| Issue 50: |
What's the big deal about ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM RATINGS?
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The Question:
Is it alright to exceed just one of the parameters in the ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM RATINGS table, by just a little bit?
Download this article [pdf, 102,089 bytes]
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| Issue 49: |
What's the (Converter) Frequency Kenneth?
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The Question:
How Do I Design a Converter Front-end without Compromising the Performance?
Download this article [pdf, 97,703 bytes]
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| Issue 48: |
Some Chips Have Moving Parts!
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The Question:
Is it true that over the years electrical devices have evolved to where they have no moving parts at all?
Download this article [pdf, 104,025 bytes]
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| Issue 47: |
Which carries more weight, a datasheet or SPICE macromodel?
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The Question:
When running a SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis) simulation with one of your amplifier models, I get different results than those shown in the datasheet. Which should I believe?
Download this article [pdf, 100,637 bytes]
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| Issue 46: |
What shall we do with an unused op-amp?
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The Question:
In the RAQ on op-amps as comparators you mentioned an unused op-amp in a quad as being possible justification for using it as a comparator. What do you do if you've an unused op-amp and don't need a comparator?
Download this article [pdf, 129,560 bytes]
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| Issue 45: |
Glass Diodes May See the Light – and Hum
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The Question:
A few months ago you discussed how to prevent the inherent high frequency (HF) noise of a switching supply from escaping into sensitive analog circuits and corrupting them. My op-amp output hums and no amount of supply filtering helps. What should I do?
Download this article [pdf, 127,971 bytes]
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| Issue 44: |
Keeping Common Modes Common
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The Question:
How come my A/D converter is not able to achieve full scale as the datasheet specifies?
Download this article [pdf, 95,957 bytes]
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| Issue 43: |
Impedance Measuring Chip Offers
Little Resistance to Applications
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The Question:
I came across your Impedance measuring chip (IMC) in a recent article. It sounds interesting, but how does it work and what can it be used for?
Download this article [pdf, 125,661 bytes]
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| Issue 42: |
Are Your Filters Filtering?
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The Question:
Why is my A/D converter's anti-aliasing filter showing inadequate spurious and noise rejection?
Download this article [pdf, 731,084 bytes]
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| Issue 41: |
What's in Your Toolbox?
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The Question:
Do you prefer power tools or hand tools for solving problems?
Download this article [pdf, 103,363 bytes]
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| Issue 40: |
How Big Is It?
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The Question:
How can I handle signals with huge variations in amplitude?
Download this article [pdf, 102,537 bytes]
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| Issue 39: |
Off-amps, what the heck are off-amps? Op amps with no power applied, of course.
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The Question:
What kind of performance (pick a parameter, it could be input impedance or any other op amp specification) can I expect from your amplifier ... when the power is off?
Download this article [pdf, 126,118 bytes]
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| Issue 38: |
Single Supply Amplifiers – They Sound Simple ... are they?
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The Question:
Running rail-to-rail op amps on a single supply sounds like a winning combination, but what drawbacks will I encounter when using amplifiers like this?
Download this article [pdf, 119,519 bytes]
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| Issue 37: |
Lock Down That Noise - Don't Let It Escape
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The Question:
How can I prevent switching-mode power supply noise from devastating my circuit performance?
Download this article [pdf, 1,056,768 bytes]
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| Issue 36: |
The Difference Between Different Differential Amplifiers
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The Question:
I'm perplexed. Why is the output voltage of my ADC differential amplifier driver not what it should be?
Download this article [pdf, 737,280 bytes]
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| Issue 35: |
Stress Is Bad For You – and For Analog ICs
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The Question:
Does too much mechanical stress when mounting precision analog ICs damage their accuracy?
Download this article [pdf, 126,976 bytes]
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| Issue 34: |
A Capaciticectomy? Sounds Awfully Painful!
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The Question:
One of your high-speed triple amplifiers is oscillating. What's wrong with it?
