UNDERSTANDING AND USING OTA OP-AMP ICs

by Ray Marston
Take a look at Operational Transconductance Amplifier (OTA) op-amp principles and at practical CA3080 OTA circuits in this opening episode of a two-part mini-series.

Part 1

NUTS & VOLTS

ost popular op-amp (operational amplifier) ICs The best known current-production versions of the OTA are the such as the 741, CA3140, and LF351, etc. give an CA3080 and the LM13700. The LM13700 is a dual secondoutput voltage that is proportional to the difference generation OTA with built-in output-buffer stages, and will be between the ICs two input pin voltages, and are thus known as fully described next month. The CA3080 is a first-generation voltage-differencing amplifiers or VDAs. There are, however, OTA, and is the exclusive subject this month. Figure 2(a) two other basic types of op-amps that are in common use; one shows the connections of the eight-pin DIL E version of the of these is the type that gives an output voltage that is proporCA3080. Figure 2(b) shows its internal circuit, and Figure 3 tional to the difference between the currents applied to its two lists its basic parameter values. input terminals, and is thus known as a current-differencing amplifier or CDA. This type of op-amp was described in depth CA3080 BASICS in the Understanding and Using Norton Op-Amp ICs twopart mini-series published in this magazine. The third type of The CA3080 is a fairly simple device and consists of one op-amp is known as an operational transconductance amplifidifferential amplifier and four current mirrors. Figure 4 shows er or OTA, and acts as a variable-gain voltage-to-current the basic circuit and formulas of its differential amplifier. Its amplifier. emitter current (Ic) is equal to the sum of the two collector curOne of the best known OTA ICs is the CA3080, which is rents (Ia and Ib). When Vin is zero, Ia and Ib are equal and have of particular value in making voltage- or current-controlled a value of Ic/2. When Vin has a value other than zero (up to amplifiers, or micro-power voltage comparators or oscillators, 25mV maximum), the Ia and Ib currents differ and produce an etc. OTAs have operating characteristics very different from Ib - Ia value of Vin x gm, where gm is the OTAs transconducconventional op-amps, and Figure 1 illustrates the major diftance, is directly proportional to Ic, and has a typical mho ferences between these two types of devices. value of about 20 x Ic.The Figure 4 circuit is of little value on Figure 1(a) shows the basic symbol and formulas of the its own and, in the CA3080, it is turned to good use by using a conventional op-amp, which is essentially a voltage amplifying simple current mirror to externally control its Ic value (and thus device. It has differential input terminals and gives an output of the gm of the OTA), and by using another three current mirAO x (e1 - e2), where AO is the open-loop voltage gain of the rors to extract the difference between the Ia and Ib currents and op-amp and e1 and e2 are the signal voltages at the non-invertmake this difference current available to the outside world. A ing and inverting input terminals, respectively. Note that the current mirror (CM) is a three-terminal circuit that, when proopen-loop voltage gain of this op-amp is fixed, and the device has a high input impedance and a low output impedance. Figure 1(b) shows the basic symbol and formulas of an OTA, which is essentially a voltage-to-current amplifier. It has differential voltage input terminals (like a conventional opamp) but as indicated by the constant-current symbol on its output these input voltages produce a high-impedance output in the form of a current with a value of gm x (e1 - e2), where gm is the transconductance or voltage-to-current gain of Figure 1. A conventional op-amp (a) is a fixed-gain voltage-amplifying device. An OTA (b) is a variable-gain voltage-to-current amplifier. the device and can be controlled by (and is directly proportional to the value of) an external bias current fed into the Ibias terminal. In the CA3080, Ibias can be varied from 0.1A to 1mA, giving a 10,000:1 gain-control range. An OTA is a very versatile device. It can, for example, be made to act like a normal op-amp by simply wiring a suitable load resistance to its output terminal (to convert its output current into voltage). Again, since the magnitude of Ibias can easily Figure 2. be controlled by an external voltage and a series Connections resistor, the OTA can easily be used as a voltage- (a) of the controlled amplifier (VCA), oscillator (VCO), or fil- eight-pin DIL ter (VCF), etc. Note that the total current consump- E version of tion of the CA3080 OTA is only twice the Ibias value the CA3080, (which can be as low as 0.1A), enabling the and (b) its internal circuit. device to be used in true micro-power applications.

