TI Buffer Amplifier Increases Signal Bandwidth Tenfold in Data-Acquisition Systems
January 28, 2022
News
Texas Instruments (TI) introduced the industry’s widest-bandwidth high-input-impedance (Hi-Z) buffer amplifier, capable of supporting frequency bandwidths as high as 3 GHz.
The wider bandwidth and high slew rates of the BUF802 enable higher signal throughput and minimal input settling time. Designers can leverage this throughput to measure higher-frequency signals accurately in test and measurement applications including oscilloscopes, active probes, and high-frequency data-acquisition systems.
According to the company, the bandwidth achieved by the BUF802 was previously only possible by using application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) that can increase system design time, complexity, and cost. By eliminating ASICs, designers who use TI’s buffer can get to market faster while achieving a wide dynamic range at a fraction of the cost.
The BUF802 provides a single-chip alternative to ASICs or FET-input amplifier-based implementations by integrating the features of discrete components while providing 10 times wider bandwidth than FET-input amplifiers, matching the performance of custom ASICs.
The flexible BUF802 is the industry’s first buffer to enable quiescent current adjustment for a range of bandwidth and signal swing requirements, from 100 MHz to 3 GHz at 1-V peak to peak (VPP) and as high as 2 GHz at 2 VPP. This wide adjustment range for bandwidth and signal swing allows designers to scale their front-end designs across multiple data-acquisition applications.
Integrated functional modes allow engineers to use the BUF802 as a standalone buffer or in a composite loop with a precision amplifier like the OPA140. As a stand-alone buffer, the BUF802 can help achieve high input impedance and high slew rates in applications that can tolerate 100-mV offsets or where the signal chain is AC-coupled. In a composite loop, the new buffer can achieve high DC precision and 3-GHz bandwidth in applications requiring 1 μV/°C maximum offset drift.
The BUF802 is available for purchase on TI.com in a 3-mm-by-3-mm 16-pin very thin no-lead (VQFN) package, and is priced at US$1.80 in 1,000-unit quantities.
The BUF802RGTEVM evaluation module is available on TI.com for US$25. TI offers multiple payment and shipping options on TI.com.
For more information, visit: TI.com
