply.
Several benefits result from 2-step
conversion: more symmetrical transient response, lower heat generation
in the vicinity of the processor and
easy modification for lower processor voltages in the future. Peak
currents taken from the battery are
also reduced, which leads to
improved battery chemical efficiency
that can often compensate for the
slight difference in electrical efficiency measured using laboratory
power supplies. Battery life in a real
notebook computer is virtually
identical for 1-step and 2-step
architectures.
The duty cycle for a step-down
switching regulator is given by the
ratio of VOUT to VIN. In 1-step power
conversion, the duty cycle must be
very low because the step-down ratio
is large. This gives a very fast inductor
current rise time and a much slower
current decay time. The inductor size
must be large enough to keep the
current under control during the
ramp-up. Fast current rise and slow
current decay mean that the transient response of the regulator is good
for load increases but poor for load
decreases. The lower, constant input
voltage for a 2-step conversion process yields a more symmetrical
transient response and allows smaller,
lower cost external components to be
used. Because there is less switching
loss due to the lower voltage swings,
the switching frequency may also be
increased.
Thermal concerns are also eased
with the 2-step approach. To minimize high current PCB trace lengths,
the core supply must be located near
the processor. Core-voltage-level
1-step converters usually run at mid-
and a large 1µH/12A Murata surface
mount inductor. CIN consists of two
470µF, low ESR tantalum capacitors
to support side 1 at full load, and
COUT1 uses two more of the same to
provide better than 5% regulation
with 0A–10A transients.
Side 2 uses a single SO-8 package
with two smaller MOSFETs inside
(the Siliconix Si9402) and a smaller
2.2µH/6A inductor. COUT2 is a single
470µF tantalum to support 0A–3A
transients while maintaining better
than 5% regulation. As the load current at side 2 increases, the LTC1702
2-phase switching actually reduces
the RMS current in CIN, removing the
need for additional capacitance at the
input beyond what side 1 requires.
Both sides exhibit exceptional transient response (Figure 5). The entire
circuit can be laid out in less than 2
square inches when a double-sided
PC board is used.
SIDE 1
VOUT = 1.8V
VIN = 5V
ILOAD = 0A–10A–0A
2% MAX DEVIATION
Figure 5a. Transient response, side 1
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
80% efficiencies, while the second
step of a 2-step solution (like the
LTC1703) runs near 90% efficiency,
minimizing heat generation near the
processor.
The biggest argument against
2-step conversion is the perceived
drop in efficiency. “Off the cuff” calculations give a false impression
that efficiency decreases. In fact,
accurate calculations of efficiency
for 2-step power conversion based
on actual circuit measurements
show efficiency numbers within 1%
of 1-step, high efficiency converters.
As time goes forward, microprocessor fabrication lithography will
continue to shrink and force still
lower CPU core operating voltages
and higher operating currents; 1.1V
supplies and 15A operating currents are already on the horizon for
portable systems. These demands
will render the traditional 1-step
conversion approaches unworkable
as a result of infinitesimal duty cycles
and severely skewed transient
behavior.
For more information on 2-step conversion,
see www.linear-tech.com/ezone/2-step.html
and the CPU I/O ring supply voltage.
Both the LTC1628 and the LTC1703
use 2-phase switching to minimize
capacitance required by the circuit;
the entire 4-output circuit requires
barely 2000µF while generating 60W
of output power.
The 2-step conversion used in this
circuit provides improved transient
response compared to the traditional
single-step approach where each
2-Step Converter for
Notebook Computers
SIDE 2
VOUT = 3.3V
VIN = 5V
ILOAD = 0A–3A–0A
2.2% MAX DEVIATION
Figure 6 is a complete power supply
for a typical notebook computer using
the next generation of Intel mobile
Pentium III processor. The circuit uses
the LTC1628 to generate 5V and 3.3V
from the input battery and uses the
LTC1703 to generate the processor
core voltage (with 5-bit VID control)
Figure 5b. Transient response, side 2
19
DESIGN FEATURES
5VENABLE
1000pF
STBYMD
VIN
7V TO
20V
STDBY3.3V
Q2
IRF7805
0.1µF
50V
STDBY5V
LTC1628
1
2
0.1µF
3
4
5
6
0.01µF
7
8
0.1µF
9
10
0.1µF
33k
330pF
11
56pF
12
33k
330pF
56pF
RUN/SS1
FLTCPL
+
TG1
SENSE1–
SW1
SENSE1
VOSENSE1
BOOST1
FREQSET
VIN
BG1
STBYMD
FCB
EXTVCC
ITH1
INTVCC
PGND
SGND
BG2
3.3VOUT
BOOST2
ITH2
SW2
VOSENSE2
13
SENSE2–
TG2
14
SENSE2+
RUNSS2
28
L1
2.9µH
ETQP6F2R9L
27
26
25
22
D1 CMDSH-3
21
+
20
105k
1%
D3
MBRD835L
23
1µF
Q3
IRF7805
150µF
6V
×2
4.7µF
+
180µF
4V
19
D4
MBRS130T3
18
17 0.1µF
D2 CMDSH-3
Q4
IRF7807
TO
POINT
A
47pF
20.0k
1%
47pF 10µF
6.3V
63.4k
1%
100pF
VOUT2
3.3V
5A
0.1µF
50V
1000pF
D1–D7: MOTOROLA
(800) 441-2447
10µF
6.3V
L2
4.6µH
ETQP6F4R6H
Q5
IRF7807
0.1µF
100pF
20.0k
1%
0.01Ω
16
15
VOUT1
5V
4A
0.004Ω
0.22µF
24
22µF
50V
0.1µF
50V
Q1
IRF7805
+
3.3VENABLE
Q1–Q5, QT1A/1B, QB1A/1B:
INTERNATIONAL RECTIFIER
(310) 322-3331
QT2, QB2: FAIRCHILD
(207) 775-4503
L1–L3: PANASONIC
(201) 348-7522
L4, L5: COILTRONICS
(561) 241-7876
QT1A
IRF7811
QT1B
IRF7811
1µF
D6
MBR0520LT1
L3, 0.8µH
ETQP6F0R8L
VOUT4
1.5V
12A
1µF
1
2
3
+
1µF
POINT A
180µF, 4V
×6
D5
MBRD- QB1A
IRF7811
835L
4
QB1B
IRF7811
5
18.7k, 1%
6
7
R18, 1M
8
9
0.22µF
100k
200pF
15pF
10
11
220pF
12
10k
COREVENABLE
1.8VENABLE
FAULT
13
VID0
VID1
VID2
VID3
VID4
14
24.9k, 1%
PVCC
IMAX2
BOOST1
BOOST2
BG1
BG2
TG1
TG2
SW1
SW2
IMAX1
FCB
PGND
LTC1703
RUN/SS1
COMP1
FAULT
RUN/SS2
COMP2
SGND
FB2
FB1
VCC
SENS
VID4
VID0
VID3
VID1
VID2
28
+
D7
MBR0520LT1
1µF
QT2
NDS8926
L5, 0.33µH
DO3316P-331HC
150µF
6V
×2
L4 2.2µF
DO3316P-222
0.1µF
27
26
QB2
NDS8926
25
24
+
180µF
4V
8.06k
1%
23
2200pF
10.2k
1%
1µF
VOUT3
1.8V
3A
1k
22
21
10Ω
100k
20
19
15pF 220pF
18
17
16
1µF
15
0.22µF
NOTE: PLACE
LTC1703 CLOSE
TO PROCESSOR
Figure 6. 4-output notebook computer power supply
Conclusion
voltage is derived directly from the
battery voltage. 2-step also allows the
use of smaller external components
without paying an efficiency or performance penalty and it eases layout
and thermal management concerns.
See the “2-Step Conversion” sidebar
for more information.
20
The LTC1702 and LTC1703 achieve
DC and AC regulation performance
that tops the best switching regulator
controllers available today. As logic
densities continue to climb, more
applications are appearing where the
input voltage is limited to below 7V
and the output voltage is low, the
output current is high and multiple
outputs are required. The LTC1702
and LTC1703 provide the best combination of regulation performance,
high efficiency, small size and low
system cost for such applications,
whether they appear in advanced
notebook computers or complex logic
systems.
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
DESIGN FEATURES
An 8-Channel, High-Accuracy,
No Latency ∆ Σ 24-Bit ADC by Michael K. Mayes
Introduction
Recently, Linear Technology introduced the world’s most accurate,
simplest to use, 24-bit analog-to-digital converter, the LTC2400. With its
on-chip oscillator, 120dB line-frequency rejection, user-transparent
offset/full-scale calibration, 10 partsper-million (ppm) total unadjusted
error and 1.5µ V RMS noise, the
LTC2400 has become a key building
block in many system designs. The
LTC2400’s ease of use and high performance enable faster design cycles
and better performance than other
∆Σ converters.
This article intr oduces the
LTC2408, a device combining the high
performance LTC2400 ADC core with
an 8-channel analog input multiplexer
(see Figure 1). This device offers many
unique features. The single-cycle settling characteristics lead to simplified
multiplexer hook up and channel
selection, without the added overhead
required other converters. The exceptional noise performance of the device
eliminates the need for a programmable gain amplifier (PGA). This allows
direct digitization of a variety of voltage levels. Its 10ppm absolute
accuracy ensures a minimum perfor-
mance in excess of 16 bits. A unique
analog modulator implementation allows measurement of microvolt
signals superimposed upon large DC
voltages. A wide range of sensor inputs
and voltage levels can be applied
simultaneously to the LTC2408. These
signals can extend below ground,
above VCC or anywhere in between,
with the same 10ppm absolute accuracy.
Single-Cycle Settling
Ensures No Latency
Many applications requiring 16-bit to
24-bit resolution use delta-sigma (∆Σ)
ADCs. These applications typically
measure slow-moving signals, such
as those found in temperature measurement, weight scales, strain-gage
transducers, gas analyzers, battery
monitoring circuits and DVMs. One
advantage delta-sigma converter
architectures offer over conventional
ADCs is on-chip digital filtering. For
the low frequency applications
described above, this filter is designed
to provide rejection of line frequencies
at 50Hz or 60Hz and their harmonics.
A disadvantage of conventional
digital filters, prior to the release of
2.7V–5.5V
1µF
7
MUXOUT
9
CH0
10
CH1
11
CH2
12
CH3
13
CH4
14
CH5
15
CH6
17
CH7
4
3
ADCIN
VREF+
2, 8
VCC
23
CSADC
CSMUX
CLK/SCK
8-CHANNEL
MUX
24-BIT ∆-Σ ADC
DIN
20
19, 25
21
24
SDO
LTC2408
26
FO
GND
1, 5, 16, 18
22, 27, 28
VREF–
6
Figure 1. LTC2408 block diagram
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
the LTC2400, was digital filter settling time. If the input signal changes
abruptly, the conversion result is
invalid for the following 3–4 conversion cycles (see Figure 2a). This makes
multiplexing the input difficult. The
LTC2400 does not exhibit a filter settling time; hence, it is easy to multiplex
(see Figure 2b); There is a one-to-one
correspondence between the conversion result and the applied input
signal. Each conversion result is
independent from the previous conversion result. The 10ppm total error
is maintained for each conversion
cycle, even in the extreme case of
sequentially measuring 0V and 5V on
adjacent channels.
