Slew rate is the maximum rate of change of output voltage change with respect to time and is typically specified in units of volts per microsecond, V/µs. The OPAx596 can enter a slew condition when a large, rapid moving signal is applied at the input. While slewing, the op amp enters an open loop condition and significant slew induced distortion can be seen on the output signal.

Equation 1 shows that the slew rate of an op amp is typically determined by the saturation current of the input stage, I_SAT, and the compensation capacitor, C_C.

The slew rate scales with the quiescent current, I_Q, of the op amp. There are several ways that designers have overcome slew rate limitation. For example, decompensation improves slew rate at the expense of stability by lowering C_C. More commonly, modern op amps are equipped with slew boost technology that increases I_SAT to overcome the inherent slew rate limitations. Slew boost circuits can vary in implementation, but designers can typically expect about a 4 × improvement over comparable unboosted op amps.

The OPAx596 uses a proprietary design to achieve an unprecedented slew rate to I_Q ratio. The novel slew boost technology in OPAx596 provides a nearly 100 × slew rate improvement over comparable unboosted op amps.