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vided with an external input bias Characteristic Limits current, produces an in-phase Supply voltage range +4V to +30V DC or current of identical value at its 2V to 15V output terminals, as shown in Max. differential input voltage 5V Figure 5. Some CMs act as curPower dissipation 125mW maximum Input signal current 1mA maximum rent sinks, as shown in Figure Amplifier bias current 2mA maximum 5(a) and others as current Figure 4. Output short-circuit duration Indefinite sources, as in Figure 5(b). When Basic circuit Forward transconductance, gm 9600umho typical a CM source and a CM sink are and formulas Open loop bandwidth 2MHz connected as shown in Figure 6 of the Unity-gain slew rate 50V/uS differential Common-mode rejection ratio 100dB typical and powered from split supply amplifier of rails, they generate a differential Figure 3. Basic parameters/limits of the CA3080E. the CA3080. (Isource - Isink) current in any external load connected to the 0V rail. Figure 7 shows the actual circuits of two sink-type current mirrors. In the simplest of these (Figure 7(a)), a diode-connected transistor (QA) is wired across the base-emitter junction of a second, closely matched, transistor that is integrated on the same chip. The input current is fed to the bases of both matched transistors and thus divides equally between them. Figure 5. Symbols representing (a) a currentSuppose these transistors have Figure 6. When two current mirrors are wired mirror sink and (b) a current-mirror source. current gains of x100 and are as shown, they generate a differential current in each drawing base currents of an external load. 5A. In this case, they each draw graphs in Figure 9, which show typical collector currents of 500A. Note, however, that the QA collecparameter values when the IC is driven from split 15V supplies tor current is drawn from the circuits input current, which thus at an ambient temperature of +250C. Thus, at a bias current of equals 500A plus (2 x 5A), or 510A, and that the QB collec10A, gm is typically 200mho, and input and output impedtor current is the output or mirror current of the circuit. ances are 800k and 700M, respectively. At 1mA bias, the values The input and output currents of this circuit are thus almost change to 20mmho, 15k, and 7M0, respectively. identical (within a few percent), irrespective of the input current The available output voltage swing of the IC depends on magnitude. In practice, the input/output current ratio of the the values of Ibias and any external load resistor connected to above circuit depends on the close gain matching of the two the OTA output. If the load impedance is infinite, the output can transistors, and this can actually vary by several percent. Figure swing to within 1V5 of the positive supply rail and to within 0V5 7(b) shows an improved current mirror circuit that is less sensiof the negative rail. If the impedance is finite, the peak output tive to current gain variations and also gives an improved voltage swing is limited to Ibias x RL. Thus, at 10A bias with a (greater) output impedance. 100k load, the available output voltage swing is a mere 1V0. Figure 8 shows how the differential amplifier and four curThe slew rate (and bandwidth) of the IC depend on the rent mirrors are interconnected in the CA3080 to make a pracvalue of Ibias and any external loading capacitor connected to tical OTA. Bias current Ibias controls the emitter current, and the output. The slew rate value, in volts per microsecond, equals thus the gm, of the Q1-Q2 differential amplifier via CMC. The Ibias/CL, where CL is the loading capacitance value in pF, and the Ibias value is in microamps. With no external loading capaccollector currents of Q1 and Q2 are mirrored by CMA and CMB respectively, and then fed into the bias and sink terminals itor connected, the maximum slew rate of the CA3080 is about respectively of CMD, so that the externally available output cur50V/S. rent of the circuit is equal to IB - IA. Looking back to Figure 2(b), which shows the actual internal circuit of the CA3080, the readBASIC CIRCUITS er should now have little difficulty in working out the functions of individual circuit elements. Q1 and Q2 form the differential The CA3080 is a very easy IC to use. Its pin 5 Ibias terminal amplifier, with D1-Q3 making up CMC of Figure 8, and CMD is internally connected to the pin 4 negative supply rail via a comprising D6-Q10-Q11. Current mirrors CMA (Q4-Q5-Q6-D2base-emitter junction, so the biased voltage of the terminal is D3) and CMB (Q7-Q8-Q9-D4-D5) are slightly more complex, using Darlington pairs of transistors, plus speed-up diodes, to improve their performances.

SOME FINER POINTS

All the major operating parameters of the CA3080 are adjustable and depend on the value of Ibias. The maximum (short circuit) output current is equal to Ibias, the total operating current of the OTA is double the Ibias value, and the input bias currents drawn by pins 2 and 3 typically equal Ibias/200. The transconductance (gm) and the input and output impedance values also vary with the Ibias value, as shown in the
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Figure 7. Examples of simple sink-type current mirrors.

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Figure 10. Differential amplifier with 40dB voltage gain.