The Advantages of
Not Using a Programmable
Gain Amplifier (PGA)
The exceptional noise performance of
the LTC2408 (1.5µVRMS) corresponds
to an effective resolution of 21.6 bits
for a 5V input range. Low level input
signals within a 100mV range achieve
better than 16-bit effective resolution
without the use of a PGA. On the
other hand, conventional ∆Σ ADCs
are significantly noisier than the
LTC2408 for a 5V input range. These
converters require internal PGAs in
order to improve the noise performance for low level input voltages.
The LTC2408 offers several significant advantages over those
converters requiring a PGA. One
advantage the LTC2408 offers is the
ability to measure small signals
(microvolts) superimposed upon large
DC voltages (volts). For example (see
Figure 3), a 100mV signal sitting on
2V (2V to 2.1V) can be measured with
the same accuracy and noise performance as a 100mV signal sitting on
ground (0V to 0.1V). Conversely, an
ADC operating with a programmable
gain of 50 is limited to an input range
of 0V to 0.1V with a 5V reference (see
21
DESIGN FEATURES
VIN
N
N+1
CONVERT
CONVERT
N
DATA OUT
CONVERT
CONVERT
XXXX
CONVERT
XXXX
XXXX
N+1
INVALID DATA
OR INDETERMINATE RESULTS
Figure 2a. Effect of conventional digital filter settling time
VIN
N
N+1
N+2
CONVERT N+1
ADC
OPERATION
CONVERT N+2
CS
SDO
(VALID
DATA OUT)
N
N+1
N+2
0.01ppm/°C (see Figure 4a). The fullscale error is less than 4ppm while its
drift is less than 0.02ppm/°C (see
Figure 4b). Combined with an integral nonlinearity error of 4ppm, the
LTC2408 can consistently resolve low
level signals in the microvolt range,
regardless of the fixed DC level (within
the 0V to VREF range).
The accuracy, noise performance,
and temperature stability of the
LTC2408 enable the converter to
measure input signals from a multitude of sensors (see Figure 5). In
addition to the LTC2408’s ability to
measure signals from 0 to VREF, the
device also has overrange/underrange
capabilities. The device can measure
an input signal 100mV below ground
and 100mV above VREF, even if VREF is
equal to VCC.
Figure 2b. The LTC2408 has no digital filter settling time.
A Simple 4-Wire
Figure 3). It cannot digitize any signal programming and maintaining con- SPI Interface
VREF (5V)
figuration/status registers, gain/
offset registers and channel/PGA-gain
registers. The LTC2408 does not require any registers. The offset and
full-scale error corrections are performed during each conversion cycle
and are transparent to the user.
VREF (5V)
INFORMATION
NOT AVAILABLE
VIN
VIN
USE UPPER 8 BITS
TO DETERMINE RANGE
FULL-SCALE ERROR (PPM)
In order to measure a small level
signal (microvolts) superimposed
upon a large signal (volts), the converter must exhibit extremely good
DC performance. The device must
have very low offset and full-scale
errors and excellent linearity performance in order to accurately digitize
small signals with large fixed DC levels. Additionally, the temperature
coefficients of offset, full-scale and
linearity errors must be low. The
LTC2408’s offset error is less than
1ppm and its offset drift is less than
100mV
100mV
5.0
VCC = 5V
VREF = 5V
VIN = 0V
“Microvolts on Volts”
0V
2V
Interfacing to the LTC2408 is simple.
The individual CS and CLK signals
(see Figure 6) can be common to both
the ADC and multiplexer or driven
independently to allow separate con-
2.5
0
–2.5
–5.0
–55
–30
–5
20
45
75
TEMPERATURE (°C)
95
120
Figure 4a. Offset error drift
5.0
FULL-SCALE ERROR (PPM)
larger than 100mV full-scale.
A second advantage the LTC2408
offers is full-scale accuracy. Since the
total unadjusted error is less than
10ppm, the absolute accuracy of any
input voltage within the 0V to 5V
range is within 10ppm or 16 bits.
Alternatively, devices using PGAs
exhibit full-scale errors limited by the
matching of internal components. The
user is burdened with removal of these
errors. The user must first apply the
system’s full-scale voltage to the device
and then perform a system calibration.
The use of a PGA in conventional
∆Σ adds complexity. Each channel
requires a system full-scale and offset calibration. Each channel may
have a different PGA gain and inputsignal range settings, corresponding
to different offset and full-scale calibration coefficients. This requires
VCC = 5V
VREF = 5V
VIN = 5V
2.5
0
–2.5
0V
0V
100mV
0V
0V
100mV
0V
Figure 3. Full range without PGA (left); limited range with PGA (right)
22
–5.0
–55
–30
–5
20
45
75
TEMPERATURE (°C)
95
120
Figure 4b. Full-scale error drift
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
DESIGN FEATURES
2.7V–5.5V
CHOPPERSTABILIZED
OP AMP
+
VREF+
VCC
CH0
5.9µV/°C
MICROVOLTS AROUND 0V
(WITH FIXED GAIN TO REDUCE NOISE)
–
AMPLIFIED
LOW LEVEL
THERMOCOUPLES
(TYPES R, S)
LTC2408
MICROVOLTS AROUND VCC
CH1
5V ±µV
VREF–
VREF
12k
Pt RTD
CH2
COLD-JUNCTION TEMPERATURE
MEASUREMENTS (MICROVOLTS)
CH3
MICROVOLTS AT MIDSCALE
100Ω
VREF
350Ω
HALF-BRIDGE
350Ω
trol of the ADC and the mux. DIN is
serially programmed to select the
desired input channel; SDO is the
serial output data of the converter.
DIN and SDO may be shared by using
an external driver with a high impedance output state. Since the LTC2408
exhibits single-cycle settling, there is
no overhead associated with digital
filter settling time. At the conclusion
of each conversion, a new channel
may be selected by a 4-bit serial input
word, or the same channel can be
retained by not shifting in a new
word. A new input channel may be
selected up to 66ms after the dataoutput read has been completed. This
66ms period may be used to allow the
input signal to settle or offer the user
flexibility in the timing of the mux
channel selection.
Conclusion
10k
VIN
BIPOLAR SENSOR
±100mV
VCC TO VCC + 100mV
CH4
INPUT VOLTAGE—10k SERIES RESISTOR
FOR ISOLATION/FAULT PROTECTION
CH5
"LIVE-AT-ZERO" INPUT
CH6
OVERRANGE
CH7
DIRECT TEMPERATURE
MEASUREMENTS
40.6µV/°C
DIRECT THERMOCOUPLE
VOLTAGE CONVERSION
(TYPES J, K)
Figure 5. The LTC2408 simultaneously measures many input devices.
The LTC2408 is a highly accurate No
Latency ∆Σ converter capable of digitizing a variety of input signals. Its
exceptional noise performance allows
direct digitization of sensors. The
device can measure microvolts on
one channel and volts on another, all
with 10ppm accuracy. The LTC2408
requires no user calibration or PGA,
and there is no overhead associated
with the input multiplexer. The
LTC2408’s exceptional accuracy,
ease-of-use and eight input channels
make it an ideal multichannel ADC
for complete system monitoring.
CS
EOC
HI-Z
SDO
"0"
MSB
MSB
INTERNAL
OFFSET CAL
CONVERT
(66ms)
(66ms)
HI-Z
CLK
DIN
EN
D2
D1
D0
DON'T CARE
VIN
66ms BUILT-IN
SETTLING TIME
FOR THE MUX
Figure 6. Mux/ADC timing and look ahead
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
23
DESIGN FEATURES
Micropower 5-Lead SOT-23
Switching Regulators Extend Battery
Life in Space-Sensitive Applications
by Bryan Legates
Introduction
L1
4.7µH
VIN
1.5V TO 3V
The LT1615 and LT1617 are pin
compatible with two other members
of the PowerSOT™ family, the LT1613
and LT1611, respectively. This allows
the same board layout to be used to
evaluate the performance of multiple
devices. The LT1613 and LT1611 are
both current mode, constant frequency devices, capable of producing
larger output currents than the
LT1615 and LT1617.1
LT1615 2-Cell to 3.3V
Boost Converter
A popular supply for many portable
electronic devices, a 2-cell alkaline to
3.3V converter with the LT1615 can
deliver 60mA of load current. The
circuit is shown in Figure 1 and the
system efficiency appears in Figure 2.
The efficiency peaks at 84% with a
fresh 2-cell battery and averages 78%
over the entire 1.5V to 3V input voltage range. Switching waveforms with
an input voltage of 2.8V and a 60mA
load appear in Figure 3. This photo
illustrates the Burst Mode operation
of the LT1615, as the system delivers
energy to the output in short bursts
about every 15µs. The device is in
standby (drawing only 20µA of quies-
1
VIN
SW
C1
4.7µF
SHDN
FB
GND
VIN = 3.0V
80
75
70
VIN = 1.5V
65
60
55
50
0.1
1
10
LOAD CURRENT (mA)
100
Figure 2. 3.3V boost converter efficiency
reaches 84%
cent current) for about 12µs of each
15µ s burst cycle, which greatly
increases the overall converter
efficiency.
LT1615 1-Cell Li-Ion
to 15V Boost Converter
The internal 36V switch of the LT1615
makes it an attractive choice for
applications that need a high output
voltage at a relatively low current.
Figure 4’s circuit is a typical system
that provides 15V at 15mA from a
single-cell Li-Ion battery. Efficiency,
shown in Figure 5, reaches 82% from
a fully charged battery.
4.7pF
VOUT
3.3V
60mA
1M
C2
22µF
LT1615
4
85
VOUT
20mV/DIV
AC COUPLED
D1
5
90
EFFICIENCY (%)
The LT1615 and LT1617 are designed
for portable electronics that need a
power solution with a minimum footprint and long battery life. These
devices can be used as step-up or
boost converters, single-ended primary inductance converters (SEPIC)
or positive-to-negative converters.
With an input voltage range of 1.2V to
15V, these devices are ideal for a wide
range of applications and work with a
variety of input sources. An internal
36V switch allows the two devices to
easily generate output voltages of up
to ±34V without the use of costly
transformers. The LT1615 is designed
to regulate positive output voltages,
whereas the LT1617 is designed to
directly regulate negative output voltages without the need for level-shifting
circuitry. Both parts use a currentlimited, fixed off-time control scheme,
which helps achieve high efficiency
operation over a wide range of load
currents. With a no-load quiescent
current of only 20µA (with the output
in regulation) and a shutdown quiescent current of 0.5µA, these devices
squeeze the most life out of any battery application. Both devices use
tiny, low profile inductors and
capacitors to minimize the overall
system footprint and cost.
