21
Analog Applications Journal
Using high-speed op amps for
high-performance RF design, Part 2
This is Part 2 in a two-part
series devoted to the topic
of using op amps for RF
design. Part 1 focused on
how to form an RF stage
from op amps and the scat-
tering parameters. Part 2
focuses on other RF specifi-
cations and some of the finer
points of RF design.
Frequency-response
peaking
Current-feedback amplifiers
allow an easy resistive trim
for frequency peaking that
has no impact on the forward
gain. This frequency-response
flatness trim has the same
effect in non-inverting and
inverting configurations.
Figure 1 shows this
adjustment added to an
inverting circuit. This resist-
ive trim inside the feedback loop has the effect of adjusting
the loop gain and, hence, the frequency response without
adjusting the signal gain, which is still set by R
F
and R
G
.
Values for R
F
and R
G
must be reduced to compensate
for the addition of the trim potentiometer, although their
ratio and, hence, the gain should remain the same. The
adjustment range of the pot, combined with the lower R
F
value, ensures that the frequency response can be peaked
for slight variations in the current-feedback amplifier
parameters.
–1-dB compression point
The –1-dB compression point is defined as the output
power, at a fixed input frequency, where the amplifier’s
actual output power is 1 dBm less than expected. Stated
another way, it is the output power at which the actual
amplifier gain has been reduced by 1 dB from its value at
lower output powers. The –1-dB compression point is the
way RF designers talk about voltage rails.
Op amp designers and RF designers have very different
ways of thinking about voltage rails, which are related to
the requirements of the systems they design. An op amp
designer—interfacing op amps to data converters, for
example—takes great pains not to hit the voltage rail of
the op amp, thus losing precious codes. An RF designer,
on the other hand, is often concerned with squeezing the
last half decibel out of an RF circuit. In broadcasting, for
example, a very slight increase in decibels means a lot more
coverage. More coverage means more audience and more
advertising dollars. Therefore, slight clipping is acceptable,
as long as resulting spurs are within FCC regulations.
Standard ac-coupled RF amplifiers show a relatively
constant –1-dB compression power over their operating
frequency range. For an operational amplifier, the maxi-
mum output power depends strongly on the input fre-
quency. The two op amp specifications that serve a similar
purpose to –1-dB compression are V
OM
and slew rate.
At low frequencies, increasing the power of a fixed
frequency input will eventually drive the output “into the
rails”—the V
OM
specification. At high frequencies, op amps
will reach a limit on how fast the output can transition
(respond to a step input)—the slew rate limitation. The
op amp slew rate specification is divided by two, because
of the matching resistor used at the output.
As is the case for op amps used in any other application,
it is probably best to avoid operation near the rails, as the
inevitable distortion will produce harmonics in the RF sig-
nal that are probably undesirable for FCC testing. That
said, if harmonics are still at an acceptable level at the
–1-dB compression point, it can be a very useful way to
boost power to a maximum level out of the circuit.
Two-tone, third-order intermodulation intercept
When two closely spaced signals are present in the RF
bandwidth being amplified, sum and difference frequen-
cies are created. These sum and difference frequencies
are intermodulation harmonics. They are undesirable and
may lead to problems with FCC testing of the system.
Texas Instruments Incorporated
Amplifiers: Op Amps
By Bruce Carter (Email: r-carter5@ti.com)
Advanced Linear Products, Op Amp Applications
3Q 2002 www.ti.com/sc/analogapps Analog and Mixed-Signal Products