SSM2380
Rev. A | Page 16 of 32
GAIN SELECT MODE OPERATION
When MODE is connected to VDD, the SSM2380 is in gain
select mode, disabling the I2C interface. The ALC and emission
limiting functions are also disabled. Ball C3 and Ball C4 function
as the gain select pins, GAIN0 and GAIN1.
Table 8 shows the
user-selectable gain settings for the SSM2380.
Table 8. Gain Settings in Gain Select Mode
GAIN0 (Ball C3)
GAIN1 (Ball C4)
Gain Setting (dB)
GND
6
VDD
GND
12
GND
VDD
18
VDD
24
I2C CONTROL MODE OPERATION
When MODE is connected to GND, the SSM2380 operates in
I2C control mode, enabling Ball C3 and Ball C4 to act as SCK
and SDA for the I2C input. In I2C control mode, the user has
full control of all features of the SSM2380 (see
Table 11).
Gain control: 48-step, left/right independent control
(ALC is off)
ALC control (limiter/compressor): configurable attack
and release times; configurable threshold voltage (16 level
settings, 64% to 96% of VDD); optional fixed-power mode
(does not track rail)
Output stage: active emissions edge rate control
(four settings)
Mixer: option to send left channel input to both left and
right channel outputs or to send right channel input to
both outputs
AUTOMATIC LEVEL CONTROL (ALC)
Automatic level control (ALC) is a function that automatically
adjusts amplifier gain to generate the desired output amplitude
with reference to a particular input stimulus. The primary use for
the ALC is to protect an audio power amplifier or speaker load
from the damaging effects of clipping or current overloading.
This is accomplished by limiting the output amplitude of the
amplifier upon reaching a preset threshold voltage. Another
benefit of the ALC is that it makes sound sources with a wide
dynamic range more intelligible by boosting low level signals,
while in turn limiting very high level signals.
Before activating the ALC by setting the ALC_EN bit (Bit 7 in
Register R4), the user has full control of the left and right channel
PGA gain (programmable in Register R0 and Register R1). After
the ALC is activated (ALC_EN = 1), the user has no control over
the gain settings in Register R0 and Register R1; the left channel
PGA gain is locked into the device and controls the gain for both
the left and right channels. To change the gain, the user must
reset the ALC_EN bit to 0 and then load the new gain settings.
Figure 37 shows the input vs. output and gain characteristics
of the ALC that is implemented in the SSM2380.
5.6
5.2
4.8
4.4
4.0
3.6
3.2
2.8
2.4
1.6
1.2
2.0
0.8
0.4
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
TIME (ms)
OU
T
P
U
T
V
O
LTA
GE
L
E
V
E
L
(
V
)
08
75
2-
006
INPUT
GAIN = 6dB
GAIN = 12dB
GAIN = 18dB
GAIN = 24dB
Figure 37. Input vs. Output and Gain Characteristics
When the input level is small and below the ALC threshold value,
the gain of the amplifier stays at the preset gain setting. When
the input exceeds the ALC threshold value, the ALC gradually
reduces the gain from the preset gain setting down to 1 dB.
ALC Compression and Limiting Modes
The ALC implemented on the SSM2380 has two operation
modes: compression and limiting. When the ALC is triggered
for medium-level input signals, the ALC is in compression mode.
In this mode, an increase of the output signal is one-third the
increase of the input signal. For example, if the input signal
increases by 3 dB, the ALC reduces the amplifier gain by 2 dB
and thus the output signal increases by only 1 dB.
As the input signal becomes very large, the ALC transitions to
limiting mode. In this mode, the output stays at a given threshold
level, VTH, even if the input signal grows larger. As an example of
limiting mode operation, when a large input signal increases by
3 dB, the ALC reduces the amplifier gain by 3 dB and thus the
output increases by 0 dB. When the amplifier gain is reduced to
1 dB, the ALC cannot reduce the gain further, and the output
increases again. This is because the total range of the ALC opera-
tion has bottomed out due to extreme input voltage at high gain. To
avoid potential speaker damage, the maximum input amplitude
should not be large enough to exceed the maximum attenuation
(to a level of 1 dB) of the limiting mode.