SBASAM0B March 2024 – November 2024 ADS127L18
PRODMIX
The antialias filter consists of a passive first-order input filter, an active second-order filter, and a passive first-order output filter. The filter is fourth-order overall. The filter design accommodates the worst-case wideband filter OSR value (32). This worst-case value results in less than two decades of frequency range between the Nyquist frequency at fDATA and the fMOD frequency. The fourth-order filter provides 90dB roll-off over this frequency range. The roll-off at fMOD is the key requirement of the filter.
The THS4551 amplifier is selected for the active filter stage because of the 135MHz gain-bandwidth product and 50ns settling time. The amplifier GBP is sufficient to maintain flat passband response and stable filter roll-off at 12.8MHz. A 10MHz amplifier used with gain has marginal GBP to fully support the required roll-off at the fMOD frequency.
The design of the active filter section begins with an equal-R assumption to reduce the number of component values to select. The dc gain of the filter is R3 / (R1 + R2). The 1kΩ resistors are low enough in value to keep resistor noise and amplifier input current noise from affecting the noise of the ADC.
The 1kΩ input resistor is divided into two 499Ω resistors (R1 and R2) to implement the first-order filter using C1. The first-order filter is decoupled from the second-order active filter, but shares R1 and R2 to determine each filter stage corner frequency. The corner frequency is given by C1 and the Thevenin resistance at the terminals of C1 (RTH = 2 × 250Ω).
Assuming an arbitrary selection for R4 (2 × 499Ω) is used for this design. Calculate the values of the 2 × 180pF (C3) feedback capacitors and the single 330pF differential capacitor (C2). These values are calculated by the filter design equations given in the Design Methodology for MFB Filters in ADC Interface Applications application note. The design inputs are filter fO and filter Q for the multiple-feedback active-filter topology. The differential capacitor (C4) is not part of the filter design but improves filter phase margin. The 5Ω resistors (R5) isolate the amplifier outputs from stray capacitance to further improve filter phase margin.
The final RC filter at the ADC inputs serves two purposes. First, the filter provides a fourth pole to the overall filter response, thereby increasing roll-off. The other purpose of the RC filter at the inputs is a charge reservoir to filter the sampled input of the ADC. The charge reservoir reduces the instantaneous charge demand of the amplifier, maintaining low distortion and low gain error that otherwise degrades from incomplete amplifier settling. The input filter values are 2 × 22Ω and 2.2nF. The 22Ω resistors are outside the THS4551 filter loop to isolate the amplifier outputs from the 2.2nF capacitor to maintain phase margin.
Low voltage-coefficient C0G capacitors are used everywhere in the signal path for the low distortion properties. The amplifier gain resistors are 0.1% tolerance to provide best possible THD performance. The ADC VCM output connection to the amplifier VOCM input pin is optional because the same function is provided by the amplifier.
See the THS4551 data sheet for additional examples of active filter design and applications.