V/F Converter ICs Handle Frequency-to-Voltage Needs

National Semiconductor
V/F Converter ICs Handle Application Note C
Robert A. Pease
Frequency-to-Voltage August 1980

Needs
Simplify your F/V converter designs with versatile V/F ICs. t = 1.1 RtC. The 1 µF capacitor filters this pulsating current
Starting with a basic converter circuit, you can modify it to from pin 1, and the current’s average value flows through
meet almost any application requirement. You can spare load resistor RL. As a result, for a 10 kHz input, the circuit
yourself some hard labor when designing frequency-to- outputs 10 VDC across RL with good (0.06% typical) nonlin-
voltage (F/V) converters by using a voltage-to-frequency IC earity.
in your designs. These ICs form the basis of a series of Two problems remain, however: the output at V1 includes
accurate, yet economical, F/V converters suiting a variety of about 13 mVp-p ripple, and it also lags 0.1 second behind an
applications. input frequency step change, settling to 0.1% of full-scale in
Figure 1 shows an LM331 IC (or LM131 for the military about 0.6 second. This ripple and slow response represent
temperature range) in a basic F/V converter configuration an inherent tradeoff that applies to almost every F/V con-
(sometimes termed a stand-alone converter because it re- verter.
quires no op amps or other active devices other than the IC).
(Comparable V/F ICs, such as RM4151, can take advantage The Art of Compromise
of this and other circuits described in this article, although
they might not always be pin-for-pin compatible). Increasing the filter capacitor’s value reduces ripple but also
increases response time. Conversely, lowering the filter ca-
This circuit accepts a pulse-train or square wave input am- pacitor’s value improves response time at the expense of
plitude of 3V or greater. The 470 pF coupling capacitor suits larger ripple. In some cases, adding an active filter results in
negative-going input pulses between 80 µs and 1.5 µs, as faster response and less ripple for high input frequencies.
well as accommodating square waves or positive-going
pulses (so long as the interval between pulses is at least Although the circuit specifies a 15V power supply, you can
10 µs). use any regulated supply between 4 VDC and 40 VDC. The
output voltage can extend to within 3 VDC of the supply
voltage, so choose RL to maintain that output range.
IC Handles the Hard Part Adding a 220 kΩ/0.1 µF postfilter to the circuit slows the
The LM331 detects an input-signal change by sensing when response slightly, but it also reduces ripple to less than
pin 6 goes negative relative to the threshold voltage at pin 7, 1 mVp-p for frequencies from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. The reduc-
which is nominally biased 2V lower than the supply voltage. tion in ripple achieved by adding this passive filter, while not
When a signal change occurs, the LM331’s input comparator as good as that obtainable using an active filter, could suffice
sets an internal latch and initiates a timing cycle. During this in some applications.
cycle, a current equal to VREF/RS flows out of pin 1 for a time

00874101

FIGURE 1. A Simple Stand-Alone F/V Converter Forms the Basis for Many Other Converter-Circuit Configurations
AN-C

