–14–
AD822
REV. B
APPLICATION NOTES
INPUT CHARACTERISTICS
In the AD822, n-channel JFETs are used to provide a low offset,
low noise, high impedance input stage. Minimum input commonmode voltage extends from 0.2 V below –V
S
to 1 V less than +VS.
Driving the input voltage closer to the positive rail will cause a
loss of amplifier bandwidth (as can be seen by comparing the
large signal responses shown in TPCs 31 and 34) and increased
common-mode voltage error as illustrated in TPC 17.
The AD822 does not exhibit phase reversal for input voltages
up to and including +V
S
. TPC 39a shows the response of an
AD822 voltage follower to a 0 V to 5 V (+V
S
) square wave
input. The input and output are superimposed. The output
tracks the input up to +V
S
without phase reversal. The reduced
bandwidth above a 4 V input causes the rounding of the output
wave form. For input voltages greater than +V
S
, a resistor in
series with the AD822’s noninverting input will prevent phase
reversal, at the expense of greater input voltage noise. This is
illustrated in TPC 39b.
Since the input stage uses n-channel JFETs, input current
during normal operation is negative; the current flows out from
the input terminals. If the input voltage is driven more positive
than +V
S
– 0.4 V, the input current will reverse direction as
internal device junctions become forward biased. This is illustrated in TPC 4.
A current limiting resistor should be used in series with the
input of the AD822 if there is a possibility of the input voltage
exceeding the positive supply by more than 300 mV, or if an
input voltage will be applied to the AD822 when ±V
S
= 0. The
amplifier will be damaged if left in that condition for more than
10 seconds. A 1 kΩ resistor allows the amplifier to withstand up
to 10 V of continuous overvoltage, and increases the input
voltage noise by a negligible amount.
Input voltages less than –V
S
are a completely different story.
The amplifier can safely withstand input voltages 20 V below
the minus supply voltage as long as the total voltage from the
positive supply to the input terminal is less than 36 V. In addition, the input stage typically maintains picoamp level input
currents across that input voltage range.
The AD822 is designed for 13 nV/√Hz wideband input voltage
noise and maintains low noise performance to low frequencies
(refer to TPC 11). This noise performance, along with the
AD822’s low input current and current noise means that the
AD822 contributes negligible noise for applications with source
resistances greater than 10 kΩ and signal bandwidths greater
than 1 kHz. This is illustrated in Figure 3.
100k
0.1
INPUT VOLTAGE NOISE – V
10k
1k
100
10
1
WHENEVER JOHNSON NOISE IS GREATER THAN
AMPLIFIER
NOISE, AMPLIFIER NOISE CAN BE
CONSIDERED
NEGLIGIBLE FOR APPLICATION.
1kHz
RESISTOR JOHNSON
NOISE
AMPLIFIER-GENERATED
NOISE
10Hz
10k 100k
1M
10M 100M
1G
10G
SOURCE IMPEDANCE –
Figure 3. Total Noise vs. Source Impedance
OUTPUT CHARACTERISTICS
The AD822 s unique bipolar rail-to-rail output stage swings
within 5 mV of the minus supply and 10 mV of the positive
supply with no external resistive load. The AD822’s approximate
output saturation resistance is 40 Ω sourcing and 20 Ω sinking.
This can be used to estimate output saturation voltage when
driving heavier current loads. For instance, when sourcing 5 mA,
the saturation voltage to the positive supply rail will be 200 mV,
when sinking 5 mA, the saturation voltage to the minus rail will
be 100 mV.
The amplifier’s open-loop gain characteristic will change as a
function of resistive load, as shown in TPCs 7 through 10. For
load resistances over 20 kΩ, the AD822’s input error voltage is
virtually unchanged until the output voltage is driven to 180 mV
of either supply.
If the AD822’s output is overdriven so as to saturate either of
the output devices, the amplifier will recover within 2 µs of its
input returning to the amplifier’s linear operating region.
Direct capacitive loads will interact with the amplifier’s effective
output impedance to form an additional pole in the amplifier’s
feedback loop, which can cause excessive peaking on the pulse
response or loss of stability. Worst-case is when the amplifier is
used as a unity gain follower. Figure 4 shows the AD822’s
pulse response as a unity gain follower driving 350 pF. This
amount of overshoot indicates approximately 20 degrees of phase
margin—the system is stable, but is nearing the edge. Configurations with less loop gain, and as a result less loop bandwidth,
will be much less sensitive to capacitance load effects. Figure
5 is a plot of capacitive load that will result in a 20 degree phase
margin versus noise gain for the AD822. Noise gain is the inverse
of the feedback attenuation factor provided by the feedback
network in use.