Figure 12. 20dB micro-power inverting amplifier. Figure 8. The CA3080 comprises one differential amplifier and four current mirrors. Figure 11. AC-coupled 40dB inverting amplifier.

about 600mV above the pin 4 value. Ibias can thus be obtained by connecting pin 5 to either the common rail or the positive supply rail via a suitable current limiting resistor. Figures 10 and 11 show two simple ways of using the CA3080 as a linear amplifier with a voltage gain of about 40dB. The Figure 10 circuit acts as a DC- differential amplifier, and Figure 11 as an AC-coupled inverting amplifier. Both designs operate from split 9V supplies, so 17.4V is generated across bias resistor R1, which thus feeds an Ibias of 500A into pin 5 and thus makes each IC consume another 1mA of supply current. At an Ibias value of 500A, the gm of the CA3080 is roughly 10mmho, so since the outputs of the Figure 10 and 11 circuits are loaded by a 10k resistor (R2), they give an overall voltage gain of 10mmho x 10k = x100, or 40dB. The peak current that can flow into the 10k load is 500A (Ibias), so the peak available output voltage is 5V0. The output is also loaded by 180pF capacitor C1, giving the circuit a slew rate limit of 500A/180pF, or 2.8V/S. The output impedance of

each circuit equals the R2 value of 10k. Note in these two circuits that the IC is used in the open-loop mode, and that if the slew rate of the IC is not externally limited via C1, the OTA will operate at its maximum bandwidth and slew rate. Under such a condition, the CA3080 may be excessively noisy, or may pick up unwanted RF signals. In the Figure 10 circuit, the differential inputs are applied via series resistors R3 and R4, which help equalize the source impedances of the two signals and thus maintain the DC balance of the OTA. The Figure 11 circuit is a simple variation of the above design, with both inputs tied to the common rail via 15k resistors and with the input signal applied to one terminal only. With the input fed to pin 2 as shown, the circuit acts as a 40dB inverting amplifier; alternatively, non-inverting action can be obtained by connecting the input signal to pin 3 via C2.

CLOSED-LOOP OPERATION

NUTS & VOLTS

The Figure 10 and 11 circuits are used in the open-loop mode and their voltage gains thus depend on the value of Ibias which, in turn, depends on the value of supply rail voltage. The voltage gain of the CA3080 can be made almost independent of the Ibias and supply voltage values by using conventional closed-loop op-amp techniques, as shown in the micro-power 20dB AC-coupled inverting amplifier in Figure 12. Figure 12 is wired like a conventional op-amp inverting amplifier, with its voltage gain (AV) determined primarily by the R2/R3 ratio (x10, or 20dB). This gain equation is, however, only valid when the value of an external load resistor (RL) is infinite, since the output impedance of this design is equal to R2/AV, or 10k, and any external load causes this impedance to give a potential divider action that reduces the output of the circuit. In Figure 12, the main function of Ibias is to set the total operating current of the circuit and/or the maximum available output swing. With the component values shown, Ibias has a value of 50A. When RL is infinite, the output is loaded only by R2, which has a value of 100k, so the maximum available output voltage swing is 5V0. If RL has a value of 10k, on the other hand, the maximum output voltage swing is 0.5V. This circuit can thus be designed to give any desired values of voltage gain and peak output voltage. Note that, Figure 9.The transconductance (a) and the input and output resistances since the IC is used in the closed loop mode, exter(b) of the CA3080 vary with the bias-current value. nal slew rate limiting is not required.
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Figure 13. Variable-gain (x5 to x100) AC amplifier.

Figure 15. Ring modulator or four-quadrant multiplier.

Figure 14. Amplitude modulator or two-quadrant multiplier.

Figure 16. Fast inverting voltage comparator. Figure 17. Noninverting micro-power voltage comparator.

OFFSET BALANCING
If the CA3080 is to be used as a high-gain DC amplifier, or as a wide-range variable-gain amplifier, input bias levels must be balanced to ensure that the output correctly tracks the input signals at all prevailing Ibias values. Figure 13 shows how suitable bias can be applied to an inverting AC amplifier in which the voltage gain is variable from roughly x5 to x100 via RV2, and the offset balance is pre-set via RV1. The circuit is set up by adjusting RV2 to its minimum (maximum gain) value and then trimming RV1 to give zero DC output with no AC input signal applied.

