Lecture Week 1

Passive Components Introduction

When designing precision analog circuits, it is critical that users avoid the pitfall of poor passive component choice. In fact, the wrong passive component can derail even the best op-amp or data converter application. This section includes discussion of some basic traps of choosing passive components. So, you've spent good money for a precision op amp or data converter, only to find that, when plugged into your board, the device doesn't meet spec. Perhaps the circuit suffers from drift, poor frequency response, and oscillationsor simply doesn't achieve expected accuracy. Well, before you blame the device, you should closely examine your passive components including capacitors, resistors, potentiometers, and yes, even the printed circuit boards. In these areas, subtle effects of tolerance, temperature, parasitic, aging, and user assembly procedures can unwittingly sink your circuit. And all too often these effects go unspecified (or underspecified) by passive component manufacturers.

Capacitors
A capacitor is a passive electronic component that stores energy in the form of an electrostatic field. In its simplest form, a capacitor consists of two conducting plates separated by an insulating material called the dielectric. The capacitance is directly proportional to the surface areas of the plates, and is inversely proportional to the separation between the plates. Capacitance also depends on the dielectric constant of the substance separating the plates. Capacitive reactance is defined as:

Where XC is the capacitive reactance, is the angular frequency, f is the frequency in Hertz, and C is the capacitance. There are many different types of capacitors, and an understanding of their individual characteristics is absolutely mandatory to the design of practical circuits. A capacitor characteristics chart on page 3. The Electrolytic family provides an excellent, cost effective low-frequency filter component, because of the wide range of values, a high capacitance-to-volume ratio, and a broad range of working voltages. It includes generalpurpose aluminum electrolytic types, available in working voltages from below 10 V up to about 500 V, and in size from 1 F to several thousand F (with proportional case sizes). All electrolytic capacitors are polarized, and thus cannot withstand more than a volt or so of reverse bias without damage. They have relatively high leakage currents (this can be tens of A, but is strongly dependent upon specific family design , electrical size and voltage rating versus applied voltage). However, this is not likely to be a major factor for basic filtering applications. Also included in the electrolytic family are Tantalum types, which are generally limited to voltages of 100 V or less, with capacitance of 500 F or less. In a given size, tantalums exhibit higher capacitance -to-volume ratios than do the general purpose electrolytic, and have both a higher frequency range and lower ESR. They are generally more expensive than standard electrolytic, and must be carefully applied with respect to surge and ripple currents.

More recently, high performance aluminum electrolytic capacitors using an organic semiconductor electrolyte have appeared. These OS-CON families of capacitors feature appreciably lower ESR and higher frequency range than do the other electrolytic types, with an additional feature of low low-temperature ESR degradation. Film capacitors are available in very broad ranges of values and an array of dielectrics, including polyester, polycarbonate, polypropylene, and polystyrene. Because of the low dielectric constant of these films, their volumetric efficiency is quite low, and a 10 F/50 V polyester capacitor (for example) is actually a handful. Metalized (as opposed to foil) electrodes does help to reduce size, but even the highest dielectric constant units among film types (polyester, polycarbonate) are still larger than any electrolytic, even using the thinnest films with the lowest voltage ratings (50 V). Dependent upon their electrical and physical size, film capacitors can be useful at frequencies to well above 10 MHz. At the very high frequencies, stacked film types only should be considered. Some manufacturers are also supplying film types in leadless surface-mount packages, which eliminates the lead length inductance. Ceramic is often the capacitor material of choice above a few MHz, due to its compact size and low loss. But the characteristics of ceramic dielectrics varies widely. Some types are better than others for various applications, especially power supply decoupling. Ceramic dielectric capacitors are available in values up to several F in the high-K dielectric formulations of X7R and Z5U, at voltage ratings up to 200 V. All capacitors have some finite ESR. In some cases, the ESR (equivalent Series Resistance the net parasitic resistance of the capacitor) may actually be helpful in reducing resonance peaks in filters, by supplying free damping. For example, in general purpose, tantalum and switching type electrolytic, a broad series resonance region is noted in an impedance versus frequency plot. This occurs where |Z| falls to a minimum level, which is nominally equal to the capacitors ESR at that frequency. In an example below, this low Q resonance is no ted to encompass quite a wide frequency range, several octaves in fact. Contrasted to the very high Q sharp resonances of film and ceramic caps, this low Q behavior can be useful in controlling resonant peaks. In general, precision capacitors are expensive andeven then not necessarily easy to buy. In fact, choice of capacitance is limited both by the range of available values, and also by tolerances. In terms of size, the better performing capacitors in the film families tend to be limited in practical terms to 10 F or less (for dual reasons of size and expense). Most capacitors are sensitive to temperature variations. A capacitor's maximum working temperature should also be considered, in light of the expected environment. Polystyrene capacitors, for instance, melt near 85C, compared to Teflon's ability to survive temperatures up to 200C. Similarly, the capacitance, and dissipation factor of many types vary significantly with frequency, mainly as a result of a variation in dielectric constant. In this regard, the better dielectrics are polystyrene, polypropylene, and Teflon.

