APEX MICROTECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
5980 NORTH SHANNON ROAD
TUCSON, ARIZONA 85741
USA
APPLICATIONS HOTLINE: 1 (800) 546-2739
4
OPERATING
CONSIDERATIONS
PA34
GENERAL
Please read Application Note 1 "General Operating
Considerations" which covers stability, supplies, heat sinking,
mounting, current limit, SOA interpretation, and speci
fi
cation
interpretation. Visit www.apexmicrotech.com for design tools
that help automate tasks such as calculations for stability,
internal power dissipation, current limit and heat sink
selection. The "Application Notes" and "Technical Seminar"
sections contain a wealth of information on speci
fi
c types of
applications. Package outlines, heat sinks, mounting hardware
and other accessories are located in the "Packages and
Accessories" section. Evaluation Kits are available for most
Apex product models, consult the "Evaluation Kit" section for
details. For the most current version of all Apex product data
sheets, visit www.apexmicrotech.com.
CURRENT LIMIT
Current limit is internal to the ampli
fi
er, the typical value is
shown in the current limit speci
fi
cation.
SAFE OPERATING AREA (SOA)
The SOA curves combine the effect of all limits for this
power op amp. For a given application, the direction 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.
Under transient conditions, capacitive and dynamic*
inductive loads up to the following maximum are safe:
±Vs CAPACITIVE LOAD INDUCTIVE LOAD
20V 200μF 7.5mH
15V 500μF 25mH
10V 5mF 35mH
5V 50mF 150mH
* If the inductive load is driven near steady state conditions,
allowing the output voltage to drop more than 6V below the
supply rail while the ampli
fi
er is current limiting, the inductor
should be capacitively coupled or the supply voltage must be
lowered to meet SOA criteria.
NOTE: For protection against sustained, high energy
fl
yback,
external fast-recovery diodes should be used.
MONOLITHIC AMPLIFIER
STABILITY CONSIDERATIONS
All monolithic power op amps use output stage topologies
that present special stability problems. This is primarily due
to non-complementary (both devices are NPN) output
stages with a mismatch in gain and phase response for
different polarities of output current. It is dif
fi
cult for the
op amp manufacturer to optimize compensation for all
operating conditions.
The recommended R-C network of 1 ohm in series with
0.1μF from output to AC common (ground or a supply rail,
with adequate bypass capacitors) will prevent local output
stage oscillations.
The ampli
fi
ers are internally compensated for unity gain
stability, no additional compensation is required.
THERMAL CONSIDERATIONS
The PA34 may require a thermal washer which is electrically
insulating since the tab is tied to
–
V
S
. This can result in thermal
impedances for R
θ
CS
of up to 1
°
C/W or greater.
ADDITIONAL PA34 PIN FUNCTIONS
V
BOOST
The V
BOOST
pin is the positive terminal for the load of the
second stage of the ampli
fi
er. When that terminal is connected
to a voltage greater than +V
S
it will provide more drive to the
upper output transistor, which is a darlington connected emitter
follower. This will better saturate the output transistor.
When V
BOOST
is about 5 Volts greater than +V
S
the
positive output can swing 0.5 Volts closer to the rail. This is
as much improvement as is possible.
3
2
1
.1
1
2
3
4
5 6
10
20
30
50
SUPPLY TO OUTPUT DIFFERENTIAL VOLTAGE V
–
V (V)
S
O
–
V
S
S
40
4
T = 25
°
C
1m
DC
–
IN
+IN
–
V
S
R
S
I
SENSE
OUT
V
BOOST
+V
S
FIGURE 2. EQUIVALENT SCHEMATIC