VOLTAGE-CONTROLLED GAIN
The most important uses of the CA3080 are in true micropower amplifier and oscillator applications, and in applications in which important parameters are variable via an external voltage. In the latter category, one important application is as a voltage-controlled amplifier (VCA) or amplitude modulator, in which a carrier signal is fed to an amplifiers input, and its output amplitude is controlled or modulated by another signal fed to the Ibias terminal. Figure 14 shows a practical version of such a circuit. The Figure 14 circuit acts as a variable-gain inverting amplifier. Input bias resistors R1 and R2 have low values, to minimize the noise levels of the IC and eliminate the need for external slew-rate limiting, and offset biasing is applied to the noninverting pin of the IC via R3-RV1. The carrier input signal is applied to the inverting pin of the CA3080 via potential divider Rx-R1. When Rx has the value shown, the circuit gives roughly unity gain when the modulation input terminal is tied to the zero volts rail. The gain is x2 when the modulation terminal is at +9V, and the circuit gives roughly 80dB of signal rejection when the modulation terminal is tied to the -9V rail. Note that the instantaneous polarity of the output signal in the Figure 14 circuit is determined entirely by the instantaneous polarity of the input signal, which has only two possible states. This type of circuit is thus known as a two-quadrant multiplier. The amplitude of the
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output signal is determined by the product of the input and gain-control values. Figure 15 shows how the above circuit can be modified so that it acts as a ring-modulator or four-quadrant multiplier, in which the output signal polarity depends on the polarities of both the input signal and the modulation voltage. The Figure 15 circuit is identical to that of Figure 14, except that resistor network Ry is connected between the input and output terminals. The action here is such that, when the modulator input is tied to the zero volts rail, the inverted signal currents feeding into R5 from the output of the OTA are exactly balanced by the non-inverting signal currents flowing into R5 from the input signal via Ry, so that zero output is generated across R5. If the modulation input goes positive, the output of the OTA exceeds the current of the Ry network, and an inverted gain-controlled output is obtained. If the modulation input is negative, on the other hand, the output current of Ry exceeds that of the OTA, and the non-inverted gain-controlled output is obtained. Thus, both the phase and the amplitude of the output signal of this four-quadrant multiplier are controlled by the modulation signal. The circuit can be used as a ring modulator by feeding independent AC signals to the two inputs, or as a frequency doubler by feeding identical sinewaves to the two inputs. Note that, with the Rx and Ry values shown, the Figure 15 circuit gives a voltage gain of x0.5 when the modulation terminal is tied to the positive or negative supply rail; the gain doubles if the values of Rx and Ry are halved. Also note that the Figure 14 and 15 circuits each have a high-output impedance, and

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Figure 18. Programmable Schmitt trigger.

that, in practice, a voltage following buffer stage must be interposed between the output terminal and the outside world.

Figure 19. Micro-power Schmitt trigger.

typically consumes a quiescent current of only 50A, but gives an output voltage that swings fully between the two supply rails and can supply drive currents of several milliamps. Here, the CA3080 is biased at about 18A via R1, but has its output fed to the near-infinite input impedance of a CMOS inverter stage made from one section of a 4007UB IC. The CA3080plus-4007UB combination gives the circuit an overall voltage gain of about 130dB, so input voltage shifts of only a few microvolts are sufficient to switch the output from one supply rail

to the other.

COMPARATOR CIRCUITS
The CA3080 can easily be used as a programmable or micro-power voltage comparator. Figure 16 shows the basic circuit of a fast, programmable, inverting comparator, in which a reference voltage is applied to the non-inverting input terminal, and the test input is applied to the inverting terminal. The circuit action is such that the output is driven high when the test input is below Vref, and is driven low when test is above Vref (the circuit can be made to give a non-inverting comparator action by transposing the input connections of the IC). With the component values shown, the Ibias current in the Figure 16 circuit is several hundred microamps and under this condition, the CA3080 has a slew rate of about 20V/S and thus acts as a fast comparator. When the test and Vref voltages are almost identical, the IC acts as a linear amplifier with a voltage gain of gm x R2 (about x200 in this case). When the two input voltages are significantly different, the output voltage limits at values determined by the Ibias and R2 values. In Figure 16, the output limits at about 7V0 when R2 has a value of 10k, or at 0.7V when R2 has a value of 1k0. Figure 17 shows how the above circuit can be modified so that it acts as an ultra-sensitive micro-power comparator which

SCHMITT TRIGGER CIRCUITS

The simple voltage comparator circuit in Figure 16 can be made to act as a programmable Schmitt trigger by connecting the non-inverting reference terminal directly to the output of the CA3080, as shown in Figure 18. In this case, when the input is high, a positive reference value of Ibias x R2 is generated. When Vin exceeds this value, the output regeneratively switches low and generates a negative reference voltage of Ibias x R2. When Vin falls below this new value, the output switches high again and once more generates a positive reference voltage of Ibias x R2. Thus, the trigger thresholds (and also the peak output voltages) of this Schmitt circuit can be precisely controlled or programmed via either Ibias or R2. Figure 19 shows an alternate type of Schmitt, in which the output transitions fully between the supply rail values, and the switching threshold values are determined by the R1 and R2 ratios and the values of supply voltage, V, and equal V x R1/(R1 + R2).

