LTC1250(RevA) View Datasheet(PDF) - Linear Technology

Part Name

Description

Manufacturer

LTC1250
(Rev.:RevA)

Very Low Noise Zero-Drift Bridge Amplifier

Linear Technology 

LTC1250

APPLICATI S I FOR ATIO

frequency, approaching the best bipolar op amps at 10Hz

and surpassing them below 1Hz (Figure 1). All this is

accomplished in an industry-standard pinout; the LTC1250

requires no external capacitors, no nulling or clock sig-

nals, and conforms to industry-standard 8-pin DIP and 8-

pin SOIC packages.

Input Capacitance and Compensation

The large input transistors create a parasitic 55pF capaci-

tance from each input to V+. This input capacitance will

react with the external feedback resistors to form a pole

which can affect amplifier stability. In low gain, high

impedance configurations, the pole can land below the

unity-gain frequency of the feedback network and degrade

phase margin, causing ringing, oscillation, and other

unpleasantness. This is true of any op amp, however, the

55pF capacitance at the LTC1250’s inputs can affect

stability with a feedback network impedance as low as

1.9k. This effect can be eliminated by adding a capacitor

across the feedback resistor, adding a zero which cancels

the input pole (Figure 2). The value of this capacitor should

be:

CF

≥

55pF

AV

where AV = closed-loop gain. Note that CF is not dependent

on the value of RF. Circuits with higher gain (AV > 50) or

low loop impedance should not require CF for stability.

CF

RIN

CP

RF

–

LTC1250

+

1250 F02

Figure 2. CF Cancels Phase Shift Due to Parasitic CP

Larger values of CF, commonly used in band-limited DC

circuits, may actually increase low frequency noise. The

nulling circuitry in the LTC1250 closes a loop that includes

the external feedback network during part of its cycle. This

loop must settle to its final value within 150µs or it will not

fully cancel the 1/f noise spectrum and the low frequency

noise of the part will rise. If the loop is underdamped (large

RF, no CF) it will ring for more than 150µs and the noise

and offset will suffer.

The solution is to add CF as above but beware! Too large

a value of CF will overdamp the loop, again preventing it

from reaching a final value by the 150µs deadline. This

condition doesn’t affect the LTC1250’s offset or output

stability, but 1/f noise begins to rise. As a rule of thumb,

the RFCF feedback pole should be ≥ 7kHz (1/150µs, the

frequency at which the loop settles) for best 1/f perfor-

mance; values between 100pF and 500pF work well with

feedback resistors below 100k. This ensures adequate

gain at 7kHz for the LTC1250 to properly null. High value

feedback resistors (above 1M) may require experimenta-

tion to find the correct value because parasitics, both in

the LTC1250 and on the PC board, play an increasing role.

Low value resistors (below 5k) may not require a capaci-

tor at all.

Input Bias Current

The inputs of the LTC1250, like all zero-drift op amps,

draw only small switching spikes of AC bias current; DC

leakage current is negligible except at very high tempera-

tures. The large front-end transistors cause switching

spikes 3 to 4 times greater than standard zero-drift op

amps: the ±50pA bias current spec is still many times

better than most bipolar parts. The spikes don’t match

from one input pin to the other, and are sometimes (but

not always) of opposite polarity. As a result, matching the

impedances at the inputs (Figure 3) will not cancel the bias

current, and may cause additional errors. Don’t do it.

RF

RIN

–

LTC1250

+

1250 F03

Figure 3. Extra Resistor Will Not Cancel Bias Current Errors

6

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