Detailed Description
The MAX9532 DirectDrive video amplifier with short-to-
battery protection features an internal 5-pole
Butterworth lowpass filter with the amplifier configured
with a gain of 4. The MAX9532 accepts DC-coupled or
AC-coupled full-scale input signals of 0.5VP-P.
Integrated short-to-battery protection prevents the
MAX9532 from being damaged when the output is
short circuited to the battery in automotive applications.
DirectDrive
Background
Integrated video filter amplifier circuits operate from a
single supply. The positive power supply usually cre-
ates video output signals that are level-shifted above
ground to keep the signal within the linear range of the
output amplifier. For applications where the positive DC
level is not acceptable, a series capacitor can be
inserted in the output connection to eliminate the posi-
tive DC level shift. The series capacitor cannot truly
level shift a video signal because the average level of
the video varies with picture content. The series capaci-
tor biases the video output signal around ground, but
the actual level of the video signal can vary significantly
depending upon the RC time constant and the picture
content.
The series capacitor creates a highpass filter. Since the
lowest frequency in video is the frame rate, which is
between 24Hz and 30Hz, the pole of the highpass filter is
ideally an order of magnitude lower in frequency than
the frame rate. Therefore, the series capacitor must
be very large, typically from 220F to 3000F. For
space-constrained equipment, the series capacitor is
unacceptable. Changing from a single series capacitor to
a SAG network that requires two smaller capacitors can
only reduce space and cost slightly.
Video Amplifier
When the full-scale video signal from a video DAC is
500mV, the black level of the video signal created by
the video DAC is around 150mV. The MAX9532 shifts
the black level to near ground at the output so that the
active video is above ground and the sync is below
ground. The amplifier needs a negative supply for the
output stage to remain in the linear region when driving
sync below ground.
The MAX9532 includes an integrated charge pump and
linear regulator to create a low-noise negative supply
from the positive supply voltage. The charge pump
inverts the positive supply to create a raw negative volt-
age that is then fed into the linear regulator filtering out
the charge-pump noise.
Comparison Between DirectDrive Output
and AC-Coupled Output
The actual level of the video signal varies less with a
DirectDrive output than with an AC-coupled output. The
average video signal level changes depending upon
the picture content. With an AC-coupled output, the
average level changes according to the time constant
formed by the series capacitor and series resistance
(usually 150
Ω). For example, Figure 1 shows an AC-
coupled video signal alternating between a completely
black screen and a completely white screen. Notice the
excursion of the video signal as the screen changes.
MAX9532
DirectDrive Video Amplifier with
Short-to-Battery Protection
_______________________________________________________________________________________
7
Pin Description
PIN
NAME
FUNCTION
1VDD
Positive Power Supply. Bypass VDD with a 1F capacitor to GND.
2
C1P
Charge-Pump Flying Capacitor Positive Terminal. Connect a 1F ceramic capacitor from C1P to C1N.
3
CPGND
Charge-Pump Ground. Connect to GND.
4
C1N
Charge-Pump Flying Capacitor Negative Terminal. Connect a 1F ceramic capacitor from C1P to
C1N.
5
CPVSS
Charge-Pump Negative Power Supply. Bypass CPVSS with a 1F ceramic capacitor in parallel with a
10nF low ESL capacitor to GND.
6VSS
Negative Power Supply. Connect VSS to CPVSS.
7
OUT
Video Output
8
JACKSENSE
Jack-Sense Input. Connect to the video output connector after the back-termination resistor.
9
GND
Ground
10
IN
Video Input