ASTABLE CIRCUITS

NUTS & VOLTS

The Figure 19 Schmitt trigger circuit can be made to act as an astable multivibrator or squarewave generator by connecting its output back to the non-inverting input terminal via Figure 20. an R-C time-constant network, as shown in Figure 20. The Low-power astable output of this circuit switches fully between the supply rail valmultivibrator or ues, is approximately symmetrical, and has a frequency that squarewave is determined by the values of R3 and C1, and by the ratios generator. of R1 and R2. The circuit action is such that, when the output is high, C1 charges via R3 until the C1 voltage reaches the positive reference voltage value determined by the R1-R2 ratio, at which point, the output switches low. C1 then discharges via R3 until the C1 voltage reaches the negative reference voltage value determined by the R1-R2 ratio, at which point, the output switches high again, and the whole process then repeats ad infinitum. Finally, to complete this look at the CA3080 OTA, Figure 21 shows how the above circuit can be modified Figure 21. Variable to give an output waveform with a variable mark-space mark-space ratio. In this case, C1 alternately charges via D1-R3 and ratio astable. the left half of RV1, and discharges via D2-R3 and the right half of RV1, to give a mark-space ratio that is fully variable from 10:1 to 1:10 via RV1. Note in the above two astable circuits that the CA3080 is biased at only a few microamps and that the total current consumption of each design is determined primarily by the series values of R1 and R2 and by the value of R3. In practice, total current consumption figures of only a few tens of microamps can easily be obtained. NV
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UNDERSTANDING AND USING OTA OP-AMP ICs

by Ray Marston
Ray Marston looks at the operating principles and practical applications of the LM13700 dual Operational Transconductance Amplifier (OTA) IC in this concluding episode of a two-part mini-series.

Part 2

ast months opening episode of this two-part miniseries described basic OTA operating principles, and took a close look at the popular and widely available CA3080 OTA IC. The CA3080 is actually a simple, first-generation OTA that generates fairly high levels of signal distortion and has a high-impedance unbuffered output. This months concluding episode describes an improved second-generation OTA IC the LM13700 which does not suffer from these snags. The LM13700 is actually a dual OTA, as indicated by the pin connection diagram in Figure 1. Each of its OTAs is an improved version of the CA3080, and incorporates input linearizing diodes that greatly reduce signal distortion, and have an optional buffer stage that can be used to give a low impedance output. The LM13700 is, in fact, a very versatile device, and can easily be made to act as a voltage-controlled amplifier (VCA), voltage-controlled resistor (VCR), voltage-controlled filter (VCF), or voltagecontrolled oscillator (VCO), etc.

LINEARIZING DIODES
The CA3080 OTA consists of (as described last month) a differential amplifier plus a number of current mirrors that give an output equal to the difference between the amplifiers two collector currents, as shown in the simplified circuit in Figure 2. A weakness of this circuit is that its input signals must be limited to 25mV peak-topeak if excessive signal distortion is not to occur. This distortion is caused by the inherently non-linear Vbe-to-Ic transfer characteristics of Q1 and Q2. Figure 3 shows the typical transfer characteristics graph of a small-signal silicon transistor. Thus, if this tran-

NUTS & VOLTS

Figure 1. Pin connections of the LM13700 dual OTA IC.