Download this article [pdf, 118,784 bytes]
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| Issue 33: |
Hysteresis Blocks Magic
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The Question:
Can I recalibrate my precision analog circuits to achieve higher accuracy?
Download this article [pdf, 118,784 bytes]
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| Issue 32: |
Political Correctness and Datasheets
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The Question:
Datasheet Specifications: Provoking or Confusing?
Download this article [pdf, 114,688 bytes]
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| Issue 31: |
Too Hot or Too Cold May Be Just Right
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The Question:
Are absolute maximum and minimum temperatures as absolute as voltage or current ratings?
Download this article [pdf, 995,328 bytes]
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| Issue 30: |
CAPACITIVE SENSORS: Rugged Enough for the Real World?
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The Question:
I've seen cap sensors used in consumer electronics, but are they rugged enough to function in a harsh industrial environment?
Download this article [pdf, 688,128 byte]
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| Issue 29: |
Half Full or Half Empty? Thoughts on Capacity.
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The Question:
Are all components with just two wires as complicated as the resistors we discussed recently?
Download this article [pdf, 114,688 bytes]
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| Issue 28: |
What's Your Amplifier's Febricity Due to Electricity?
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The Question:
What's the best way to measure the die temperature of a small package op amp or similar device?
Download this article [pdf, 565,248 bytes]
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| Issue 27: |
Resistors (and old ladies) have hidden depths
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The Question:
You recently discussed the thermal noise of resistors. They seem to be such straightforward components with just two connections and one simple property: resistance. Do they have more traps for the unwary?
Download this article [pdf, 770,048 bytes]
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| Issue 26: |
Op-Amp Noise can be Deafening Too
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The Question:
Last month you blamed op amp noise on external resistors. Surely this is not always the case?
Download this article [pdf, 106,496 bytes]
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| Issue 25: |
Resistor Noise can be Deafening, and Hard to Reduce
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The Question:
My low-noise amplifier is not low noise enough. What am I doing wrong?
Download this article [pdf, 167,936 bytes]
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| Issue 24: |
Are leaky amps sinking your design?
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The Question:
My amplifier "leaks" a low level signal at the output with the power supplies off. What gives...is my circuit sunk?
Download this article [pdf, 602,112 bytes]
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| Issue 23: |
Should you butcher your circuit or your test gear? Capable engineers should be prepared to question, and modify, anything, not just their own designs.
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The Question:
While probing a new high-speed amplifier board, I noticed the output had huge overshoot and was ringing like a bell. I had paid close attention to the layout, optimizing supply bypassing, grounding, parasitic reactances, and trace terminations. Where did I go wrong?
Download this article [pdf, 71,688 bytes]
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| Issue 22: |
Things (animals and ADCs) are not always what they seem
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The Question:
Must I consider high frequency issues when driving a slow ADC?
Download this article [pdf, 65,536 bytes]
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| Issue 21: |
Breadboarding With Surface Mount ICs Too small, or not too small? That is the question...
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The Question:
How do I build breadboards with tiny surface mount (SM) ICs?
Download this article [pdf, 90,112 bytes]
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| Issue 20: |
Igor, pass me some supply sequencers!
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The Question:
Last month you said that some absolute maximum ratings depended on the value on some other pin of an integrated circuit (IC). How do I ensure that they are not exceeded during power-up?
Download this article [pdf, 94,208 bytes]
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| Issue 19: |
Observing Maximum Ratings or How to Avoid Forecasts of Doom
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The Question:
How much safety margin is there in "absolute maximum" ratings?
Download this article [pdf, 782,336 bytes]
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| Issue 18: |
Just How Accurate was William Tell, Anyway?
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The Question:
How accurate is an ADC?
Download this article [pdf, 1,036,288 bytes]
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| Issue 17: |
More Chips are Better than One (or the Benefits of Belgian Food)
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The Question:
When are two chips better than one?
