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APPLICATION BULLETIN
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NEW ULTRA HIGH-SPEED
CIRCUIT TECHNIQUES WITH ANALOG ICs
By Christian Henn, Burr-Brown International GmbH
With the increasing use of current-feedback amplifiers, the
Diamond Structure has come to play a key role in today鈥檚
analog circuit technology. Two new macro elements that
function in this structure are the Diamond Transistor and its
abridged version, the Diamond Buffer. These elements can be
used for both voltage and current control of analog signals up
to several 100MHz. The OPA660 combines both of these
elements in one package. Starting with a discussion of the
technical process requirements for complementary-bipolar
circuit technology, we would like to focus on the basic and
functional circuits of the Diamond Transistor and Buffer.
These circuits can be used in areas ranging from video signal
processing and pulse processing in measurement technology
to interface modules in fiber optic technology.
SYMBOLS AND TERMS
In technical literature, various symbols and terms are used
to describe the same circuit structure, see Figure 1. Burr-
Brown has chosen the transistor symbol with opposed
emitter arrows. The symbol calls attention to the functional
similarity of the bipolar and Diamond Transistors, and the
double arrows refer to the Diamond Transistor鈥檚 comple-
mentary construction and the ability to operate it in four
quadrants. Regardless of how it is depicted, this type of
structure has a high-impedance input, a low-impedance
input/output, high transconductance and a high-impedance
current source output. The voltage is transferred with very
low offset of +7mV from the high-impedance input to the
low-impedance input/output.
TECHNICAL PROCESS REQUIREMENTS
FOR COMPLEMENTARY CIRCUIT TECHNIQUES
Circuits implemented in push-pull arrangements, in which
both NPN and PNP transistors are located in the signal path,
demand a particular high level of symmetry in the electrical
parameters of complementary transistors. See Figure 2.
The most important requirement is that the bandwidths be
equal, since the slower transistor type determines the perfor-
mance capability of the entire circuit. The bandwidth of an
integrated bipolar transistor is dependent both upon the base
transit time and upon various internal transistor resistances
and p-n junction capacitances.
Another important point is the DC performance, which can
be described best by the parameters saturation current I
S
,
current gain BF and early voltage. The Diamond Transistor
and buffer are manufactured using a complicated process
with vertically structured NPN and PNP transistors. Table I
shows the most important parameters of a transistor of size
111. Two metallization layers with a gold surface simplify
the connection between the circuit parts.
APPLICATION EXAMPLES
鈥?Wide-bandwidth amplifiers
鈥?Video signal processing
鈥?Pulse processing in radar technology
鈥?Ultrasonic technology
鈥?Optical electronics
鈥?Test and communications equipment
3
1
B
C
V
IN1
gm
V
IN2
I
OUT
PNP Transistor
B
E
B
C
p
NPN Transistor
B
E
B
C
n
2
E
Diamond Transistor
Voltage-Controlled Current Source
Transconductor
Macro Transistor
Current Conveyor II+
p - Epi
n - Epi
p - Substrate
3
n
+
Doping
n
鈥?/div>
Doping
p
+
Doping
p
鈥?/div>
Doping
Silicondioxide
Poly-Silicon (implanted)
X
Y
CCII+
Z
I
OUT
1
2
FIGURE 1. Symbols and Terms.
漏
FIGURE 2. Complementary Bipolar Technique (CBip).
AB-183
Printed in U.S.A. May, 1993
1993 Burr-Brown Corporation
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