sistor is biased at a quiescent collector current of 0.8mA, an input signal of 10mV peak-to-peak produces an output current swing of +0.2mA to -0.16mA, and gives fairly small distortion. But an input swing of 30mV peak-to-peak produces an output swing of +0.9mA to -0.35mA, and gives massive distortion. In practice, the CA3080 gives typical distortion figures of about 0.2% with a 20mV peakto-peak input, and a massive 8% with a 100mV peak-topeak input. Figure 4 shows the basic usage circuit of one of the improved second-generation OTAs of the LM13700, which is almost identical to that of the CA3080, except for the addition of linearizing diodes D1 and D2, which are integrated with Q1 and Q2, and thus have characteristics matched to those of the Q1 and Q2 base-emitter junctions. In use, equal, low-value resistors R1 and R2 are wired between the inputs of the differential amplifier and the common supply line, and bias current ID is fed to them from the positive supply rail via R3 and D1-D2 and, since D1-D2 and R1-R2 are matched, divides equally between them to give R1 and R2 currents of ID/2. The circuits input voltage is applied via R4 (which is large relative to R1) and generates input signal current Is, which feeds into R1 and thus generates a signal voltage across it that reduces the D1 current to (ID/2) - Is. The ID current is, however, constant, so the D2 current rises to (ID/2) + Is. Consequently, the linearizing diodes of the Figure 4 circuit apply heavy, negative feedback to the differential amplifier and give a large reduction in signal distortion. If Is is small relative to ID, the output signal current of the circuit is equal to 2 x Is x (Ibias/ID). Thus, the circuits gain can be controlled via either Ibias or ID. The OTAs of the LM13700 can be used as simple OTAs of the CA3080 type by ignoring the presence of the two linearizing diodes, or can be used as low-distortion amplifiers by using the diodes as shown in Figure 4. The graph in Figure 5 shows typical distortion levels of the LM13700 at various peak-to-peak values of input signal voltage, with and without the Figure 2. Simplified use of linearizusage circuit ing diodes. of the Thus, at 30mV CA3080 input, distortion OTA. is below 0.03% with the diodes, but 0.7% without them, and at 100mV, input is roughly 0.8% with the diodes, but 8% without them.
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INTERNAL BUFFERS
Figure 6 shows the internal circuit of each half of the LM13700 IC package. If this circuit is compared with that of the CA3080 shown last month, it will be seen to be broadly similar except for the addition of linearizing diodes D1D2 to the inputs of the Figure 4. Simplified usage circuit of an LM13700 OTA.. OTAs Q1-Q2 differential Figure 3. Typical transfer characteristics of a amplifier, and the addismall-signal silicon transistor. tion of output transistors Q11-Q12, which are configured as a Darlington emitter follower buffer stage and can (by roughly x1.5. The voltage gain is fully variable within these wiring its input to the OTA output and connecting Q12 two limits via the gain-control input. The two halves of the emitter to the negative rail via a suitable load resistor) be LM13700 have closely-matched characteristics, making used to make the high-impedance output of the OTA availthe IC ideal for use in stereo amplifier applications. Figure able at a low-impedance level. Note in this latter case that 8 shows how two amplifiers of the Figure 7 type can be the output of the buffer stage is two base-emitter volt drops used together to make a voltage-controlled stereo amplifi(about 1.2V) below the output voltage level of the OTA, so er. Note, in this case, that the Ibias gain-control pins of the this buffer is not suited for use in high-precision DC amplitwo OTAs are shorted together and fed from a single gainfier applications. control voltage and current-limiting resistor. The close The two OTAs of the LM13700 share common supply matching of the OTAs ensures that the gain-control currails, but are otherwise fully independent. All elements are rents divide equally between the two amplifiers. integrated on a single chip, and the OTAs have closelyNote that the Figure 7 and 8 circuits act as non-invertmatched characteristics (gm values are typically matched ing amplifiers, since their input signals are fed to the nonwithin 0.3dB), making the IC ideal for use in stereo VCA inverting pins of the OTAs. They can be made to act as and VCF applications, etc. The standard commercial verinverting amplifiers by simply feeding the input to the sion of the LM13700 can be powered from split supply inverting pins of the OTAs. rails of up to 18V, or single-ended supplies of up to 36V. The VCA circuit in Figure 7 can be used as an ampliIn use, ID and Ibias should be limited to 2mA maximum, and tude modulator or two-quadrant multiplier by feeding the carrier signal to the input terminal, and the modulation sigthe output current of each buffer stage should be limited to nal to the gain-control input terminal. If desired, the gain20mA maximum. control pin can be DC biased so that a carrier output is available with no AC input signal applied. Figure 9 shows VCA CIRCUITS a practical example of an inverting amplifier of this type. The AC modulation signal modulates the amplitude of the Figure 7 shows a practical voltage-controlled amplifier carrier output signal. (VCA) made from half of an LM13700 IC. Here, the input Figure 10 shows how half of an LM13700 can be used signal is fed to the non-inverting terminal of the OTA via as a ring modulator or four-quadrant multiplier, in which current-limiting resistor R4, and the high-impedance outzero carrier output is available when the modulation voltput of the OTA is loaded by R5, which determines the peak age is at (overload) amplitude of the output signal in the way described last month. The output signal is made available zero (common supply to the outside world at a low-impedance level via the buffer rail) volts, stage, which is loaded via R6. but increasThe Figure 7 circuit is powered from dual 9V supplies. es when the The ID current is fixed at about 0.8mA via R1, but Ibias is variable via R7 and an external gain control voltage. When the gain-control voltage is at the negative rail value of -9V, Ibias is zero and the circuit gives an overall gain of -80dB. When the gain-control is at the positive Figure 6. rail value of +9V, Ibias Internal circuit Figure 5. Typical distortion levels of the of half of the is about 0.8mA, and LM13700 OTA with and without the LM13700 dual the circuit gives a use of the linearizing diodes. OTA IC. voltage gain of
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Figure 7. Voltagecontrolled amplifier (VCA).).

