AD9761
–12–
AD9761
–13–
50pF
CURRENT
SOURCE
ARRAY
+1.2V REF
REFIO
FSADJ
REFLO
COMP2
AVDD
IREF =
VREF/RSET
AVDD
RSET
EXT.
VREF
AVDD
0.1F
AD9761
+
–
Figure 7. External Reference Configuration
REFERENCE CONTROL AMPLIFIER
The AD9761 also contains an internal control amplifier that is
used to simultaneously regulate both DACs’ full-scale output
current, IOUTFS. Since the I and Q IOUTFS are derived from
the same voltage reference and control circuitry, excellent
gain matching is ensured. The control amplifier is configured
as a V-I converter as shown in Figure 7 such that its current
output, IREF, is determined by the ratio of the VREFIO and an
external resistor, RSET, as stated in Equation 4. IREF is copied
over to the segmented current sources with the proper scaling
factor to set IOUTFS as stated in Equation 3.
The control amplifier allows a wide (10:1) adjustment span
of IOUTFS over a 1 mA to 10 mA range by setting IREF between
62.5 A and 625 A. The wide adjustment span of IOUTFS
provides several application benefits. The first benefit relates
directly to the power dissipation of the AD9761’s analog
supply, AVDD, which is proportional to IOUTFS (refer to the
Power Dissipation section). The second benefit relates to the
20 dB adjustment span, which may be useful for system gain
control purposes.
Optimum noise and dynamic performance for the AD9761 is
obtained with a 0.1 F external capacitor installed between
COMP2 and AVDD. The bandwidth of the reference control
amplifier is limited to approximately 5 kHz with a 0.1 F
capacitor installed. Since the –3 dB bandwidth corresponds
to the dominant pole and therefore its dominant time con-
stant, the settling time of the control amplifier to a stepped
reference input response can be easily determined. Note that
the output of the control amplifier, COMP2, is internally
compensated via a 50 pF capacitor, thus ensuring its stabil-
ity if no external capacitor is added.
Depending on the requirements of the application, IREF
can be adjusted by varying either RSET, or, in the external
reference mode, by varying the REFIO voltage. IREF can be
varied for a fixed RSET by disabling the internal reference and
varying the voltage of REFIO over its compliance range of
1.25 V to 0.10 V. REFIO can be driven by a single-supply
amplifier or DAC, thus allowing IREF to be varied for a fixed
RSET. Since the input impedance of REFIO is approximately
1 M, a simple, low cost R-2R ladder DAC configured in
the voltage mode topology may be used to control the gain.
This circuit is shown in Figure 8 using the AD7524 and an
external 1.2 V reference, the AD1580.
ANALOG OUTPUTS
As previously stated, both the I and Q DACs produce two
complementary current outputs that may be configured for
single-ended or differential operation. IIOUTA and IIOUTB can be
converted into complementary single-ended voltage outputs,
VIOUTA and VIOUTB, via a load resistor, RLOAD, as described in
the DAC Transfer Function section by Equations 5 through
8. The differential voltage, VIDIFF, existing between VIOUTA
and VIOUTB, can also be converted to a single-ended voltage
via a transformer or differential amplifier configuration.
Figure 9 shows an equivalent circuit of the AD9761’s I (or Q)
DAC output. It consists of a parallel array of PMOS current
sources in which each current source is switched to either
IOUTA or IOUTB via a differential PMOS switch. As a result,
the equivalent output impedance of IOUTA and IOUTB
remains quite high (i.e., >100 k and 5 pF).
AD9761
AVDD
RLOAD
IOUTA
IOUTB
Figure 9. Equivalent Circuit of the AD9761 DAC Output
IOUTA and IOUTB have a negative and positive voltage
compliance range that must be adhered to achieve optimum
performance. The negative output compliance range of –1 V is
set by the breakdown limits of the CMOS process. Operation
beyond this maximum limit may result in a breakdown of the
output stage.
50pF
CURRENT
SOURCE
ARRAY
+1.2V REF
REFIO
FSADJ
REFLO
COMP2
AVDD
AD1580
1.2V
OPTIONAL
BAND LIMITING
CAPACITOR
IREF =
VREF/RSET
AVDD
RSET
0.1V TO 1.2V
RFB
VDD
OUT1
OUT2
AGND
VREF
AD7524
DB7–DB0
+
–
AD9761
Figure 8. Single-Supply Gain Control Circuit
REV. C