© 2002 National Semiconductor Corporation AN008741 www.national.com

AN-C
Improving the Basic Circuit Add an Output Buffer
Further modifications and additions to the basic F/V con- The circuit in Figure 3 adds an output buffer (unity-gain
verter shown in Figure 1 can adapt it to specific performance follower) to the basic single-supply F/V converter. Either an
requirements. Figure 2 shows one such modification, which LM324 or LM358 op amp functions well in a single-supply
improves the converter’s nonlinearity to 0.006% typical. circuit because these devices’ common-mode ranges extend
Reconsideration of the basic stand-alone converter shows down to ground. But if a negative supply is available, you can
why its nonlinearity falls short of this improved version’s. At use any op amp; types such as the LF351B or LM308A,
low input frequencies, the current source feeding pin 1 in the which have low input currents, provide the best accuracy.
LM331 is turned off most of the time. As the input frequency The output buffer in Figure 3 also acts as an active filter,
increases, however, the current source stays on more of the furnishing a 2-pole response from a single op amp. This filter
time, and its own impedance attenuates the output signal for provides the general response
an increasing fraction of each cycle time. This disproportion- VOUT/IOUT = RL/(1 + K1p + K2p2).
ate attenuation at higher frequencies causes a parabolic
(p is the differential operator d/dt.) As shown, RL controls the
change in full-scale gain rather than the desired linear one.
filter’s DC gain. The high frequency response rolls off at
In the improved circuit, on the other hand, the PNP transistor 12 dB/octave. Near the circuit’s natural resonant frequency,
acts as a cascade, so the output impedance at pin 1 sees a you can choose the damping to give a little overshoot — or
constant voltage that won’t modulate the gain. Also, with an none, as desired.
alpha ranging between 0.998 and 0.990, the transistor ex-
hibits a temperature coefficient of between 10 ppm/˚C and
40 ppm/˚C — a fairly minor effect. Thus, this circuit’s nonlin-
earity does not exceed 0.01% maximum for the 10V output
range shown and is normally not worse than 0.01% for any
supply voltage between 4V and 40V.

00874102

FIGURE 2. Adding a Cascade Transistor to the LM331’s Output Improves Nonlinearity to 0.006%

www.national.com 2
 AN-C
Add an Output Buffer (Continued)

00874103

FIGURE 3. The Op Amp on This F/V Converter’s Output Acts as a Buffer as Well as a 2-Pole Filter

Dealing with F/V Converter Ripple

Voltage ripple on the output of F/V converters can present a
problem, and the chart shown in Figure 4 indicates exactly
how big a problem it is. A simple, slow, RC filter exhibits low
ripple at all frequencies. Two-pole filters offer the lowest
ripple at high frequencies and provide a 30-times-faster step
response than RC devices.
To reduce a circuit’s ripple at moderate frequencies, how-
ever, you can cascade a second active-filter stage on the F/V
converter’s output. That circuit’s response also appears in
Figure 4 and shows a significant improvement in low-ripple
bandwidth over the single-active-filter configuration, with
only a 30% degradation of step response.
Figure 5 and Figure 6 show filter circuits suitable for cascad-
ing. The inverting filter in Figure 5 requires closely matched
resistors with a low TC over their temperature range for best
accuracy. For lowest DC error, choose R5 = R2 + (RIN|RF).
00874104
This circuit’s response is
−VOUT/VIN = n/(1 + (RF + R2 + nR2)C4p + RFR2C3C4p2). FIGURE 4. Output-Ripple Performance of Several
where n = DC gain. If RIN = RF and n = 1, Different F/V Converter Configurations Illustrates the
−VOUT/VIN = 1/(1 + (RF + 2R2)C4p + RFR2C3C4p2). Effect of Voltage Ripple

3 www.national.com
AN-C
Dealing with F/V Converter Ripple having only 10% to 30% overshoot for a step response. By
maintaining Figure 3’s ratio of C1:C2 and R2:RL, you can
(Continued)
adapt its 2-pole filter to a wide frequency range without
tedious computations.
This filter settles to within 1% of a 5V step’s final value in
about 20 ms. By contrast, the circuit with the simple RC filter
shown in Figure 1 takes about 900 ms to achieve the same
response, yet offers no less ripple than Figure 3’s op amp
approach.
As for the other component in the 2-pole filter, any capaci-
tance between 100 pF and 0.05 µF suits C3 because it
serves only as a bypass for the 200 kΩ resistor. C4 helps
reduce output ripple in single positive power-supply systems
when VOUT approaches so close to ground that the op
amp’s output impedance suffers. In this circuit, using a tan-
talum capacitor of between 0.1 µF and 2.2 µF for C4 usually
helps keep the filter’s output much quieter without degrading
the op amp’s stability.