Figure 9. Amplitude modulator or two-quadrant multiplier. Figure 8. Voltagecontrolled stereo amplifier.

Figure 10. Ring modulator or four-quadrant multiplier.

modulation voltage moves positive or negative relative to zero. When the modulation voltage is positive, the carrier output signal is inverted relative to the carrier input, and when the modulation voltage is negative, the carrier is non-inverted. The Figure 10 circuit is shown with values suitable for operation from dual 15V supplies, but is essentially similar to the Figure 9 circuit, except that R5 is connected between the input signal and the output of the OTA, and Ibias is pre-settable via RV1. The basic circuit action is such that the OTA feeds an inverted (relative to the input) signal current into the bottom of R5, and at the same time, the input signal feeds directly into the top of R5. RV1 is pre-set so that when the modulation input is tied to the zero volts common line, the overall gain of the OTA is such that its output current exactly balances (cancels) the direct-input current of R5, and under this condition, the circuit gives zero carrier output. Consequently, when the modulation input goes positive, the OTA gain increases and its output signal exceeds that caused by the direct input into R5, so an inverted output carrier is generated. Conversely, when the modulation input goes negative, the OTA gain decreases and the direct signal of R5 exceeds the output of the OTA, and a non-inverted output signal is generated.

as shown in Figure 11, enabling the biasing resistance values to be varied slightly. To adjust the offset biasing, reduce Ibias to zero, note the DC level of the OTA output, then increase Ibias to maximum and adjust RV1 to give the same DC output level.

AN AUTOMATIC GAIN CONTROL AMPLIFIER

In the Figures 7 to 10 circuits, the amplifier gain is varied by altering the Ibias value. A feature of the LM13700, however, is that its gain can be varied by altering either the Ibias or the ID current, and Figure 12 shows how the ID variation can be used to make an automatic gain control (AGC) amplifier in which a 100:1 change in input signal amplitude causes only a 5:1 change in output amplitude. In this circuit, Ibias is fixed by R4, and the output signal is taken directly from the OTA via R5. The output buffer is used as a signal rectifier fed from the output of the OTA and the rectified output is smoothed via R6C2, and used to apply the ID current to the OTAs linearizing diodes. Note, however, that no significant ID current is generated until the OTA output reaches a high enough amplitude (3 x Vbe, or about 1.8V peak) to turn on the Darlington buffer and the linearizing diodes, and that an increase in ID reduces the OTA gain and by negative feedback action tends to hold Vout at that level. The basic zero ID gain of this amplifier is x40. Thus, with an input of 30mV peak-to-peak, the OTA output of 1.2V peak-to-peak is not enough to generate an ID current, so the OTA operates at full gain. At 300mV input, however, the OTA output is enough to generate significant ID current, and the circuits negative feedback automatically reduces the output level to 3V6 peak-to-peak, giving an overall gain of x 11.7. With an input of 3V, the gain falls to x2, giving an output of 6V peak-to-peak. The circuit, thus, gives 20:1 signal compression over this range.
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OFFSET BIASING
The circuits in Figures 7 to 10 are shown with OTA input biasing applied via 470R resistors wired between the two input terminals and the zero volts rail. In practice, this simple arrangement may cause the DC output level to shift slightly when the Ibias gain-control is varied from minimum value. If desired, this shifting can be eliminated by fitting the circuits with a pre-settable offset adjust control

