
TFT Display Application
(Continued)
8KHz to 160KHz, which is much lower than the gain band-
width of most op amps. As a result, the V
COM
load adds very
little phase lag when op amp loop gain is unity, and this
allows the V
COM
Driver to remain stable. This was verified by
measuring the small-signal bandwidth of the LM6588 with
the RC load of
Figure 4
. When driving an RC load of 50nF
and 20
, the LM6588 has a unity gain frequency of 6.12MHz
with 41.5C of phase margin. If the load capacitor is in-
creased to 200nF and the resistance remains 20
, the unity
gain frequency is virtually unchanged: 6.05MHz with 42.9C
of phase margin.
A V
COM
Driver’s large-signal response time is determined by
the op amp’s maximum output current, not by its slew rate.
This is easily shown by calculating how much output current
is required to slew a 50nF load capacitance at the LM6588
slew rate of 14V/μs:
I
OUT
= 14V/μs x 50nF
= 700mA
700mA exceeds the maximum current specification for the
V
driver’s speed is limited by its peak output current. In
order to minimize V
transients, the op amp used as a
V
COM
Driver must supply large values of output current.
Figure 5
is a common test circuit used for measuring V
driver response time. The RC network of R
L1
to R
and C
1
to C
models the distributed RC load of a V
line. This RC
network is a gross simplification of what the actual imped-
ance is on a TFT panel. However, it does provide a useful
test for measuring the op amp’s transient response when
driving a large capacitive load. A low impedance MOSFET
driver applies a 5V square wave to V
SW
, generating large
current pulses in the RC network. Scope photos from this
circuit are shown in
Figure 6
and
Figure 7
.
Figure 6
shows
the test circuit generates positive and negative voltage
spikes with an amplitude of
±
3.2V at the V
COM
node, and
both transients settle-out in approximately 2μs. As men-
tioned before, the speed at which these transients settle-out
is a function of the op amp’s peak output current. The I
OUT
trace in
Figure 7
shows that the LM6588 can sink and source
peak currents of 200mA and 200mA. This ability to supply
large values of output current makes the LM6588 extremely
well suited for V
COM
Driver applications.
20073429
FIGURE 4. V
COM
Driver with Simplified Load
20073430
FIGURE 5. V
COM
Driver Test Circuit
20073431
FIGURE 6. V
SW
and V
COM
Waveforms from V
COM
20073432
FIGURE 7. V
SW
and I
OUT
Waveforms from V
COM
Test
Circuit
L
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