Avoid Low-Leakage Limitations

00874105
Note that in most ordinary applications, this 2-pole filter
performs as well with 0.1 µF and 0.02 µF capacitors as the
passive filter in Figure 1 does with 1 µF. Thus, if you require
FIGURE 5. You Can Cascade This 2-Pole Inverting
a 100 Hz F/V converter, the circuit in Figure 3 furnishes good
Filter onto an F/V Converter’s Output
filtering with C1 = 10 µF and C2 = 2 µF, and eliminates the
100 µF low-leakage capacitor needed in a passive filter.
Note also that because C1 always has zero DC voltage
across it, you can use a tantalum or aluminum electrolytic
capacitor for C1 with no leakage-related problems; C2, how-
ever, must be a low-leakage type. At room temperature,
typical 1 µF tantalum components allow only a few nanoam-
peres of leakage, but leakage this low usually cannot be
guaranteed.

Compensating for Temperature

Coefficients
F/V converters often encounter temperature-related prob-
lems usually resulting from the temperature coefficients of
passive components. Following some simple design and
00874106
manufacturing guidelines can help immunize your circuits
against loss of accuracy when the temperature changes.
FIGURE 6. This 2-Pole Noninverting Filter Suits
Capacitors fabricated from Teflon or polystyrene usually ex-
Cascade Requirements on F/V Converter Outputs
hibit a TC of −110 ± 30 ppm/˚C. When you use such a
component for the timing capacitor in an F/V converter (such
The circuit shown in Figure 6 does not require precision
as Ct in the figure) the circuit’s output voltage — or the gain in
passive components, but for best accuracy, choosing an A1
terms of volts per kilohertz — also exhibits a −110 ppm/˚C
with a high CMRR is critical. An LM308A op amp’s 96 dB
TC.
minimum CMRR suits this circuit well, but an LM358B’s
85 dB typical figure also proves adequate for many applica- But the resistor-diode network (RX, D1, D2) connected from
tions. Circuit response is pin 2 to ground in the figure can cancel the effect of the
timing capacitor’s large TC. When RX = 240 kΩ, the current
VOUT/VIN = 1/(1 + (R1 + R2) C2p + R1R2C1C2p2).
flowing through pin 1 will then have an overall TC of
For best results, choose R3 = R1 + R2. 110 ppm/˚C, effectively canceling a polystyrene timing ca-
pacitor’s TC to a first approximation. Thus, you needn’t find
Components Determine Response a zero-TC capacitor for Ct, so long as its temperature coef-
The specific response of the circuit in Figure 3 is ficient is stable and well established. As an additional advan-
tage, the resistor-diode network nearly compensates to zero
VOUT/IOUT = RL/(1 + (RL + R2)C2p + RLR2C1C2C2p2). the TC of the rest of the circuit.
Making C2 relatively large eliminates overshoot and sine
peaking. Alternatively, making C2 a suitable fraction of C1
(as is done in Figure 3) produces both a sine response with
0 dB to 1 dB of peaking and a quick real-time response