3
IL1
500mA/DIV
604k
2
C1: TAIYO YUDEN LMK316BJ475
C2: TAIYO YUDEN JMK325BJ226
L1: MURATA LQH3C4R7M24
D1: MOTOROLA MBR0520
(408) 573-4150
(408) 573-4150
(814) 237-1431
(800) 441-2447
1615 TA03
VSW
2V/DIV
5µs/DIV
Figure 1. 2-cell to 3.3V boost converter
24
Figure 3. Switching waveforms of 3.3V boost converter with 60mA load
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
DESIGN FEATURES
L1
10µH
90
D1
5
1
VIN
SW
15V
15mA
SHDN
C2
4.7µF
3
FB
GND
C1
4.7µF
VIN = 4.2V
80
1M
LT1615
4
85
88.7k
EFFICIENCY (%)
VIN
2.5V TO 4.2V
2
75
VIN = 2.5V
70
65
60
C1: TAIYO YUDEN LMK316BJ475
C2: TAIYO YUDEN EMK316BJ475
L1: MURATA LQH3C100KZ4
D1: MOTOROLA MBR0520
(408) 573-4150
(408) 573-4150
(814) 237-1431
(800) 441-2447
1615 TA03
55
50
0.1
1
10
LOAD CURRENT (mA)
Figure 4. Li-Ion to 15V boost converter
100
Figure 5. Efficiency of Figure 4’s
boost converter
L1
10µH
D1
5
VIN
SW
SHDN
FB
80
2M
C2
1µF
3
GND
C1
4.7µF
VIN = 12V
85
LT1615
4
90
33V
8mA
1
76.8k
2
C1: TAIYO YUDEN EMK316BJ475
C2: TAIYO YUDEN GMK316BJ105
L1: MURATA LQH3C100KZ4
D1: MOTOROLA MBR0540
(408) 573-4150
(408) 573-4150
(814) 237-1431
(800) 441-2447
1615 TA03
EFFICIENCY (%)
VIN
3.3V TO 12V
VIN = 5V
75
70
VIN = 3.3V
65
60
55
50
Figure 6. 33V boost converter
0.1
1
10
LOAD CURRENT (mA)
100
Figure 7. 33V boost converter efficiency
LT1615 33V Boost Converter
The converter in Figure 6 displays the
exceptional input and output voltage
range of the LT1615. A 33V output is
easily generated from a wide ranging
input voltage using a simple boost
topology. A small, 1µ F ceramic
capacitor is all that is needed at the
output, making the total footprint
much smaller than other systems that
need much larger tantalum capacitors. The efficiencies for inputs of
3.3V, 5V and 12V are shown in Figure
C3
1µF
L1
10µH
VIN
2.5V TO
4.2V
5
1
VIN
SW
C1
4.7µF
SHDN
FB
LT1615 1-Cell Li-Ion
to 3.3V SEPIC
Lithium-ion (Li-Ion) is the battery of
choice for systems needing the most
energy with the lightest weight, but
with a cell voltage ranging from 4.2V
down to 2.5V, a simple boost topology
cannot be used to provide a 3.3V
4.7pF
VOUT
3.3V
100mA
1M
C2
10µF
3
GND
output. Figure 8’s circuit is a SEPIC
converter that can easily do the job,
providing 100mA of load current. The
circuit shown uses two separate
inductors, but a single, dual-winding
inductor (a 1:1 transformer) can be
substituted. Figure 9 shows the
switching waveforms for this SEPIC
converter with an input voltage of
2.7V and a 50mA load. Notice that
this circuit uses the same basic Burst
Mode operation as the boost converter, but the inductor current is
VOUT
20mV/DIV
AC COUPLED
D1
L2
10µH
LT1615
4
7. With a 12V input, this converter
can deliver up to 1.32W (40mA at
33V) of power at an efficiency of 85%,
all from a tiny SOT-23 package.
IL1
200mA/DIV
604k
2
C1: TAIYO YUDEN LMK316BJ475
C2: TAIYO YUDEN JMK316BJ106
C3: TAIYO YUDEN JMK107BJ105
L1, L2: MURATA LQH3C100K24
D1: MOTOROLA MBR0520
(408) 573-4150
(408) 573-4150
(408) 573-4150
(814) 237-1431
(800) 441-2447
Figure 8. Li-Ion to 3.3V SEPIC converter
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
1615 TA07
VSW
5V/DIV
2µs/DIV
Figure 9. Switching waveforms of the 3.3V SEPIC converter with 50mA load
25
DESIGN FEATURES
80
D3
VIN = 4.2V
–20V
4mA
VIN
1.5V TO 5V
5
D1
20V
4mA
1
VIN
4.7pF
SW
C2
1µF
3
FB
SHDN
GND
C1
4.7µF
VIN = 3V
70
65
VIN = 1.8V
60
2M
LT1615
4
EFFICIENCY (%)
C3
1µF
D2
C4
1µF
L1
10µH
75
55
50
130k
0.1
2
C1: TAIYO YUDEN LMK316BJ475
C2, C3, C4: TAIYO YUDEN TMK316BJ105
L1: MURATA LQH3C100K24
D1, D2, D3: MOTOROLA MBR0530
(408) 573-4150
(408) 573-4150
(814) 237-1431
(800) 441-2447
1
10
LOAD CURRENT (mA)
100
1615 TA04
Figure 11. Efficiency of Figure 10’s circuit
80
Figure 10. ±20V dual-output converter
C5
1µF
L1
10µH
VIN
1.5V TO 5V
5
1
VIN
SW
D1
20V
4mA
4.7pF
D4
SHDN
C1
4.7µF
FB
(408) 573-4150
(408) 573-4150
(408) 573-4150
(814) 237-1431
(800) 441-2447
26
50
0.1
1
10
LOAD CURRENT (mA)
100
1615 TA05
Figure 12. ±20V dual-output converter with load disconnect
Figure 10 shows a single-inductor,
dual-output converter ideal for use in
applications needing both a positive
and a negative voltage. The positive
output is generated using a traditional boost converter, whereas the
negative output is generated using an
inverting charge pump. Regulation is
achieved by sensing the positive output, but by using identical output
capacitors and rectifying diodes, the
negative output is also very well regulated. For a 2× difference in output
VIN = 1.8V
Figure 13. Efficiency of Figure 12’s circuit
C1: TAIYO YUDEN LMK316BJ475
C2, C3, C4: TAIYO YUDEN TMK316BJ105
C5: TAIYO YUDEN LMK212BJ105
L1: MURATA LQH3C100K24
D1, D2, D3, D4: MOTOROLA MBR0530
LT1615 ±20V
Dual-Output Converter
60
130k
2
about one half that of the 3.3V boost
circuit whose waveforms are shown
in Figure 3. For the SEPIC, the switch
current is split equally between the
two inductors, with both inductors
providing current to the load when
the switch is turned off. Typical efficiency for this converter is 70%.
VIN = 3V
65
55
C2
1µF
3
GND
70
2M
LT1615
4
EFFICIENCY (%)
–20V
4mA
C3
1µF
D2
C4
1µF
VIN = 4.2V
75
D3
currents, the positive and negative
output voltages differ less than 3%;
for a 10× difference, they differ less
than 5%. This converter provides 8mA
total output current from a 1.5V input
(two fully discharged alkaline batteries) and 12mA total output current
from a 2.5V input (a fully discharged
single-cell Li-Ion battery). Increasing
the value of L1 to 22µ H increases the
available output current by about
15%. If even larger load currents are
needed, the same converter can be
implemented using the LT1613 in
place of the LT1615. If the accuracy of
the negative output is more critical
than the accuracy of the positive output, try the same topology using the
LT1617 to regulate the negative output. Efficiency for this dual-output
converter is quite good, reaching 77%
with a single Li-Ion battery. See Figure 11 for efficiency curves at several
different input voltages.
LT1615 ±20V
Dual-Output Converter
with Load Disconnect
One drawback to the circuit shown in
Figure 10 is that during shutdown,
the positive output is one diode drop
below the input voltage. This is an
undesirable condition for many systems, and can be easily corrected with
the circuit in Figure 12. This is a dualoutput converter where both outputs
are developed using charge pumps,
so that both are disconnected from
the input when the LT1615 is turned
off. An additional benefit is that cross
regulation is improved because both
outputs are generated in the same
manner. For a 5× difference in output
currents, the positive and negative
output voltages differ less than 1%;
for a 10× difference, they differ less
than 2%. The improvements this circuit provides do come at a cost: slightly
lower efficiency. Figure 13 shows that
the efficiency curves are about 3%
lower for load currents greater than
1mA, but the efficiency still reaches a
respectable 74%.
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
DESIGN FEATURES
5
1
VIN
SW
L2
22µH
D1
267k
C2
4.7µF
LT1617
4
SHDN
3
NFB
GND
C1
4.7µF
24.9k
70
VIN = 2.5V
65
60
55
(408) 573-4150
(408) 573-4150
(408) 573-4150
(814) 237-1431
(800) 441-2447
1615 TA07
50
0.1
Figure 14. Li-Ion to –15V inverting converter
1
SW
D2
–33V
20mA
D1
619k
C2
1µF
LT1617
SHDN
C1
4.7µF
NFB
100
Figure 15. Li-Ion to –15V inverting converter
efficiency
3
GND
24.9k
VIN = 5V
75
EFFICIENCY (%)
5
VIN
1
10
LOAD CURRENT (mA)
80
C3
0.22µF
L1
10µH
4
75
2
C1: TAIYO YUDEN LMK316BJ475
C2: TAIYO YUDEN EMK316BJ475
C3: TAIYO YUDEN TMK1316BJ224
L1, L2: MURATA LQH3C220K24
D1: MOTOROLA MBR0530
VIN
5V
VIN = 4.2V
–15V
15mA
EFFICIENCY (%)
VIN
2.5V TO 4.2V
80
C3
0.22µF
L1
22µH
70
65
60
2
C1: TAIYO YUDEN LMK316BJ475
C2: TAIYO YUDEN GMK316BJ105
C3: TAIYO YUDEN GMK1212BJ224
L1: MURATA LQH3C100K24
D1: MOTOROLA MBR0540
55
(408) 573-4150
(408) 573-4150
(408) 573-4150
(814) 237-1431
(800) 441-2447
1615 TA07
50
0.1
1
10
LOAD CURRENT (mA)
100
Figure 16. –33V inverting charge pump
Figure 17. 5V to –33V inverting charge pump
efficiency
LT1617 1-Cell Li-Ion
to –15V Inverting Converter
Many electronic systems need a negative supply but have only a positive
input voltage to work with. A well
regulated, positive-to-negative converter can be easily designed using
the LT1617. A Li-Ion to –15V inverting converter capable of providing
15mA of load current is detailed in
Figure 14. Efficiency for this inverter,
shown in Figure 15, peaks at 76%.
