9
UC3173A
() ()
V (optimum)=
VIN- V + V
2
REFIN
HS SAT LS SAT
(3)
Where:V
HS(SAT)
= high-side V
SAT
at maximum load
V
LS(SAT)
= low-side V
SAT
at maximum load.
A second approach is to raise the gain of the B amplifier
to insure maximum swing. For a given REFIN voltage the
gain of the B amplifier, set by the ratio of the feedback
resistors, can be made greater than unity as given by:
()
()
AB=
VIN – V – V
V–V
V
HS SAT
REF
REFIN
LS SAT
or,
(4)
()
()
V–V
VIN – V – V
REFIN
LS SAT
HS SAT
REF
whichever is greater than unity.
For a typical case, where V
REFIN
has been set at VIN/2,
the required gain fora5voltsystem will be about 1.5,
and for a 12 volt system, 1.2.
It is worth noting that when using this method the B amplifier will saturate before the A amplifier on one polarity
of the voltage swing. During the time when the B amplifier is saturated and the A amplifier is not, the small signal bandwidth of the loop will be reduced by a factor of
(A
V
B + 1).
E. Loop Compensation
The normal configuration for compensation of the power
amplifier is shown in Fig. 1. A simple R
C
network, RCCC,
around the A amplifier is all that is required. The value of
the R
CCC
time constant is typically chosen to correspond
to the electrical time constant of the load, given by R
L
/L.
The bandwidth of the closed loop amplifier can be set by
choosing the value of R
C
. Calculate RCaccording to:
R=
2L f R
(1+ A B)A CS R
C
3dB FB
VV S
π• •
•
(5)
Use A
V
CS = 0.5 if range changing is to be used, and
A
V
CS = 2.0 if only the low range mode of operation is to
be used.
The compensation zero is typically set to coincide with
the L/R time constant of the Load. C
C
can then be calcu-
lated by:
C=
L
R(R +R)
C
CS L
(6)
In the closed loop transconductance amplifier, the A am-
plifier operates at the highest noise gain. Noise gain is a
measure of the feedback ratio at which the amplifier is
operating. For the configuration of the A amplifier in Fig.
1, the noise gain is given by the impedance ratio of the
R
C-CC
series network, to the parallel combination of R
FA
and RFB. For the A amplifier to operate at its expected
closed loop gain, the noise gain at any frequency must
not exceed its Gain Bandwidth Product (GBW) divided
by that frequency. Applying this to the expression above
will yield a result for the maximum 3dB bandwidth that
can be achieved for a given configuration.
()
f=
fA(1+AB)ACSRR
2L (R +R )
3dB MAX
GBW V V S FA
FA FB
••••
•
π
1
2
(7)
Where: f
GBW
A is the GBW of the A amplifier.
In the UC3173A, to accommodate wider power amplifier
bandwidths, the GBW Product of the A amplifier has
been extended to 2MHz. Care should be taken that the
A amplifier gain bandwidth product is not limiting the
closed loop performance of the configured power amplifier. This is easily checked by making sure that R
C
is
less than a critical value, R
C(MAX)
, as given by:
R=R
fA2LR
(A B+1) A CS R (R +R )
C(MAX) FB
GBW FA
VVSFAFB
••
••
π
1
2
(8)
Again, use A
V
CS = 0.5 if range changing is used, and
A
V
CS = 2.0 if only the low range mode of operation is
used.
F. Using The Comp Pin
When the range change feature of the UC3173A is
used, the closed loop bandwidth of the power amplifier
will change according to (7). In other words, the bandwidth would be four times larger during the low range
mode when A
V
CS is equal to 2, than during the high
range mode when A
V
CS is equal to 0.5, unless the
value of R
C
is adjusted to compensate.
The COMP pin on the UC3173A can be used to do this.
The COMP pin acts as a simple switch that allows a parallel compensation network to be applied around the A
amplifier during low range operation. A simple network
as shown here will keep the loop response constant independent of the range condition.
To maintain the same 3dB bandwidth in both the high
and low range modes set R
CA
and CCAto:
R=
R
3
,C =3C
CA
C
CA C
(9)
APPLICATION INFORMATION (cont.)