APEX MICROTECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
5980 NORTH SHANNON ROAD
TUCSON, ARIZONA 85741
USA
APPLICATIONS HOTLINE: 1 (800) 546-2739
OPERATING
CONSIDERATIONS
PA21/25/26
PA21A/25A
GENERAL
Please read Application Note 1 "General Operating Consid-
erations" which covers stability, supplies, heat sinking, mount-
ing, current limit, SOA interpretation, and specification inter-
pretation. 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 specific 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 amplifier, the typical value is
shown in the current limit specification.
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* induc-
tive loads up to the following maximum are safe:
±
Vs
20V
15V
10V
5V
CAPACITIVE LOAD
200
μ
F
500
μ
F
5mF
50mF
INDUCTIVE LOAD
7.5mH
25mH
35mH
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 amplifier 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 flyback,
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 difficult for the op amp manu-
facturer to optimize compensation for all operating conditions.
The recommended R-C network of 1 ohm in series with
0.1
μ
F from output to AC common (ground or a supply rail, with
adequate bypass capacitors) will prevent local output stage
oscillations.
This network is provided internally on the PA21 but must be
supplied externally on the PA25 and PA26. The amplifiers are
internally compensated for unity gain stability, no additional
compensation is required.
THERMAL CONSIDERATIONS
Although R
is the same for PA21/25/26 there are differ-
ences in the thermal interface between case and heatsink
which will limit power dissipation capability. Thermal grease or
an Apex TW03 thermal washer, R
θ
= .1-.2
°
C/W, is the only
recommended interface for the PA21/25. The PA26 may
require a thermal washer which is electrically insulating since
the tab is tied to
–
V
. This can result in thermal impedances for
R
θ
CS
of up to 1
°
C/W or greater.
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
EACH ONELOADED
40
4
EACH BOTHLOADED
T = 25
°
C
1m
–
IN
+IN
–
V
S
R
S
I
SENSE
OUT
V
BOOST
+V
S
FIGURE 2. PA26 EQUIVALENT SCHEMATIC (ONE CHANNEL)