LT1617 5V to –33V
Inverting Charge Pump
Conclusion
power switch is equal to the sum of
the input and output voltages; this,
along with the 36V switch rating,
limits the output voltage that can be
provided using the inverting topology. If higher negative voltages are
needed, use an inverting charge pump,
in which the maximum voltage seen
by the switch is equal to the output
voltage. Figure 16 shows a –33V, 20mA
inverting charge pump that can provide 20mA of load current. Efficiency
reaches 74%, as seen in Figure 17.
For the previous inverting converter,
the maximum voltage seen by the
for
the latest information
on LTC products,
visit
www.linear-tech.com
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
The applications presented show the
versatility of the LT1615 and LT1617.
These devices are capable of producing a wide range of positive and
negative outputs from a variety of
input sources. Their tiny SOT-23
packages, along with small external
components, combine to minimize
footprint and cost in space-conscious
applications.
References
1. Pietkiewicz, Steve. “SOT-23 Switching Regulators Deliver Low Noise
Outputs in a Small Footprint.” Linear
Technology IX:1 (February 1999),
pp.11–13, 23.
27
DESIGN FEATURES
Versatile Ring Tone Generator Finds
Uses in Motor Drivers and Amplifiers
by Dale Eagar
Overview
The LT1684 was specifically designed
for OEM telephone equipment. Its
function is to interface between the
digital control logic and the high voltage analog phone line. When used in
the design of a phone system, the
LT1684 allows software to control the
frequency, voltage and cadence of the
ring signal. Because of similarities of
application to telephone systems, the
LT1684 ring tone chip finds itself at
home in motor drives, digital input
amplified speakers, alarm systems
and sine wave UPS systems.
ISOLATION
BARRIER
5V
VDIGITAL
DIGITAL
STUFF
+ HIGH VOLTAGE
PWM
–HIGH VOLTAGE
DIGITAL GROUND
The Circuit
The LT1684 provides the tool set to
easily implement a digital, pulse width
modulated (PWM) signal to DCcoupled voltage converter (at high
currents), while providing isolation,
switching frequency filtering and
output protection. Figure 1 is a system-level diagram of the LT1684 in
action. By controlling a pair of external MOSFETs, the LT1684 utilizes
their inherent robustness while pro-
viding control of the output voltage
and current. In its telecom application circuit, the LT1684 provides up
to ±240V of smooth, clean output at
up to 200mA of output current. Higher
output voltages are obtained by cascoding MOSFETs, while higher
currents are readily achieved by using
the LT1166 MOSFET automatic bias
generator chip as a companion.
DC
ISOLATION
P1
µC
P2
C2
100pF
+100V
C5
6.8nF
R1
10k
R7
100k
GATE +
IN A
R2
10k
R8
100Ω
FB1
LIM +
OUT
ATREF
BGOUT
LT1684
R3
3k
D1
1N4001
+
C6
100pF
RING-TONE
OUTPUT
–
COMP1
R6 5.1k
AMPIN
R5
300k
C4
4700pF
COMP2
LIM –
V–
R5
C4
D2
1N5817
R3
R9
100Ω
GATE–
C3
1µF
Figure 2 is the schematic of the
LT1684 implementing a digital-PWMto-ringing-telephone converter. This
is something like a high power, high
voltage, isolated, output filtered D/A
converter. Like its DAC counterpart,
the LT1684 has a precision reference,
switches and an output amplifier.
Unlike its DAC counterpart, it includes
post-conversion ripple filtering, isolation and a robust high voltage
output.
In addition to the isolation, filtering and amplification, the LT1684
provides the gate-bias control and
gate voltage protection for the two
external MOSFETs. Providing such a
plethora of functions from a single,
monolithic IC requires the use of a
somewhat tricky circuit. This circuit
C9
0.1µF
C7
20pF
R4 2k
Q1
IRF610
V+
IN B
HIGH
VOLTAGE
GROUND
Figure 1. The LT1684 uses differential pulse width modulation to provide isolation for digitally
controlled analog power solutions.
Introducing the LT1684
C1
100pF
HIGH
VOLTAGE
LOAD
LT1684
STUFF
C8
6.8nF
R10
100k
R4
–
C3
+
Q2
IRF9610
–100V
FB1: FERRONICS FMB1601
(716) 388-1020
Figure 2. Typical LT1684 digital-PWM-to-ringing-telephone converter application
28
1684 TA01
Figure 3. The basic 2nd order lowpass MFB
filter, as implemented by the LT1684
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
DESIGN FEATURES
47Ω
100Ω
2N3906
120V
100V
2N3906
100Ω
100k
100Ω
6800pF
MTP2N50E
IRF230
1nF
1
11
1000pF 10k
14
PWM
IN
FB1
GATE+
V
IN A
+
COMP1
1
1000pF
10k
13
3k
2k
OUT
LT1684
ATREF
BGOUT
COMP2
5.1k
12
GATE–
0.1µF
6
6800pF
8
ILIM+
7
1k
3.9k
100pF
2
9
180µH
8
0.22Ω
LT1166
2k
2
VOUT
VIN
3
1µF
6
1µF
0.22Ω
7
3
4
V–
5
100Ω
SENSE+
10
–
LIM
AMPIN
470pF
300k
LIM+
IN B
VTOP
ILIM–
20pF
1µH
5kW
LOAD
0.22Ω
1k
180µH
SENSE–
VBOTTOM
MTP2N50E
5
4
1nF
100Ω
IRF9240
100k
2N3904
–100V
2N3904
–120V
FB1: FERRONICS FMB1601
100Ω
47Ω
TYPICAL POWER SLICE
(1 OF 13 IN PARALLEL)
(716) 388-1020
Figure 4. 5kW PWM-to-analog converter
nents, in fact, form the 2nd order
MFB filter shown in Figure 3. The
values chosen for these components
in Figure 2 implement a 2nd order
Butterworth MFB lowpass filter with
a cutoff frequency of 100Hz and a DC
gain of 100. These were chosen to
provide ±80V of output swing with
PWM duty factors of 10% to 90%,
while filtering the 10kHz PWM ripple
to meet telephone specifications.
is arrived at by applying a circuit
transformation to a simple filter circuit. This transformation is performed
on the basic 2nd order lowpass multiple feedback filter (MFB) circuit and
ends up looking somewhat like the
filter/amplifier shown in Figure 3.
The filter/amplifier components in
Figure 2 are R3–R5 and C3 and C4.
Looking backwards through the
circuit transformation, these compo-
1V
5V
TRIANGLE IN
10kHz
5V
C1
100pF
0
–1V
+
LT1671
–
ANALOG
IN
R1
10k 14
RTERM
120Ω
LT1784
LT1684
1
RS485
3kHz LPF
C2
100pF
IN A
IN B
R2
10k
–5V
0.8V
0
–0.8V
Figure 5. A remote, isolated, analog input amplifier using a robust RS485 driver and a
terminated, twisted-pair line
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
Stealing the LT1684
for Use In Other Applications
The LT1684, used as shown in Figure
1, outputs a ring signal that meets
Belcore specification. This means we
can ring a phone 22,000 feet away.
The LT1684 fits another role, where
22,000 feet of separation would be a
nice minimum. This is the application of the LT1684 in the scaleable
power amplifier, as detailed in Figure
4. This amplifier can be used to drive
motors, simulate the power company
in sine wave UPS systems and operate large audio drivers. Because of its
scaleable nature, this design can be
used at any power level. The circuit in
Figure 4 is shown implementing a
5000W bits-to-decibels converter.
When this converter is implemented
with the appropriate audio drivers
and enclosures, the output sound
pressure level can be significant—so
significant, in fact, that the author
suggests giving it a wide berth of at
least 22,000 feet.
continued on page 35
29
35 Watt Isolated DC/DC Converter
Replaces Modules at Half the Cost
by Robert Sheehan
Introduction
The choice between building or buying an isolated DC/DC converter can
be a complex decision. If you use an
off-the-shelf, module you are constrained by what the module makers
offer in their catalogs. In many cases,
this may not precisely meet the requirements for a particular project.
Also, while simple to use, the cost of
these modules can be significantly
higher than the cost of “rolling your
own.” The complexity of the DC/DC
design can be daunting and leads
many to the decision to buy. Demonstration circuit DC227 provides a
DC/DC solution that can serve the
needs of many “standard” module
applications and offers the designer
the option of customizing the design
to suit any slightly unusual system
requirements. The power supply now
becomes merely another collection of
parts in the system.
DESIGN IDEAS
35 Watt Isolated DC/DC Converter
Replaces Modules at Half the Cost
................................................... 30
Demonstration circuit DC227 is a
board level replacement for “halfbrick” DC/DC converters. It can
provide 5V or 3.3V at up to 7A from an
isolated 48V (36V to 72V) input. The
isolation voltage is 500VDC with an
option for 1500VDC. The circuit has
low input capacitance, fast turn-on
time, low shutdown power consumption and overtemperature protection.
Continuous short-circuit protection
eliminates any restriction on maximum capacitive load. The output
overvoltage circuit provides protection for open or short circuits on the
output power or sense lines. The standard footprint allows the circuit to fit
Robert Sheehan
Comparator Circuit Provides
Automatic Shutdown of the LT1795
High Speed ADSL Power Amplifier
................................................... 33
Tim Regan
SMBus Controlled
CCFL Power Supply ..................... 35
Jim Williams
Triple Output TFT-LCD Bias Supply
Uses All Ceramic Capacitors ....... 36
Gary Shockey
Low Noise Boost VCO Power Supply for
Portable Applications .................. 37
Ted Henderson
Features
directly into the module’s socket. Figure 1 shows a typical layout for a
2.28" by 2.40" circuit board.
DC227A-A is designed for 500VDC
isolation and lowest cost; it uses a
standard Coiltronics VERSA-PAC™
transformer and a Pulse Engineering
inductor for the output filter. DC227AB has 1500V isolation and uses a
semicustom transformer, also from
Coiltronics. DC227A-C has 500VDC
isolation and achieves the highest
efficiency using a Panasonic type PCCS1 inductor for the output filter. The
efficiency curves in Figures 2–5 are
quite competitive, reaching 85% for
the DC227A-C with a 5V output. The
efficiency at 3.3V out is somewhat
lower, due to the fixed losses of the
output rectifier.
Circuit Description
This single-ended forward converter
operates at a nominal switching frequency of 200kHz. Referring to the
schematic in Figure 6, pulse width
modulation is controlled by U1, an
LT1247 current mode PWM controller. Transformer T2 and optocoupler
Q7 provide galvanic isolation. C2 is a
VERSA-PAC is a trademark of Coiltronics, Inc.
Figure 1. Control (left) and power component (right) views of demonstration circuit DC227, a complete 35W DC/DC converter
in a 2.28" by 2.40" footprint
30
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
VIN = 36V
VIN = 72V
EFFICIENCY (%)
80
75
VIN = 48V
70
65
60
55
50
0
1
2
3
4
IOUT (A)
5
6
7
Figure 2. DC227A-C 5V output efficiency
(typical)
local bypass cap to reduce common
mode–induced current.
