OPERATING
CONSIDERATIONS
PA09 • PA09A
GENERAL
Please read the “General Operating Considerations” sec-
tion, which covers stability, supplies, heatsinking, mounting,
current limit, SOA interpretation, and specification interpreta-
tion. Additional information can be found in the application
notes. For information on the package outline, heatsinks, and
mounting hardware, consult the “Accessory and Package
Mechanical Data” section of the handbook.
SUPPLY VOLTAGE
The specified voltage (±VS) applies for a dual (±) supply
having equal voltages. A nonsymmetrical (ie. +70/–10V) or a
single supply (ie. 80V) may be used as long as the total voltage
between the +VS and –VS rails does not exceed the sum of the
voltages of the specified dual supply.
SAFE OPERATING AREA (SOA)
The MOSFET output stage of this power operational ampli-
fier has two distinct limitations:
1. The current handling capability of the MOSFET geometry
and the wire bonds.
2. The junction temperature of the output MOSFETs.
SAFE OPERATING AREA CURVES
The SOA curves combine the effect of these limits and allow
for internal thermal delays. For a given application, the direc-
tion and magnitude of the output current should be calculated
or measured and checked against the SOA curves. This is
simple for resistive loads but more complex for reactive and
EMF generating loads. The following guidelines may save
extensive analytical efforts:
1. Capacitive and inductive loads up to the following maxi-
mums are safe:
±VSCAPACITIVE LOAD INDUCTIVE LOAD
40V .1µF 11mH
30V 500µF 24mH
20V 2500µF 75mH
15V ∞100mH
2. Short circuits to ground are safe with dual supplies up to
±20V.
3. The output stage is protected against transient flyback.
However, for protection against sustained, high energy
flyback, external fast-recovery diodes should be used.
BYPASSING OF SUPPLIES
Each supply rail must be bypassed to common with a
tantalum capacitor of at least 47µF in parallel with a .47µF
ceramic capacitor directly connected from the power supply
pins to the ground plane.
OUTPUT LEADS
Keep the output leads as short as possible. In the video
frequency range, even a few inches of wire have significant
inductance, raising the interconnection impedance and limit-
ing the output current slew rate. Furthermore, the skin effect
increases the resistance of heavy wires at high frequencies.
Multistrand Litz Wire is recommended to carry large video
currents with low losses.
GROUNDING
Single point grounding of the input resistors and the input
signal to a common ground plane will prevent undesired
current feedback, which can cause large errors and/or insta-
bilities.
THERMAL SHUTDOWN PROTECTION
The thermal protection circuit shuts off the amplifier when
the substrate temperature exceeds approximately 150°C. This
allows heatsink selection to be based on normal operating
conditions while protecting the amplifier against excessive
junction temperature during temporary fault conditions.
Thermal protection is a fairly slow-acting circuit and there-
fore does not protect the amplifier against transient SOA
violations (areas outside of the TC = 25°C boundary). It is
designed to protect against short-term fault conditions that
result in high power dissipation within the amplifier, If the
conditions that cause thermal shutdown are not removed, the
amplifier will oscillate in and out of shutdown. This will result in
high peak power stresses, destroy signal integrity, and reduce
the reliability of the device.
STABILITY
Due to its large bandwidth the PA09 is more likely to oscillate
than lower bandwidth Power Operational Amplifiers. To pre-
vent oscillations a reasonable phase margin must be main-
tained by:
1. Selection of the proper phase compensation capacitor and
resistor. Use the values given in the table under external
connections on the first page of this data sheet and interpo-
late if necessary. The phase margin can be increased by
using a larger capacitor and a smaller resistor than the slew
rate optimized values listed in the table.
2. Keeping the external sumpoint stray capacitance to ground
at a minimum and the sumpoint load resistance (input and
feedback resistors in parallel) below 500Ω. Larger sumpoint
load resistances can be used with increased phase com-
pensation and/or bypassing of the feedback resistor.
3. Connect the case to a local AC ground potential.
CURRENT LIMIT
Internal current limiting is provided in the PA09. Note the
current limit curve given under typical performance graphs is
based on junction temperature. If the amplifier is operated at
cold junction temperatures, current limit could be as high as 8
amps. This is above the maximum allowed current on the SOA
curve of 5 amps. Systems using this part must be designed to
keep the maximum output current to less than 5 amps under
all conditions. The internal current limit only provides this
protection for junction temperatures of 80°C and above.
30 50 80
20 40
2.0
5.0
15
3.0
4.0
1.5
2.5
3.5
60 70
25
35
INTERNAL VOLTAGE DROP SUPPLY TO OUTPUT V
S
–V
O
(V)
OUTPUT CURRENT FROM +V
S
OR –V
S
(A)
T
C
= 25°C
t = 100ms
steady state
t = 300ms
This data sheet has been carefully checked and is believed to be reliable, however, no responsibility is assumed for possible inaccuracies or omissions. All specifications are subject to change without notice.
PA09U REV. H FEBRUARY 1998 © 1998 Apex Microtechnology Corp.