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VOLTAGECONTROLLED RESISTORS
An unusual application of the LM13700 is as a voltage-controlled resistor (VCR), using the basic circuit in Figure 13. The basic theory here is quite simple if an AC signal is applied to the Rx termiFigure 11. Method of applying offset Figure 12. Circuit and performance biasing to the LM13700. table of an AGC amplifier. nals, it will feed to the OTAs inverting terminal via C1 and the buffer stage and the R/RA attenuator, and the OTA will then generate an output current proportional to the Vin and Ibias values. Thus, since R = E/I, the circuits Rx terminal acts like Figure 14. Voltage-controlled resistor Figure 13. Voltage-controlled resistor, variable with linearizing diodes. from 10k to 10M via Ibias.. an AC resistor with a value determined by Ibias. As the frequency increases, however, the impedance (X) of The effective resistance value of the Rx terminal actuC decreases and the OTA output current is no longer able ally equals (R + RA)/(gm x RA), where gm is roughly 20 x to fully charge C, and the output signal starts to attenuate Ibias. This formula approximates to Rx = R/(Ibias x 20RA), at a rate of 6dB per octave. The cut-off point of the circuit so, using the component values shown in the diagram, Rx at which the output falls by 3dB occurs when equals roughly 10M at an Ibias value of 1A, and 10k at an XC/20xIbias equals R/RA, as implied by the formula in the Ibias of 1mA. Figure 14 shows a similar version of the VCR, diagram. With the component values shown, cut-off occurs at about 45Hz at an Ibias value of 1A, and at 45kHz at an where the linearizing diodes are used to effectively improve Ibias value of 1mA. A similar principle to the above can be the noise performance of the resistor, and Figure 15 shows how a pair of these circuits can be used to make a floating used to make a voltage-controlled high-pass filter, as VCR in which the input voltage is direct-coupled and may shown in Figure 17. This particular circuit has, with the valbe at any value within the output voltage range of the ues shown, cut-off frequencies of 6Hz and 6kHz at Ibias currents of 1A and 1mA, respectively. LM13700. Numbers of filter stages can easily be cascaded to make multi-pole voltage-controlled filters. The excellent VOLTAGE-CONTROLLED FILTERS tracking of the two sections of the LM13700, make it possible to voltage-control these filters over several decades of An OTA acts basically as a voltage-controlled AC current source, in which an AC voltage is applied to the amplifrequency. Figure 18 shows the practical circuit of a twofiers input, and the magnitude of the output current pole (12dB per octave) Butterworth low-pass filter having cut-off frequencies of 60Hz and 60kHz at Ibias currents of depends on the value of Ibias. This fact can be used to implement a voltage-controlled low-pass filter by using 1A and 1mA, respectively. half of an LM13700 in the configuration shown in Figure 16, in which the values of R, C, and Ibias control the cut-off VOLTAGE CONTROLLED frequency, fo, of the filter. The operating theory of this cirOSCILLATORS cuit is as follows. Assume, initially, that capacitor C is removed from the To conclude this look at applications of the LM13700, circuit. The input signal is applied to the OTAs non-inverting terminal via potential divider R1-R2, and the OTAs output is followed by the buffer stage and fed back to the inverting input via an identical divider made up of R and RA. The basic OTA thus acts as a non-inverting amplifier with a gain of R/RA but, since the input signal is fed to the OTA via a potential divider with a value equal to R/RA, the circuit acts overall as a unity-gain voltage follower. Assume now that capacitor C is fit into place. At low frequencies, C has a very high impedance and the OTA output current is able to fully charge it, causing the circuit Figure 15. Floating voltage-controlled resistor.. to act as a voltage follower in the way already described.
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Figure 16.Voltage-controlled, low-pass filter covering 45Hz to 45kHz..

Figure 19. Triangle/squarewave VCO covering 200Hz to 200kHz. Figure 20. Single-amplifier VCO.

Figure 17. Voltage-controlled, high-pass filter covering 6Hz to 6kHz.

Figure 18. Voltage-controlled two-pole Butterworth low-pass filter covering 60Hz to 60kHz.

Figures 19 and 20 show two ways of using the IC as a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO). The Figure 19 circuit uses

NUTS & VOLTS

both halves of the LM13700, and simultaneously generates both triangle and squarewaves. The Figure 20 design uses only half of the IC, and generates squarewaves only. To understand the operating theory of the Figure 19 circuit, assume initially that capacitor C is negatively charged and that the squarewave output signal has just switched high. Under this condition, a positive voltage is developed across RA and is fed to the non-inverting terminals of the two amplifiers, which are both wired in the voltage comparator modes. This voltage makes amplifier A1 generate a positive output current equal to the bias current, IC, and this flows into capacitor C, which generates a positive-going linear ramp voltage that is fed to the inverting terminal of A2 via the Darlington buffer stage until, eventually, this voltage equals that on the non-inverting terminal, at which point the output of A2 starts to swing negative. This initiates a regenerative switching action in which the squarewave output terminal switches abruptly negative. Under this condition, a negative voltage is generated across resistor RA, causing amplifier A1 to generate a negative output current equal to IC. This current causes capacitor C to discharge linearly until, eventually, its voltage falls to a value equal to that of RA, at which point the squarewave output switches high again. This process repeats ad infinitum, causing a triangle waveform to be generated on R2 and a squarewave output to be generated on R4. The waveform frequency is variable via the voltagecontrol input, which controls the value of IC. With the component values shown, the circuit generates a frequency of about 200Hz at an IC current of 1A and 200kHz at a current of 1mA. Finally, Figure 20 shows a single-amplifier VCO circuit which generates a squarewave output only. The circuit operates in a similar manner to that described above, except that C charges via D1 and discharges via D2, which generates a polarity signal on the non-inverting terminal of the amplifier. NV
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