To achieve fast start-up time, a
hysteretic buck regulator is used for
the bias supply power. U2, an LT1431
shunt voltage regulator, provides control for this function, with Q1 acting
as the switch element; L2 and C21
provide output filtering. Q2 and Q4
protect the circuit during a hot plug,
making this a very robust design; it is
also impervious to output short circuits. The input surge voltage is
limited to 80V by the rating of Q1–Q4.
The main switching power path
through T2 comprises L1 and C18 as
the input filter, Q6 as the primary
switch, D7 as the secondary rectifier
and L3 and C14, C16, C17 and C20
as the secondary filter. Transient volt90
85
VIN = 36V
EFFICIENCY (%)
80
VIN = 72V
75
70
VIN = 48V
65
age suppressor D8 is used to protect
Schottky diode D7 during large-signal transient conditions. Power is
transferred during the on cycle of Q6
and integrated by the output filter,
just as in a buck regulator. The input
filter component values for L1 and
C18 are optimal and should not be
changed without careful evaluation.
C19 damps the input filter and will
provide adequate stability for large
values of input inductance. See LTC
Application Note 19 for a discussion
of input filter stability analysis.
Output voltage feedback is controlled using U3, another LT1431
shunt voltage regulator, as an error
amplifier. In the event of a fault on the
output power or sense lines, Z1/Q5
will override U3 and provide overvoltage protection. R10 and R21 are sized
to handle any overvoltage condition.
During an output short-circuit condition, the LT1247 is able to decrease
the on time of Q6 to less than 200ns.
This results in good control of the
output short-circuit current, keeping
power dissipation to a manageable
level.
The demonstration circuit uses
surface mount devices for Q6 and D7.
For elevated temperature operation
at the full rated load, TO-220 devices
can by mounted on a standard halfbrick heat sink.
For –48V inputs that require hot
swap capability, the LT1640H negative voltage HotSwap™ controller
provides a seamless interface.
Demonstration circuit DC223A-B
using the LT1640HCS8 is the recommended solution for use with the
DC227A.
90
85
VIN = 36V
80
EFFICIENCY (%)
85
75
VIN = 72V
70
VIN = 48V
65
60
55
50
0
1
2
3
4
IOUT (A)
5
6
7
Figure 4. DC227A-C 3.3V output efficiency
(typical)
Conclusion
At 35 watts, the topology presented
here is one of the most common used
by the module manufacturers. This is
only one solution for isolated power,
and opens up many possibilities for
other input and output voltage
combinations. For lower power, demonstration circuit DC211 using the
LT1425 isolated flyback switching
regulator is designed for 10 watts.
Demonstration circuit DC259 using
the LT1339 adds synchronous rectification, providing a high efficiency
solution for 50 watts. See the DC/DC
Converter Module section of LTC’s
Volume 1 1999 New Products Catalog
for additional information.
90
85
80
EFFICIENCY (%)
90
VIN = 36V
75
VIN = 72V
70
65
VIN = 48V
60
60
55
55
50
50
0
1
2
3
4
IOUT (A)
5
6
0
7
1
2
3
4
IOUT (A)
5
6
7
Figure 5. DC227A-A/B 3.3V output efficiency
(typical)
Figure 3. DC227A-A/B 5V output efficiency
(typical)
http://www.linear-tech.com/ezone/zone.html
Articles, Design Ideas, Tips from the Lab…
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
31
32
ON/OFF
CHASSIS
–VIN
+
C19
12µF
100V
+VIN
36V–72V
R12
20k
D5
BAS21
RT/CT
ISENSE
FB
COMP
COILTRONICS VP5-1200; JP1
500VDC ISOLATION
HIGH EFFICIENCY
DC227A-C
(605) 665-1627
(803) 946-0362
(804) 239-6941
(619) 661-6835
(847) 639-6400
COILTRONICS CTX02-14281-X2; JP2
L1: COILCRAFT D01608C-472
L2: COILCRAFT D03316P-105
T1: DALE LPE-3325-A142
C14, C16, C17, C20: AVXTPSE227M010R0100
C18: ITW PAKTRON 225100ST3827T
C19: SANYO 100MV12GX
VCC
VREF
5
6
7
8
R24
4.75k
R23
16.2k
L3
C5
0.1µF
+
C4
1µF
R5
3.9Ω
C21
10µF
25V
C18
2.2µF
100V
C15
470pF
200V
R33
33Ω
1/4W
PANASONIC ETQPAF7R2HA
PULSE ENGINEERING PE-53663
PULSE ENGINEERING PE-53663
GND
OUTPUT
1500VDC ISOLATION
T2 AND JUMPER
R6
845Ω
4
3
2
1
R25 4.7Ω
Q4
FMMTA06
U1 LT1247CS8
RT1
NTC
10k AT 25°C
R19
10Ω
R13
47k
COILTRONICS VP5-1200; JP1
5
8
C10
0.01µF
DC227A-B
C1
4700pF
C3
0.01µF
R4
8.2k
R3
1k
GND-S
REF
RTOP
4
3
R15 1k
L2
1mH
500VDC ISOLATION
C6
3300pF
R2
1.30k
GND-F
RMID
COMP
COLLECTOR
V+
Q1
FMMTA56
U2 LT1431CS8
R11
1k
DC227A-A
D2 BAT54
R7
100k
6
7
2
1
Q2
FMMTA56
C12
1000pF
1000V
D4
FMMD914
D3
BAT54
Q3
FMMTA06
R18
100k
R16
10k
L1
4.7µH
6
4
8
5
D1
FMMD914
9
4
C2
VITRIMON VJ1808Y102KXGAT
MURATA GHM3045X7R22K-GC
D6
FMMD914
Q7
MOC207
R29
330Ω
C8
2200pF
L3
9.3µH 7.2A
GND-F
RMID
COMP
COLLECTOR
V+
GND-S
RTOP
REF
U3 LT1431CS8
C11
0.022µF
5
4
8
3
R30
1k
R31
100Ω
Z1
5.6V
C14, C16,
C17, C20
220µF, 10V
×4
R10
100Ω
1/2W
R28
7.41k
0.1%
JP3
R27
15.4k
0.1%
R20
10k
C9
0.047µF R22
4.99k
0.1%
R26
100Ω
R14
220Ω
1/4W
NOTES:
1. CHANGE Z1 TO A 3.3V ZENER FOR 3.3V OUT
2. JP3: OPEN = 3.3V; SHORTED = 5V
6
7
2
1
C13
0.022µF
Q5
FMMT3904
R17
10Ω, 1/4W
D8
1SMB36A
C7
1500pF
D7
MBRB2545CT
7 (DUAL)
6
R1
Q6
MTB20N20E 22.1Ω
T1
T2
VITRIMON VJ1808Y102KXGAT
8
7
JP1 10
3
JP2 11
2
12
1
C2
1000pF, 1000V
OR
2200pF SAFETY
RECOGNIZED
R21
100Ω
1/2W
–SENSE
TRIM
+SENSE
–VOUT
+VOUT
DESIGN IDEAS
Figure 6. 35W isolated DC/DC converter schematic diagram
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
DESIGN IDEAS
Comparator Circuit Provides Automatic
Shutdown of the LT1795 High Speed
ADSL Power Amplifier
by Tim Regan
Introduction
Data transmission standards such
as HDSL2, ADSL (both Full Rate and
G.Lite) and VDSL (collectively known
as xDSL) require the combined speed,
output power and dynamic range
capabilities of the LT1795 to drive the
telephone line. In a typical data communications installation, in both the
telephone central office and office
building sites, hundreds of telephonewire pairs are brought together into a
line multiplexer. These multiplexers
compact the individual line driver and
receiver circuits to save space. Eight
lines per PC card are often implemented. This tight partitioning raises
the challenges of both power and heat
management in each installation.
A simple comparator circuit can be
used to monitor the activity of an
individual phone line and completely
shut down the line driver when not in
use. This provides a means of implementing activity-based power
consumption with reduced overall
heat generation.
Controlling Power Dissipation
The LT1795 is a dual, high speed,
current feedback amplifier with high
output current capability. With a
5V
ON
0V
OFF
10 SHUTDOWN
TO INTERNAL
AMPLIFIER
CIRCUITRY
11
0µA–
300µA
SHUTDOWN
REFERENCE
IQ ADJUST
Figure 1. Shutdown/IQ adjust for the LT1795
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
50MHz Gain Bandwidth product,
900V/ms slew rate and an output
stage that can source and sink 500mA,
the LT 1795 is ideal for use as a low
distortion differential line driver in
very high data rate modem applications.
For the LT1795 to obtain full performance, a fair amount of quiescent
operating current is required—typically 60mA. When supplied by ±15V
power supplies to obtain maximum
dynamic output range, the quiescent
power dissipation with no load is typically 1.8 watts (30V × 60mA). In these
applications, however, full performance is not required at all times or
for all applications. To address this
issue, the LT1795 provides the ability
to completely shut down the driver or
to tailor the quiescent operating current to match the actual requirements
of a particular application. Figure 1
illustrates how this control is
implemented.
Pins 10 and 11 of the LT1795 combine to control the operating current
of the amplifiers. If the Shutdown
Reference (pin 11) is grounded and
the Shutdown input (pin 10) is driven
to a voltage greater than two diode
drops above ground, both amplifiers
are biased to “full speed ahead” with
maximum AC performance and also
maximum quiescent power dissipation. The current through the two
diodes shown in Figure 1 is internally
limited to 300µA and results in 60mA
of quiescent current for the amplifiers. Resistance can be added between
the Shutdown Reference pin and
ground to limit the maximum operating current of the amplifiers. This
programmability can optimize the
trade-off between AC performance
(primarily slew rate and bandwidth)
and quiescent package power dissipation. Many applications require the
peak current drive capability of the
LT1795 but do not need the full bandwidth and slew performance. Details
of this control can be found on the
LT1795 data sheet.
If the Shutdown input is grounded,
both amplifiers are disabled and the
total quiescent current drain for the
package is reduced to only 200µA.
This feature can be used to save a
substantial amount of power when
the line drivers are not in use at all
times. A simple comparator circuit,
as shown in Figure 2, provides a
timed, automatic shutdown when no
input signals are applied to the
amplifiers.
Timed Automatic Shutdown
In this circuit, an LT1795 is configured as a unity gain differential driver
for a 100Ω transformer-coupled wire
pair. The two comparators in an
LT1720 package monitor the signals
on each of the input lines to the driver
amplifier. If the signal on either input
exceeds the threshold set by the sensitivity adjustment (shown to provide
a range from 65mV to 500mV peak),
the output of one or the other of the
comparators goes high immediately
and puts the LT1795 into action. The
LT1720 comparators feature a propagation delay of only 4.5ns, allowing
them to respond to input signals well
beyond 10MHz in frequency.
