
AD600/AD602
Rev. E | Page 19 of 28 
INPUT AMPLITUDE (V rms)
R
–0.4
+0.2
–0.2
0
0.001
0.01
0.1
1
100kHz
1MHz
10MHz
0
Figure 39. Output Stabilization vs. rms Input for  
Sine Wave Inputs at 100 kHz, 1 MHz, and 10 MHz 
While the band gap principle used here sets the output 
amplitude to 1.2 V (for the square wave case), the stabilization 
point can be set to any higher amplitude, up to the maximum 
output of ±(V
S
  2) V that the AD600 can support. It is only 
necessary to split R2 into two components of appropriate ratio 
whose parallel sum remains close to the zero-TC value of 
806 Ω. Figure 40 shows this and how the output can be raised 
without altering the temperature stability. 
R2A
Q1
2N3904
V
PTAT
–
RF
OUTPUT
R2B
TO AD600 PIN 16
TO AD600 PIN 11
+
AD590
5V
R2 = R2A || R2B
 ≈
 806
300μA
(AT 300K)
C2
1μF
C3
15pF
0
Figure 40. Modification in Detector to Raise Output to 2 V rms 
A WIDE RANGE, RMS-LINEAR dB MEASUREMENT 
SYSTEM (2 MHz AGC AMPLIFIER WITH RMS 
DETECTOR) 
Monolithic rms-dc converters provide an inexpensive means to 
measure the rms value of a signal of arbitrary waveform; they 
can also provide a low accuracy logarithmic (decibel-scaled) 
output. However, they have certain shortcomings. The first of 
these is their restricted dynamic range, typically only 50 dB. 
More troublesome is that the bandwidth is roughly proportional 
to the signal level; for example, the 
AD636
 provides a 3 dB 
bandwidth of 900 kHz for an input of 100 mV rms but has a 
bandwidth of only 100 kHz for a 10 mV rms input. Its 
logarithmic output is unbuffered, uncalibrated, and not stable 
over temperature. Considerable support circuitry, including at 
least two adjustments and a special high TC resistor, is required 
to provide a useful output.
These problems can be eliminated using an 
AD636
 as the 
detector element in an AGC loop, in which the difference 
between the rms output of the amplifier and a fixed dc reference 
are nulled in a loop integrator. The dynamic range and the 
accuracy with which the signal can be determined are now 
entirely dependent on the amplifier used in the AGC system. 
Since the input to the rms-dc converter is forced to a constant 
amplitude, close to its maximum input capability, the bandwidth is 
no longer signal dependent. If the amplifier has an exactly 
exponential (linear-dB) gain-control law, its control voltage V
G
is forced by the AGC loop to have the general form 
V
V
V
10
log
=
(
)
REF
RMS
IN
V
SCALE
OUT
(4) 
Figure 41 shows a practical wide dynamic range rms-
responding measurement system using the AD600. Note that 
the signal output of this system is available at A2OP, and the 
circuit can be used as a wideband AGC amplifier with an rms-
responding detector. This circuit can handle inputs from 
100 μV to 1 V rms with a constant measurement bandwidth of 
20 Hz to 2 MHz, limited primarily by the AD636 rms converter. 
Its logarithmic output is a loadable voltage accurately calibrated 
to 100 mV/dB or 2 V per decade, which simplifies the 
interpretation of the reading when using a DVM and is 
arranged to be 4 V for an input of 100 μV rms input, zero for 
10 mV, and +4 V for a 1 V rms input. In terms of Equation 4, 
V
REF
 is 10 mV and V
SCALE
 is 2 V. 
Note that the peak log output of ±4 V requires the use of ±6 V 
supplies for the dual op amp U3 (
AD712
) although lower 
supplies would suffice for the AD600 and 
AD636
. If only ±5 V 
supplies are available, it is necessary to either use a reduced 
value for V
SCALE
 (say 1 V, in which case the peak output would 
be only ±2 V) or restrict the dynamic range of the signal to 
about 60 dB. 
As in the previous case, the two amplifiers of the AD600 are 
used in cascade. However, the 6 dB attenuator and low-pass 
filter found in Figure 21 are replaced by a unity gain buffer 
amplifier U3A, whose 4 MHz bandwidth eliminates the risk of 
instability at the highest gains. The buffer also allows the use of 
a high impedance coupling network (C1/R3) that introduces a 
high-pass corner at about 12 Hz. An input attenuator of 10 dB 
(X0.316) is now provided by R1 + R2 operating in conjunction 
with the AD600’s input resistance of 100 Ω. The adjustment 
provides exact calibration of the logarithmic intercept V
REF
 in 
critical applications, but R1 and R2 can be replaced by a fixed 
resistor of 215 Ω if very close calibration is not needed, because 
the input resistance of the AD600 (and all other key parameters 
of it and the 
AD636
) is already laser trimmed for accurate 
operation. This attenuator allows inputs as large as ±4 V to be 
accepted, that is, signals with an rms value of 1 V combined 
with a crest factor of up to 4.