Achieving optimum performance with a
high-frequency amplifier like the OPA814 requires careful
attention to board layout parasitics and external component types. Recommendations
that optimize performance include the following:
- Minimize parasitic capacitance to any ac
ground for all of the signal I/O pins. Parasitic capacitance on the
output and inverting input pins can cause instability. On the noninverting
input, parasitic capacitance can react with the source impedance to cause
unintentional band-limiting. Ground and power metal planes act as one of the
plates of a capacitor, while the signal trace metal acts as the other separated
by PCB dielectric. To reduce this unwanted capacitance, minimize the routing of
the feedback network. A plane cutout around and underneath the inverting input
pin on all ground and power planes is recommended. Otherwise, make sure that
ground and power planes are unbroken elsewhere on the board.
- Minimize the distance (less than 0.25 inches)
from the power-supply pins to high-frequency decoupling capacitors. Use
high-quality, 100-pF to 0.1-µF, C0G- and NPO-type decoupling capacitors. These
capacitors must have voltage ratings at least three times greater than the
amplifiers maximum power supplies to provide a low-impedance path to the
amplifiers power-supply pins across the amplifiers gain bandwidth specification.
At the device pins, do not allow the ground and power plane layout to be in
close proximity to the signal I/O pins. Avoid narrow power and ground traces to
minimize inductance between the pins and the decoupling capacitors. Larger
(2.2-µF to 6.8-µF) decoupling capacitors, effective at lower frequencies, must
be used on the supply pins. These larger capacitors can be placed further from
the device and shared among several devices in the same area of the PCB.
- Careful selection and placement of external
components preserves the high-frequency performance of the OPA814. Use low-reactance resistors. Small
form-factor, surface-mount resistors work best and allow a tighter overall
layout. The output pin and inverting input pin are the most sensitive to
parasitic capacitance; therefore, always position the feedback and series output
resistor, if any, as close as possible to the inverting input and the output
pin, respectively.
Place other network components, such as noninverting input
termination resistors, close to the package. Even with a low parasitic
capacitance at the noninverting input, high external resistor values can
create significant time constants that can degrade performance. When the OPA814 is configured as a conventional voltage amplifier,
keep the resistor values as low as possible and consistent with the load
driving considerations. Decreasing the resistor values keeps the resistor
noise terms low and minimizes the effect of the parasitic capacitance.
However, lower resistor values increase the dynamic power consumption
because RF and RG become part of the output load
network of the amplifier.