www.national.com 4
 AN-C
Bake it for a While • Do not expect a perfect TC at −25˚C if you trim for
± 5 ppm/˚C at temperatures from +25˚C to 60˚C. None of
After the circuit has been built and checked out at room the components in the figure’s circuit offer linearity much
temperature, a brief oven test will indicate the sign and the better than 5 ppm/˚C or 10 ppm/˚C cold, if trimmed for a
size of the TC for the complete F/V converter. Then you can zero TC at warm temperatures. Even so, using these
add resistance in series with RX, or add conductance in techniques you can obtain a data converter with better
parallel with it, to greatly diminish the TC previously ob- than 0.02% accuracy and 0.003% linearity, for a ± 20˚C
served and yield a complete circuit with a lower TC than you range around room temperature.
could obtain simply by buying low TC parts.
• Start out the trimming with RX installed and its value near
For example, if the circuit increases its full-scale output by the design-center value (e.g., 240 kΩ or 270 kΩ), so you
0.1% per 30˚C (33 ppm/˚C) during the oven test, adding 120 will be reasonably close to zero TC; you will usually find
kΩ in series with RX = 240 kΩ cancels the temperature- the process slower if you start without any resistor, be-
caused deviation. Or, if the full-scale output decreases by cause the trimming converges more slowly.
−0.04% per 20˚C (−20 ppm/˚C), just add 1.2 MΩ in parallel
• If you change RX from 240 kΩ to 220 kΩ, do not pull out
with RX.
the 240 kΩ part and put in a new 220 kΩ resistor — you
Note that to allow trimming in both directions, you must start will get much more consistent results by adding a 2.4 MΩ
with a finite fixed TC (such as the −110 ppm/˚C of Ct), which resistor in parallel. The same admonition holds true for
then nominally cancels out by the addition of a finite adjust- adding resistance in series with RX.
able TC. Only by using this procedure can you compensate
• Use reasonably stable components. If you use an
for whatever polarity of TC is found by the oven test.
LM331A ( ± 50 ppm/˚C maximum) and RN55D film resis-
You can utilize this technique to obtain TCs as low as tors (each ± 100 ppm/˚C) for RL, Rt and RS, you probably
20 ppm/˚C, or perhaps even 10 ppm/˚C, if you take a few won’t be able to trim out the resulting ± 350 ppm/˚C
passes to zero-in on the best value for RX. For optimum worst-case TC. Resistors with a TC specification of
results, consider the following guidelines: 25 ppm/˚C usually work well. Finally, use the same resis-
• Use a good capacitor for Ct; the cheapest polystyrene tor value (e.g., 12.1 kΩ ± 1%) for both RS and Rt; when
capacitors can shift value by 0.05% or more per tempera- these resistors come from the same manufacturer’s
ture cycle. In that case, you would not be able to distin- batch, their TC tracking will usually rate at better than
guish the actual temperature sensitivity from the hyster- 20 ppm/˚C.
esis, and you would also never achieve a stable circuit. Whenever an op amp is used as a buffer (as in Figure 3), its
• After soldering, bake or temperature-cycle the circuit (at a offset voltage and current ( ± 7.5 mV maximum and ± 100 nA,
temperature not exceeding 75˚C in the case of polysty- respectively, for most inexpensive devices) can cause a
rene) for a few hours to stabilize all components and to ± 17.5 mV worst-case output offset. If both plus and minus
relieve the strains of soldering. supplies are available, however, you can easily provide a
• Do not rush the trimming. Recheck the room temperature symmetrical offset adjustment. With only one supply, you
value before and after you take the high temperature data can add a small positive current to each op amp input and
to ensure a reasonably low hysteresis per cycle. also trim one of the inputs.

00874107
Two Diodes and a Resistor Help Decrease an F/V Converter’s Temperature Coefficient

Need a Negative Output? excellent linearity ( ± 0.003% typical, ± 0.01% maximum). And
because pin 1 of the LM331 always remains at 0 VDC, this
If your F/V converter application requires a negative output
voltage, the circuit shown in Figure 7 provides a solution with

5 www.national.com
AN-C
Need a Negative Output? (Continued) VOUT/IOUT = RF/(1 + (R4 + RF)C4p + R4RFC3C4p2).
Here also, R5 = R4 + RF = 200 kΩ provides the best bias
circuit needs no cascade transistor. (Note, however, that current compensation.
while the circuit’s nonlinearity error is negligible, its ripple is
The LM331 can handle frequencies up to 100 kHz by utiliz-
not.)
ing smaller-value capacitors as shown in Figure 8. This
The circuit in Figure 7 offers a significant advantage over circuit increases the current at pin 2 to facilitate high-speed
some other designs because the offset adjust voltage de- switching, but, despite these speed-ups, the LM331’s
rives from the stable 1.9 VDC reference voltage at pin 2 of the 500 ppm/˚C TC at 100 kHz causes problems because of
LM331; thus any supply voltage shifts cause no output shifts. switching speed shifts resulting from temperature changes.
The offset pot can have any value between 200 kΩ and
To compensate for the device’s positive TC, the LM334
2 MΩ.
temperature sensor feeds pin 2 a current that decreases
An optional bypass capacitor (C2) connected from the op linearly with temperature and provides a low overall tem-
amp’s positive input to ground prevents output noise arising perature coefficient. An Ry value of 30 kΩ provides first-
from stray noise pickup at that point; the capacitance value is order compensation, but you can trim it higher or lower if you
not critical. need more precise TC correction.