The LT1720 outputs are wire-ORed
through a simple timing network.
When either output is high, timing
capacitor CT charges quickly to 5V
through the diodes shown. While a
signal is present, one or the other
comparator output keeps CT charged.
The voltage on the timing capacitor is
buffered by a third comparator, an
LTC1440, to provide a sharp 0V to 5V
shutdown/enable signal to the
LT1795.
33
DESIGN IDEAS
15V
2, 19
+eIN
9
49.9Ω
8
+
49.9Ω
3
A1
1/2 LT1795
1:1
–
1k
1k
±eOUT
100Ω
12
–eIN
49.9Ω
13
+
A2
1/2 LT1795
–
49.9Ω
18
10 S/D
11
S/D REF
–15 1k
1k
5V
6.2k
0.1µ
1
50k*
2
1k
1.2V
+
IN4148
8
C1
1/2 LT1720
–
ON
7
SHUTDOWN
RT2
100k
1.3V
5V
3
1k
IN4148
+
C2
4 1/2 LT1720
–
5
0.1µ
3
6
RT1
100k
CT
1µF
4
+
7
C3
LTC1440
–
1k
* INPUT SENSITIVITY ADJUSTMENT
65mV TO 500mV PEAK
510Ω
1µF
6
1
5
HYST
2.61k
649k
2
of the LTC1440—that is, when no
further signals are applied to the input
of the circuit—the output of the
LTC1440 snaps low and immediately
shuts down the LT1795 power amplifier. The discharge voltage of CT is
fairly slow moving but the input hysteresis set between pins 4 and 5 of the
LTC1440 allows a clean ON-to-OFF
transition.
With the component values provided in Figure 2, the circuit “wakes
up” and properly amplifies the input
signal in approximately 50µs. Most of
this delay is in the charging of CT and
the propagation delay of 8µs through
the LTC1440. With the Shutdown pin
driven high, the LT1795 is fully up to
speed in only 1µs. For a DSL application, this wake-up time occurs during
the initial line “training-up” interval
of the data transmission sequence.
When the input signal is removed,
CT discharges in approximately 65ms
to put the driver into a low power
dissipation state until the next data
transmission. This time-out interval
and wake-up time can be easily tailored through the selection of CT and
RT1 and RT2. If the two timing resistors are of equal value, the OFF time
interval is set by the relationship: t =
0.713 • RTX • CT.
Conclusion
Figure 2. Automatic shutdown of the LT1795 power amplifier
The LTC1440 is a CMOS comparator with a built-in voltage reference
and programmable hysteresis. The
1.18V reference is used for DC biasing to set a stable input threshold for
the circuit. The input current of this
comparator, 10pA, does not present a
significant load on the timing
capacitor.
When the signals of both inputs to
the driver amplifier drop below the
threshold, both outputs of the LT1720
go low. While low, the timing capacitor discharges exponentially through
the two 100k resistors, RT1 and RT2. If
the voltage on CT is given time to
discharge below the 1.18V threshold
This simple comparator sensing and
timing circuit provides automatic control over the power dissipation of a
high speed power amplifier line driver.
With no signal present there is no
wasted quiescent power. This same
system enhancement can also be
achieved through direct logic control
of the LT1795 shutdown feature. This
would require a 0V to 5V control
signal for each line, which is set or
cleared in synchronization with each
data transmission interval.
For more information on parts featured in this issue, see
http://www.linear-tech.com/go/ltmag
34
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
DESIGN IDEAS
SMBus Controlled CCFL Power Supply
by Jim Williams
Figure 1 shows a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) power supply
that is controlled via the popular
SMBus interface. The LT1786 CCFL
switching regulator receives the
SMBus instruction. The IC converts
this instruction to a current, which
appears at the IOUT pin. This current,
routed to the ICCFL pin, provides a set
point for switching regulator operation. The resultant duty cycle at the
VSW pin pulls current through L2. L2,
acting as a switched current sink,
drives a resonant Royer converter
composed of Q1–Q2, C1 and L1. The
high voltage sine wave produced at
D1
BAT85
1
2
3
CCFL
PGND
CCFL VSW
ICCFL
BULB
16
1
Local historians can’t be certain, but this may be
the only IC pin ever named after a person.
L1 = COILTRONICS CTX210605
BAT
LT1786F
13
CCFL VC
ROYER
5
12
6
7
8
AGND
VCC
SHDN
IOUT
SMBSUS
SCL
ADR
SDA
11
2
+
R2
220k
+
C4
2.2µF
3V ≤ VCC
≤ 6.5V
10
9
L2 = COILTRONICS CTX100-4
*DO NOT SUBSTITUTE COMPONENTS
1
4
COILTRONICS (561) 241-7876
5
+
C3B
2.2µF
35V
C3A
2.2µF
35V
BAT
8V TO 28V
R1
750Ω
C1*
0.068µF
R3
100k
Q2*
TO
SMBus
HOST
C1 MUST BE A LOW LOSS CAPACITOR, C1 = WIMA MKI OR MKP-20
(914) 347-2474
= PANASONIC ECH-U
(201) 348-7522
(516) 543-7100
6
L1
3
14
DIO
C2
27pF
3kV
C5
1000pF
15
4
C7, 1µF
Q1, Q2 = ZETEX ZTX849
References:
1. Williams, Jim. Linear Technology
Application Note 65: A Fourth
Generation of LCD Backlight
Technology. November 1995.
2. LT1786F Data Sheet. Linear
Technology Corp. 1998.
LAMP
10
SHUTDOWN
instruction codes with attendant RMS
lamp current. Detailed information
on circuit operation and measurement techniques appears in the
references below.
L2’s secondary drives the floating
lamp.
Current flow into the Royer converter is monitored by the IC at pin 13
(“Royer” in Figure 1).1 Royer current
correlates tightly with lamp current,
which, in turn, is proportional to
intensity. The IC compares the Royer
current to the SMBus-derived current, closing a lamp-intensity control
loop. The SMBus permits wide-range
regulated lamp-intensity control and
allows complete IC shutdown. Optimal display and lamp characteristics
permit 90% efficiency. The circuit is
calibrated by correlating SMBus
Q1*
L2
100µH
0µA TO 50µA ICCFL CURRENT GIVES
0mA TO 6mA LAMP CURRENT
FOR A TYPICAL DISPLAY.
D1
1N5818
FOR ADDITIONAL CCFL/LCD CONTRAST APPLICATION CIRCUITS,
REFER TO THE LT1182/83/84/84F DATA SHEET
OR ROHM 2SC5001 (800) 955-7646
Figure 1. 90% efficient floating CCFL with 2-wire SMBus lamp-current control
Ring Tone, continued from page 29
Analog Inputs Welcome
The scaleable amplification system
detailed in Figure 4 can be driven
with analog inputs while still maintaining full isolation. Such a system
is detailed in Figure 5, where the
analog input is filtered (to prevent
ailiasing) and converted to PWM. Figure 5 goes on to show the use of an
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
Conclusion
RS485 differential driver to drive a
twisted pair line. The receiver end of
the twisted pair line is terminated
with a resistor and put across the
isolation barrier. This provides very
good ESD protection on both ends of
the line.
The LT1684 is useful in a wide variety
of applications. The LT1684 is a highly
integrated solution for use in any
system that requires digital control of
high output voltage or high output
power.
35
DESIGN IDEAS
Triple Output TFT-LCD Bias Supply
Uses All Ceramic Capacitors by Gary Shockey
Current power supply requirements for TFT-LCD panels call for an
8V or 10V main supply plus two or
more auxiliary outputs. The overall
layout must be small and meet tight
height requirements of under 2mm.
Bulky inductors and capacitors must
be eliminated if the design is to meet
space requirements. The circuit described in this design idea features
the new LT1949 and delivers 8V at
200mA from 3.3V while generating
auxiliary 24V and –8V outputs capable
of 10mA of output current.
The LT1949 is a boost switching
regulator that comes in the MSOP-8
package and has an integrated 1.1A
NPN power transistor. For this appliD1
VOUT
100mV/DIV
INDUCTOR
CURRENT
500mA/DIV
LOAD 200mA
STEP 80mA
50µs/DIV
Figure 2. Transient response for an 80mA to 200mA load step
cation to be small and have a low
profile, the boost converter must
switch at a high frequency, which
allows compact inductors to be used,
and must be able to work with ceramic
D2
D3
D4
24V/10mA
C7
0.1µF
L1
10µH
VIN
3.3V
C8
0.1µF
C9
0.1µF
D7
VOUT
8V/200mA
VIN
SHUTDOWN
R2
40.2k
1%
SW
FB
SHDN
U1
LT1949
C4
4.7µF
LBO
LBI
C1
10µF
C2
10µF
R3
7.5k
1%
GND
VC
R1
47k
C3
680pF
L1: SUMIDA CDRH628B-100
(847) 956-0666
C1, C2: TAIYO YUDEN TMK432BJ106MN X7R 1210
(408) 573-4150
C4: TAIYO YUDEN TMK325BJ475MN X5R 1210
C5, C6: TAIYO YUDEN LMK316BJ475ML X5R 1206
C7–C9: 0.1µF, 50V CERAMIC
D1–D6: ZETEX FMMD7000 DUAL DIODE
(516) 543-7100
D7: MBRM120LT3
R3: 5.76k FOR 10V/–10V/30V OUTPUTS
C6
4.7µF
output capacitors. The LT1949 does
both of these things. The switching
frequency is fixed at 600kHz and the
external compensation pin allows for
loop characteristics to be tuned so
that tiny ceramic output capacitors
can be used.
To understand circuit operation,
refer to Figure 1. The LT1949 generates the 8V output in the normal
boost mode configuration, while using
charge pumps for the 24V and –8V
outputs. During boost operation, the
SW pin is switching between VOUT
and ground. When at VOUT, capacitor
C6 is charged to VOUT through D5.
When the SW pin flies to ground, C6
holds its charge, causing D6 to be
forward biased, charging C5 to –8V.
The positive 24V output is developed
in a similar fashion except that VOUT
is tripled. Figure 2 details the transient response of VOUT to an 80mA to
200mA load step.
D5
D6
C5
4.7µF
–8V/10mA
Figure 1. 3.3V to 8V/200mA DC/DC converter with auxiliary 24V and –8V outputs
http://www.linear-tech.com/ezone/zone.html
Articles, Design Ideas, Tips from the Lab…
36
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
DESIGN IDEAS
Low Noise Boost VCO Power Supply
by Ted Henderson
for Portable Applications
Introduction
Many portable RF products use voltage controlled oscillators (VCOs) to
generate the RF carrier frequency.
These applications often require low
noise VCO power supply voltages that
are greater than the primary battery
supply. A DC/DC converter powering
a low noise linear regulator is often
used. Unfortunately, there are several disadvantages to this solution.