Download this article [pdf, 1,314,816 bytes]
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| Issue 16: |
Replacing Optocouplers with Digital Isolators (or How a Midnight Ride Could Have Been Avoided)
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The Question:
Can transformer-based isolators replace optocouplers? Won't there be problems with dc signals, magnetic fields and size?
Download this article [pdf, 368,640 bytes]
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| Issue 15: |
The Long Term Stability of Precision Analog ICs, or How to Age Gracefully and Avoid Sudden Death
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The Question:
The life expectancy of my product is 20 years. How well will its calibration survive?
Download this article [pdf, 163,840 bytes]
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| Issue 14: |
Resourcefulness, or Why Good Engineers (and Good Cooks) Use the Best Available Components.
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The Question:
Which (amplifier/switch/converter) is best in a (mobile phone/strain gauge/medical ultrasound system)?
Download this article [pdf, 147,456 bytes]
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| Issue 13: |
It May be Greek to You, but Sigma Delta Converters are Not Really Hard to Understand
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The Question:
Can you please explain, simply, as to a Bear of Little Brain, how sigma-delta converters work?
Download this article [pdf, 110,592 bytes]
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| Issue 12: |
How Not to Design Active Filters
(or Not Only Sharks Distract Divers)
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The Question:
Why does my carefully designed active filter not meet its specifications?
Download this article [pdf, 106,496 bytes]
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| Issue 11: |
Comparators & Op Amps – May They Never Meet
(or Good Advice from Mr. Punch)
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The Question:
Why buy an expensive comparator when an op amp is just as good?
Download this article [pdf, 364,544 bytes]
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| Issue 10: |
Digital Processing Does Not Always Rule (or What Makes an Analog Engineer Laugh?)
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The Question:
Why recommend analog signal processing when digital systems are so cheap and powerful?
Download this article [pdf, 28,672 bytes]
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| Issue 9: |
Grounding Converters (or Philosophy to the Rescue!)
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The Question:
I can't believe that you recently advised us to connect the digital ground pin of ADCs to the system analog ground. Was this a mistake?
Download this article [pdf, 32,768 bytes]
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| Issue 8: |
Happy Groundhog Day!
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The Question:
Why do I have an output when my analog input is grounded?
Download this article [pdf, 1,787,527 bytes]
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| Issue 7: |
It's Easy to Drive An EE to Drink – but What
Drives One to Poetry?
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The Question:
My SPICE simulation worked perfectly, but now I've a large production batch which doesn't meet its specification.
Download this article [pdf, 94,208 bytes]
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| Issue 6: |
Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock
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The Question:
My clock is accurate to 1 ppm – what could possibly need improvement?
Download this article (pdf, 852,045 bytes)
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| Issue 5: |
Check the Bias Current (or How to Ensure that a Blessing is Heard)
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The Question:
The bias current in modern amplifiers is very small. Do I need to bother about it?
Download this article (pdf, 1,571,506 bytes)
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| Issue 4: |
Caveat Emptor
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The Question:
How do I make sense out of a data sheet ?
Download this article (pdf, 126,976 bytes)
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| Issue 3: |
Isolating the Key Detail (or Lunching With a Mermaid and Pickled Herring)
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The Question:
There is a fault in my CMOS multiplexer...?
Download this article (pdf, 1,892,352 bytes)
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| Issue 2: |
Slow "Starting" ADCs (or the Beneficial Effects of Spirits in Diagnosing Converter Problems)
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The Question:
To save power, my ADC is powered up only to make a measurement. The system is very accurate in continuous operation, but completely unpredictable when power is strobed.
Download this article (pdf, 28,672 bytes)
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| Issue 1: |
Radio Frequency Interference (or How to Get a Free Lunch at a Very Good Restaurant)
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The Question:
I've heard that RF can make low-frequency circuits do strange things. What's that all about?
Download this article (pdf, 73,728 bytes)
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