SLVAEX3 October 2020 TPS8802 , TPS8804
The first component to select is the photo input amplifier gain resistor RPH. This resistor sets the transimpedance of the first stage amplifier. Resistance of less than 200 kΩ introduce thermal noise into the output, reducing SNR. Resistance of less than 5 MΩ limit the maximum speed of the amplifier and may require impractically low compensation capacitance. A resistance of 1.5 MΩ works in most applications and is a good resistance to start the design with. Select the photo input amplifier gain resistor and second stage gain such that the maximum photodiode current generates an output voltage of 2 V. This utilizes the full dynamic range of the TPS880x amplifiers and reduces ADC quantization noise. With thermal noise and quantization noise mitigated, the amplifier current noise is the primary contributor to the output noise. The photo input amplifier gain resistor equally amplifies the photodiode current and the amplifier current noise. In this condition, the RPH resistance has a minimal effect on SNR.