
OBSOLETE
SNOS737C – SEPTEMBER 1999 – REVISED APRIL 2013
Figure 43. Driving Flash A/D Converter
CCD Amplifiers
The LM7131 has enough gain bandwidth to amplify low level signals from a CCD or similar image sensor and
drive a flash analog-to-digital converter with one amplifier stage.
Signals from CCDs, which are used in scanners, copiers, and digital cameras, often have an output signal in the
100 mV–300 mV range. See
Figure 44 for a conceptual diagram. With a gain of 6 the output to the flash analog-
to- digital converter is 1.8V, matching 90% of the converter's 2V input range. With a
3db bandwidth of 70 MHz
for a gain of +1, the bandwidth at a gain of 6 will be 11.6 MHz. This 11.6 MHz bandwidth will result in a time
constant of about 13.6 ns. This will allow the output to settle to 7 bits of accuracy within 4.9 time constants, or
about 66 ns. Slewing time for a 1.8V step will be about 12 ns. The total slewing and settling time will be about 78
ns of the 150 ns pixel valid time. This will leave about 72 ns total for the flash converter signal acquisition time
and tolerance for timing signals.
For scanners and copiers with moving scan bars, the SOT23-5 package is small enough to be placed next to the
light sensor. The LM7131 can drive a cable to the main electronics section from the scan bar. This can reduce
noise pickup by amplifying the signal before sending on the cable.
A/D Reference Drivers
The LM7131's output and drive capability make it a good choice for driving analog-to-digital references which
have suddenly changing loads. The small size of the SOT23-5 package allow the LM7131 to be placed very
close to the A/D reference pin, maximizing response. The small size avoids the penalty of increased board
space. Often the SOT23-5 package is small enough that it can fit in space used by the large capacitors
previously attached to the A/D reference. By acting as a buffer for a reference voltage, noise pickup can be
reduced and the accuracy may be increased.
For additional space savings, the LM4040 precision voltage reference and LM385 low current voltage reference
are available in a tiny SOT23-3 package.
Copyright 1999–2013, Texas Instruments Incorporated
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