The DC/DC converter tends to produce noise that may not be rejected
by the regulator, resulting in regulator output noise far greater than the
thermal noise levels. The linear regulator may require a large output
compensation capacitor with specific
ESR requirements. The board area
for both devices and support components can be large. The LTC1682
charge pump DC/DC voltage converter has been designed to minimize
these issues. The charge pump and
linear regulator have been mutually
optimized for minimum regulator output noise. The linear regulator was
designed to operate with several different types of output capacitors
including small, low value, low ESR
ceramic capacitors. The charge pump
voltage converter and low dropout
linear regulator are combined on one
SHUTDOWN
8
CPO
VOUT
4.7µF
7
VIN
2.5V TO
4.4V
6
C+
1
4.7µF
5
1000pF
2
SHDN
36k
LTC1682
VIN
FB
C–
GND
3
0.22µF
4.7µF
4.2V
4
B
P
VCO
MURATA
MQE001-902
M
C
VCO
OUTPUT
902MHz
100k
VC
1µF
15k
1k
1000pF
1000pF
4.7µF
Figure 1. 4.2V VCO power supply
CENTER = 902MHz
SPAN = 100kHz
SWP = 10s
RESBW = 1kHz
VBW = 30Hz
REF = 0dBm
AMPLITUDE
10dB/DIV
die and assembled in an extremely
small MS8 package. Both fixed and
adjustable output voltage versions
are available to cover the widest possible output voltage range.
VCO Power Supply
Figure 1 shows the LTC1682 generating a 4.2V low noise power supply for
a 900MHz VCO with an input voltage
range of 2.5V to 4.4V. Figure 2 shows
the close-in phase noise of the VCO
operating open loop and Figure 3
shows the typical peak-to-peak noise
voltage at VOUT.
Conclusion
The new LTC1682 family of charge
pump DC/DC voltage converters represents a complete low noise solution
for VCO power supplies. A wide input
voltage range of 1.8V to 4.4V, low
dropout voltage, low quiescent current, low external parts count and
small board area make these devices
ideal for portable applications.
VOUT
200µV/DIV
COUT = 4.7µF
IOUT = 10mA
VOUT = 4.0V
BW = 10Hz–2MHz
100µs/DIV
Figure 2. Close-in phase noise
Figure 3. Output noise voltage
For more information on parts featured in this issue, see
http://www.linear-tech.com/go/ltmag
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
37
NEW DEVICE CAMEOS
LTC1563-2/LTC1563-3:
Easy-to-Use 3V, Rail-to-Rail,
DC Accurate, Active RC
limiting, thermal limiting and reverse- Lowpass Filter Family
New Device Cameos
LT1762/LT1763 Low Noise,
Micropower, Low Dropout
Regulators Save Current in
Battery-Powered Applications
The LT1762 and LT1763 are low noise,
low dropout linear regulators. The
LT1762 is rated for 150mA of output
current, whereas the LT1763 is rated
for 500mA. The typical dropout voltage for either regulator at the rated
output current is 300mV. The regulators are designed for use in
battery-powered systems, with 25µA
operating current for the LT1762 and
30µA for the LT1763; both regulators
feature a 0.1µA shutdown state. Quiescent current is well controlled for
these devices; it does not rise in dropout as is the case with many other
regulators.
The LT1762 and LT1763 regulators feature low noise operation. With
the addition of an external 0.01µF
bypass capacitor, output voltage noise
over the 10Hz to 100kHz bandwidth
is reduced to 30µ V RMS for both
regulators. Both regulators can operate with small capacitors, as low as
2.2µF for the LT1762 and 4.7µF for
the LT1763. Small ceramic capacitors can be used with either device
without the need for additional series
resistance as is common with other
regulators. Internal protection circuitry on both regulators includes
reverse-battery protection, current
current protection.
Both regulators are available in
fixed output voltages of 2.5V, 3V,
3.3V and 5V, or as an adjustable
device with an output voltage range of
1.22V to 20V. The LT1762 regulators
are packaged in the 8-lead MSOP
package and the LT1763 regulators
are available in the 8-lead SO package.
LTC2050:
Zero-Drift Operational
Amplifier in SOT-23
The LTC2050 is the latest zero-drift
operational amplifier in the LTC family. Available in the SOT-23 and SO-8,
the LTC2050 permits single-supply
operation down to 2.7V. The op amp
consumes 800µA of current and the
6-lead SOT-23 and SO-8 packages
include a shutdown pin that drops
supply current below 10µA. Input
common mode range has been
extended from the negative rail to
within 1V (typical) of the positive rail.
The LTC2050’s specifications rival
those of the other members of the
zero-drift op amp family, with typical
offset voltages of 1µV, offset drifts of
10nV/°C, DC to 10Hz noise of
1.5µVP-P, and a gain-bandwidth of
3MHz. The LTC2050 uses the industry-standard op amp pinout and
requires no external components.
For further information on any
of the devices mentioned in this
issue of Linear Technology, use
the reader service card or call
the LTC literature service
number:
The LTC1563-2 and LTC1563-3 are
active RC 4th order lowpass filters
suitable for systems with resolution
of 16 bits or more. They operate on a
supply voltage as ranging from 2.7V
to ±5V. They support cutoff frequencies from 5kHz to 256kHz with
rail-to-rail input and output. Each
part comes in the narrow SSOP-16
package (SO-8 footprint).
The LTC1563-2 and LTC1563-3
are extremely easy to use: unlike conventional 4th order, discrete RC active
lowpass filters, which require the calculation of a minimum of six different
external resistors and four different
external capacitors, they require only
six equal-valued resistors to produce
a unity gain, 4th order Butterworth
(LTC1663-2) or Bessel (LTC1563-3)
filter. The calculation of the resistor
values is trivial—complex algorithms
or filter design software is not needed.
By simply allowing the six external
resistors to be of different values,
gain and other transfer functions (for
example, Chebyshev, Gaussian transitional and linear-phase equiripple)
are achieved. Cascading two devices
forms an 8th order lowpass filter.
Simple resistor-value tables make the
design of any all-pole lowpass filter
elementary. Complicated design algorithms are a thing of the past.
The LTC1563-2 and LTC1563-3
also feature excellent DC offset (typically less than 1mV); they are DC
accurate and their broadband noise
ranges from 30µVRMS to 60µVRMS depending on the cutoff frequency. For
cutoff frequencies below 25.6kHz, the
parts have a low power mode where
the supply current is typically 1mA.
For higher frequencies, the supply
current is 10mA typically. A shutdown mode is also provided to limit
the supply current to less than
10µA.
1-800-4-LINEAR
Ask for the pertinent data sheets
and Application Notes.
38
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999
DESIGN TOOLS
DESIGN TOOLS
Applications on Disk
Technical Books
FilterCAD™ 2.0 CD-ROM — This CD is a powerful filter
design tool that supports all of Linear Technology’s high
performance switched capacitor filters. Included is FilterView™, a document navigator that allows you to
quickly find Linear Technology monolithic filter data
sheets, the FilterCAD manual, application notes, design
notes and Linear Technology magazine articles. It does
not have to be installed to run FilterCAD. It is not
necessary to use FilterView to view the documents, as
they are standard .PDF files, readable with any version
of Adobe Acrobat™. FilterCAD runs on Windows® 3.1 or
Windows 95. FilterView requires Windows 95. The
FilterCAD program itself is also available on the web and
will be included on the new LinearView™ CD.
Available at no charge.
1990 Linear Databook, Vol I —This 1440 page collection of data sheets covers op amps, voltage regulators,
references, comparators, filters, PWMs, data conversion and interface products (bipolar and CMOS), in both
commercial and military grades. The catalog features
well over 300 devices.
$10.00
Noise Disk — This IBM-PC (or compatible) program
allows the user to calculate circuit noise using LTC op
amps, determine the best LTC op amp for a low noise
application, display the noise data for LTC op amps,
calculate resistor noise and calculate noise using specs
for any op amp.
Available at no charge
1992 Linear Databook, Vol II — This 1248 page supplement to the 1990 Linear Databook is a collection of all
products introduced in 1991 and 1992. The catalog
contains full data sheets for over 140 devices. The 1992
Linear Databook, Vol II is a companion to the 1990
Linear Databook, which should not be discarded.
$10.00
1994 Linear Databook, Vol III —This 1826 page supplement to the 1990 and 1992 Linear Databooks is a
collection of all products introduced since 1992. A total
of 152 product data sheets are included with updated
selection guides. The 1994 Linear Databook Vol III is a
companion to the 1990 and 1992 Linear Databooks,
which should not be discarded.
$10.00
SPICE Macromodel Disk — This IBM-PC (or compatible) high density diskette contains the library of LTC op
amp SPICE macromodels. The models can be used with
any version of SPICE for general analog circuit simulations. The diskette also contains working circuit examples
using the models and a demonstration copy of PSPICE™
by MicroSim.
Available at no charge
1995 Linear Databook, Vol IV —This 1152 page supplement to the 1990, 1992 and 1994 Linear Databooks is a
collection of all products introduced since 1994. A total
of 80 product data sheets are included with updated
selection guides. The 1995 Linear Databook Vol IV is a
companion to the 1990, 1992 and 1994 Linear Databooks,
which should not be discarded.
$10.00
SwitcherCAD™ — The SwitcherCAD program is a powerful PC software tool that aids in the design and
optimization of switching regulators. The program can
cut days off the design cycle by selecting topologies,
calculating operating points and specifying component
values and manufacturer’s part numbers. 144 page
manual included.
$20.00
1996 Linear Databook, Vol V —This 1152 page supplement to the 1990, 1992, 1994 and 1995 Linear Databooks
is a collection of all products introduced since 1995. A
total of 65 product data sheets are included with updated
selection guides. The 1996 Linear Databook Vol V is a
companion to the 1990, 1992, 1994 and 1995 Linear
Databooks, which should not be discarded. $10.00
SwitcherCAD supports the following parts: LT1070 series: LT1070, LT1071, LT1072, LT1074 and LT1076.
LT1082. LT1170 series: LT1170, LT1171, LT1172 and
LT1176. It also supports: LT1268, LT1269 and LT1507.
LT1270 series: LT1270 and LT1271. LT1371 series:
LT1371, LT1372, LT1373, LT1375, LT1376 and LT1377.
Micropower SwitcherCAD™ — The MicropowerSCAD
program is a powerful tool for designing DC/DC converters based on Linear Technology’s micropower switching
regulator ICs. Given basic design parameters,
MicropowerSCAD selects a circuit topology and offers
you a selection of appropriate Linear Technology switching regulator ICs. MicropowerSCAD also performs circuit
simulations to select the other components which surround the DC/DC converter. In the case of a battery
supply, MicropowerSCAD can perform a battery life
simulation. 44 page manual included.
$20.00
MicropowerSCAD supports the following LTC micropower DC/DC converters: LT1073, LT1107, LT1108,
LT1109, LT1109A, LT1110, LT1111, LT1173, LTC1174,
LT1300, LT1301 and LT1303.