A Familiar Response
The circuit in Figure 7 exhibits the same 2-pole
response — with heavy output ripple attenuation — as the
noninverting filter in Figure 3. Specifically,

00874108

FIGURE 7. In This F/V Circuit, the Output-Buffer Op Amp Derives its Offset Voltage
from the Precision Voltage Source at Pin 2 of the LM331

www.national.com 6
 AN-C
A Familiar Response (Continued)

00874109

FIGURE 8. An LM334 Temperature Sensor Compensates for the F/V Circuit’s Temperature Coefficient

Detect Frequencies Accurately more comparators, as shown in Figure 9. For an input fre-
quency drop from 1.1 kHz to 0.5 kHz, the converter’s output
Using an F/V converter combined with a comparator as a responds within about 20 ms. When the input falls from
frequency detector is an obvious application for these de- 9 kHz to 0.9 kHz, however, the output responds only after a
vices. But when the F/V converter is utilized in this way, its 600 ms lag, so utilize this circuit only in applications that can
output ripple hampers accurate frequency detection, and the tolerate F/V circuits’ inherent delays and ripples.
slow filter frequency response causes delays.
If a quick response is not important, though, you can effec-
tively utilize an LM331-based F/V converter to feed one or

7 www.national.com
V/F Converter ICs Handle Frequency-to-Voltage Needs
Detect Frequencies Accurately (Continued)

00874110

FIGURE 9. Combining a V/F IC with Two Comparators Produces a Slow-Response Frequency Detector

Author’s Biography Clara, CA. Holder of four patents, he earned a BSEE from
MIT. Bob lists tracking abandoned railroad roadbeds and
Bob Pease is a staff scientist in the Advanced Linear Inte- designing V/F converters as hobbies.
grated Circuit Group at National Semiconductor Corp., Santa

LIFE SUPPORT POLICY

NATIONAL’S PRODUCTS ARE NOT AUTHORIZED FOR USE AS CRITICAL COMPONENTS IN LIFE SUPPORT
DEVICES OR SYSTEMS WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN APPROVAL OF THE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL
COUNSEL OF NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION. As used herein:
1. Life support devices or systems are devices or 2. A critical component is any component of a life
systems which, (a) are intended for surgical implant support device or system whose failure to perform
into the body, or (b) support or sustain life, and can be reasonably expected to cause the failure of
whose failure to perform when properly used in the life support device or system, or to affect its
accordance with instructions for use provided in the safety or effectiveness.
labeling, can be reasonably expected to result in a
significant injury to the user.
National Semiconductor National Semiconductor National Semiconductor National Semiconductor
Corporation Europe Asia Pacific Customer Japan Ltd.
Americas Fax: +49 (0) 180-530 85 86 Response Group Tel: 81-3-5639-7560
Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Tel: 65-2544466 Fax: 81-3-5639-7507
AN-C

Deutsch Tel: +49 (0) 69 9508 6208 Fax: 65-2504466

English Tel: +44 (0) 870 24 0 2171 Email: [email protected]
www.national.com Français Tel: +33 (0) 1 41 91 8790

National does not assume any responsibility for use of any circuitry described, no circuit patent licenses are implied and National reserves the right at any time without notice to change said circuitry and specifications.