Information furnished by Linear Technology Corporation
is believed to be accurate and reliable. However, Linear
Technology makes no representation that the circuits
described herein will not infringe on existing patent rights.
Linear Technology Magazine • September1999
1997 Linear Databook, Vol VI —This 1360 page supplement to the 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995 and 1996 Linear
Databooks is a collection of all products introduced
since 1996. A total of 79 product data sheets are included with updated selection guides. The 1997 Linear
Databook Vol VI is a companion to the 1990, 1992, 1994,
1995 and 1996 Linear Databooks, which should not be
discarded.
$10.00
1990 Linear Applications Handbook, Volume I —
928 pages full of application ideas covered in depth by
40 Application Notes and 33 Design Notes. This catalog
covers a broad range of “real world” linear circuitry. In
addition to detailed, systems-oriented circuits, this handbook contains broad tutorial content together with liberal
use of schematics and scope photography. A special
feature in this edition includes a 22-page section on
SPICE macromodels.
$20.00
1993 Linear Applications Handbook, Volume II —
Continues the stream of “real world” linear circuitry
initiated by the 1990 Handbook. Similar in scope to the
1990 edition, the new book covers Application Notes 40
through 54 and Design Notes 33 through 69. References
and articles from non-LTC publications that we have
found useful are also included.
$20.00
1997 Linear Applications Handbook, Volume III —
This 976 page handbook maintains the practical outlook
and tutorial nature of previous efforts, while broadening
topic selection. This new book includes Application
Notes 55 through 69 and Design Notes 70 through 144.
Subjects include switching regulators, measurement
and control circuits, filters, video designs, interface,
data converters, power products, battery chargers and
CCFL inverters. An extensive subject index references
circuits in LTC data sheets, design notes, application
$20.00
notes and Linear Technology magazines.
1998 Data Converter Handbook — This impressive
1360 page handbook includes all of the data sheets,
application notes and design notes for Linear
Technology’s family of high performance data converter
products. Products include A/D converters (ADCs), D/A
converters (DACs) and multiplexers—including the fastest monolithic 16-bit ADC, the 3Msps, 12-bit ADC with
the best dynamic performance and the first dual 12-bit
DAC in an SO-8 package. Also included are selection
guides for references, op amps and filters and a glossary
of data converter terms.
$10.00
Interface Product Handbook — This 424 page handbook features LTC’s complete line of line driver and
receiver products for RS232, RS485, RS423, RS422,
V.35 and AppleTalk® applications. Linear’s particular
expertise in this area involves low power consumption,
high numbers of drivers and receivers in one package,
mixed RS232 and RS485 devices, 10kV ESD protection
of RS232 devices and surface mount packages.
Available at no charge
Power Management Solutions Brochure — This 96
page collection of circuits contains real-life solutions for
common power supply design problems. There are over
70 circuits, including descriptions, graphs and performance specifications. Topics covered include battery
chargers, desktop PC power supplies, notebook PC
power supplies, portable electronics power supplies,
distributed power supplies, telecommunications and
isolated power supplies, off-line power supplies and
power management circuits. Selection guides are provided for each section and a variety of helpful design
tools are also listed for quick reference.
Available at no charge.
Data Conversion Solutions Brochure — This 64 page
collection of data conversion circuits, products and
selection guides serves as excellent reference for the
data acquisition system designer. Over 60 products are
showcased, solving problems in low power, small size
and high performance data conversion applications—
with performance graphs and specifications. Topics
covered include ADCs, DACs, voltage references and
analog multiplexers. A complete glossary defines data
conversion specifications; a list of selected application
and design notes is also included.
Available at no charge
Telecommunications Solutions Brochure —This 76
page collection of application circuits and selection
guides covers a wide variety of products targeted for
telecommunications. Circuits solve real life problems
for central office switching, cellular phones, high speed
modems, base station, plus special sections covering
–48V and Hot SwapTM applications. Many applications
highlight new products such as Hot Swap controllers,
power products, high speed amplifiers, A/D converters,
interface transceivers and filters. Includes a telecommunications glossary, serial interface standards, protocol
information and a complete list of key application notes
and design notes.
Available at no charge.
continued on page 40
39
DESIGN TOOLS, continued from page 39
CD-ROM Catalog
LinearView — LinearView™ CD-ROM version 3.01 is
Linear Technology’s latest interactive CD-ROM. It allows you to instantly access thousands of pages of
product and applications information, covering Linear
Technology’s complete line of high performance analog
products, with easy-to-use search tools.
The LinearView CD-ROM includes the complete product
specifications from Linear Technology’s Databook library (Volumes I–VI) and the complete Applications
Handbook collection (Volumes I–III). Our extensive
collection of Design Notes and the complete collection
of Linear Technology magazine are also included.
A powerful search engine built into the LinearView CDROM enables you to select parts by various criteria,
such as device parameters, keywords or part numbers.
All product categories are represented: data conversion,
references, amplifiers, power products, filters and interface circuits. Up-to-date versions of Linear Technology’s
software design tools, SwitcherCAD, Micropower
SwitcherCAD, FilterCAD, Noise Disk and Spice Macromodel library, are also included. Everything you need to
know about Linear Technology’s products and applications is readily accessible via LinearView. LinearView
runs under Windows 95 and Macintosh® System 8.0 or
later.
Available at no charge.
World Wide Web Site
Linear Technology Corporation’s customers can now
quickly and conveniently find and retrieve the latest
technical information covering the Company’s products
on LTC’s internet web site. Located at www.lineartech.com, this site allows anyone with internet access
and a web browser to search through all of LTC’s
technical publications, including data sheets, application notes, design notes, Linear Technology magazine
issues and other LTC publications, to find information
on LTC parts and applications circuits. Other areas
within the site include help, news and information about
Linear Technology and its sales offices.
Linear Technology Corporation
1630 McCarthy Boulevard
Milpitas, CA 95035-7417
Phone: (408) 432-1900
FAX: (408) 434-0507
Linear Technology Corporation
1080 W. Sam Houston Pkwy., Suite 225
Houston, TX 77043
Phone: (713) 463-5001
FAX: (713) 463-5009
U.S. Area
Sales Offices
Linear Technology Corporation
5510 Six Forks Road, Suite 102
Raleigh, NC 27609
Phone: (919) 870-5106
FAX: (919) 870-8831
Linear Technology Corporation
15 Research Place
North Chelmsford, MA 01863
Phone: (978) 656-4750
FAX: (978) 656-4760
NORTHWEST REGION
Linear Technology Corporation
720 Sycamore Drive
Milpitas, CA 95035
Phone: (408) 428-2050
FAX: (408) 432-6331
SOUTHEAST REGION
Linear Technology Corporation
17000 Dallas Parkway, Suite 219
Dallas, TX 75248
Phone: (972) 733-3071
FAX: (972) 380-5138
The site is searchable by criteria such as part numbers,
functions, topics and applications. The search is performed on a user-defined combination of data sheets,
application notes, design notes and Linear Technology
magazine articles. Any data sheet, application note,
design note or magazine article can be downloaded or
faxed back. (files are downloaded in Adobe Acrobat PDF
format; you will need a copy of Acrobat Reader to view
or print them. The site includes a link from which you
can download this program.)
Acrobat is a trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc.; Windows
is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp.; Macintosh
and AppleTalk are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. PSPICE is a trademark of MicroSim Corp.
International
Sales Offices
World Headquarters
NORTHEAST REGION
Linear Technology Corporation
3220 Tillman Drive, Suite 120
Bensalem, PA 19020
Phone: (215) 638-9667
FAX: (215) 638-9764
Other web sites usually require the visitor to download
large document files to see if they contain the desired
information. This is cumbersome and inconvenient. To
save you time and ensure that you receive the correct
information the first time, the first page of each data
sheet, application note and Linear Technology magazine is recreated in a fast, download-friendly format.
This allows you to determine whether the document is
what you need, before downloading the entire file.
CENTRAL REGION
Linear Technology Corporation
2010 E. Algonquin Road, Suite 209
Schaumburg, IL 60173
Phone: (847) 925-0860
FAX: (847) 925-0878
Linear Technology Corporation
Kenosha, WI 53144
Phone: (414) 859-1900
FAX: (414) 859-1974
SOUTHWEST REGION
Linear Technology Corporation
21243 Ventura Blvd., Suite 208
Woodland Hills, CA 91364
Phone: (818) 703-0835
FAX: (818) 703-0517
Linear Technology Corporation
15375 Barranca Parkway, Suite A-213
Irvine, CA 92618
Phone: (949) 453-4650
FAX: (949) 453-4765
Linear Technology Corporation
9430 Research Blvd.
Echelon IV Suite 400
Austin, TX 78759
Phone: (512) 343-3679
FAX: (512) 343-3680
© 1999 Linear Technology Corporation/Printed in U.S.A./41K
FRANCE
Linear Technology S.A.R.L.
Immeuble “Le Quartz”
58 Chemin de la Justice
92290 Chatenay Malabry
France
Phone: 33-1-41079555
FAX: 33-1-46314613
KOREA
Linear Technology Korea Co., Ltd
Namsong Building, #403
Itaewon-Dong 260-199
Yongsan-Ku, Seoul 140-200
Korea
Phone: 82-2-792-1617
FAX: 82-2-792-1619
GERMANY
Linear Technology GmbH
Oskar-Messter-Str. 24
D-85737 Ismaning
Germany
Phone: 49-89-962455-0
FAX: 49-89-963147
SINGAPORE
Linear Technology Pte. Ltd.
507 Yishun Industrial Park A
Singapore 768734
Phone: 65-753-2692
FAX: 65-752-0108
HONG KONG
Linear Technology Corp. Ltd.
Unit 2109, Metroplaza Tower 2
223 Hing Fong Road
Kwai Fong, N.T., Hong Kong
Phone: 852-2428-0303
FAX: 852-2348-0885
JAPAN
Linear Technology KK
5F NAO Bldg.
1-14 Shin-Ogawa-cho Shinjuku-ku
Tokyo, 162
Japan
Phone: 81-3-3267-7891
FAX: 81-3-3267-8510
LINEAR TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
SWEDEN
Linear Technology AB
Sollentunavägen 63
S-191 40 Sollentuna
Sweden
Phone: 46-8-623-1600
FAX: 46-8-623-1650
TAIWAN
Linear Technology Corporation
Rm. 602, No. 46, Sec. 2
Chung Shan N. Rd.
Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Phone: 886-2-2521-7575
FAX: 886-2-2562-2285
UNITED KINGDOM
Linear Technology (UK) Ltd.
The Coliseum, Riverside Way
Camberley, Surrey GU15 3YL
United Kingdom
Phone: 44-1276-677676
FAX: 44-1276-64851
1630 McCarthy Boulevard
Milpitas, CA 95035-7417
(408) 432-1900 FAX (408) 434-0507
www.linear-tech.com
For Literature Only: 1-800-4-LINEAR
Linear Technology Magazine • September 1999