Resistors
Designers have a broad range of resistor technologies to choose from, including carbon composition, carbon film, bulk metal, metal film, and both inductive and non-inductive wire-wound types. As perhaps the most basic and presumably most trouble-freeof components, resistors are often overlooked as error sources in high performance circuits. Many manufacturers offer metal film and bulk metal resistors, with absolute TCs ranging between 1 ppm/C and 100 ppm/C. Beware, though; TCs can vary a great deal, particularly among discrete resistors from different 2

batches. To avoid this problem, more expensive matched resistor pairs are offered by some manufacturers, with temperature coefficients that track one another to within 2 ppm/C to 10 ppm/C. Low priced thin-film networks have good relative performance and are widely used. Errors, are avoided by selecting critical resistors that are accurately matched for both value and TC, are well de-rated for power, and have tight thermal coupling between those resistors were matching is important. This is best achieved by using a resistor network on a single substratesuch a network may either be within an IC, or it may be a separately packaged thin-film resistor network. One final consideration applies mainly to designs that see widely varying ambient temperatures: a phenomenon known as temperature retrace describes the change in resistance which occurs after a specified number of cycles of exposure to low and high ambient with constant internal dissipation. Temperature retrace can exceed 10 ppm/C, even for some of the better thin-film components. Resistors can exhibit significant levels of parasitic inductance or capacitance, especially at high frequencies. Manufacturers often specify these parasitic effects as a reactance error, in % or ppm, based on the ratio of the difference between the impedance magnitude and the dc resistance, to the resistance, at one or more frequencies. Wire-wound resistors are especially susceptible to difficulties. Although resistor manufacturers offer wirewound components in either normal or non-inductively wound form, even non-inductively wound resistors create headaches for designers. These resistors still appear slightly inductive (of the order of 20 H) for values below 10 k. Above 10 k the same style resistors actually exhibit 5 pF of shunt capacitance. These parasitic effects can raise havoc in dynamic circuit applications. Of particular concern are applications using wire-wound resistors with values both greater than 10 k. Here it isnt uncommon to see peaking, or even oscillation. These effects become more evident at low-kHz frequency ranges. Another more subtle problem with resistors is the thermocouple effect, also sometimes referred to as thermal EMF. Wherever there is a junction between two different metallic conductors, a thermoelectric voltage results. The thermocouple effect is widely used to measure temperature. However, in any low level precision op amp circuit it is also a potential source of inaccuracy, since wherever two different conductors meet, a thermocouple is formed (whether we like it or not). In fact, in many cases, it can easily produce the dominant error within an otherwise precision circuit design. Parasitic thermocouples will cause errors when and if the various junctions forming the parasitic thermocouples are at different temperatures. With two junctions present on each side of the signal being processed within a circuit, by definition we have formed at least one thermocouple pair. If the two junctions of this thermocouple pair are at different temperatures, there will be a net temperature dependent error voltage produced. This is a critically important point, since in practice we cannot avoid connecting dissimilar metals together to build an electronic circuit. But, what we can do is carefully control temperature differentials across the circuit, so such that the undesired thermocouple errors cancel one another. The effect of such parasitic is very hard to avoid. To understand this, consider a case of making connections with copper wire only. In this case, even a junction formed by different copper wire alloys can have a thermoelectric voltage which is a small fraction of 1V/C! And, taking things a step further, even such apparently benign components as resistors contain parasitic thermocouples, with potentially even stronger effects. 4

For example, consider the resistor model shown in Figure below. The two connections between the resistor material and the leads form thermocouple junctions, T1 and T2. This thermocouple EMF can be as high as 400 V/C for some carbon composition resistors, and as low as 0.05 V/C for specially constructed resistors. Ordinary metal film resistors (RN-types) are typically about 20 V/C.

Another figure shows how resistor orientation can make a difference in the net thermocouple voltage. In the left diagram, standing the resistor on end in order to conserve board space will invariably cause a temperature gradient across the resistor, especially if it is dissipating any significant power. In contrast, placing the resistor flat on the PCB as shown at the right will generally eliminate the gradient. An exception might occur, if there is end-to-end resistor airflow. For such cases, orienting the resistor axis perpendicular to the airflow will minimize this source of error, since this tends to force the resistor ends to the same temperature.

In general, designers should strive to avoid thermal gradients on or around critical circuit boards. Often this means thermally isolating components that dissipate significant amounts of power. Thermal turbulence created by large temperature gradients can also result in dynamic noise-like low-frequency errors. Most designers have some familiarity with thermal, or Johnson noise, which occurs in resistors. But a less widely recognized secondary noise phenomenon is associated with resistors, and it is called excess noise. It can prove

particularly troublesome in precision op amp and converter circuits, as it is evident only when current passes through a resistor. Below given chart can be observed for summarizing concepts.

Trimming Potentiometers (trimpots / variable resistor) can suffer from most of the phenomena that plague fixed resistors. In addition, users must also remain vigilant against some hazards unique to these components. Many trim potentiometers arent sealed, and can be severely damaged by board washing solvents, and even by excessive humidity. Vibrationor simply extensive usecan damage the resistive element and wiper terminations. Contact noise, TCs, parasitic effects, and limitations on adjustable range can all hamper trim potentiometers circuit operation. 6

Inductors
An inductor is a passive electronic component that stores energy in the form of a magnetic field. In its simplest form, an inductor consists of a wire loop or coil. The inductance is directly proportional to the number of turns in the coil. Inductance also depends on the radius of the coil and on the type of material around which the coil is wound. Inductive reactance is defined as:

Where XL is the inductive reactance, is the angular frequency, f is the frequency in Hertz, and L is the inductance. Inductors had been rare in circuit design, especially at lower frequencies, due to the physical size. Since inductance is the inverse mathematical function of capacitance, inductors are sometimes synthesized by placing a capacitor in the feedback network of an op amp. It also may not be practical at high current levels. Inductors are popular in RF circuits since the small inductance values make them physically small. Passive LC filters are used at RF frequencies since active filters are not practical. Switch mode power supplies are probably the common place to find inductors today. This is covered in depth in the section on switch mode regulators in the power and ground section. It is only relatively recently that manufacturers developed the ability to fabricate inductors in monolithic semiconductor processes.

Ferrite
Ferrites beads (nonconductive ceramics manufactured from the oxides of nickel, zinc, manganese, or other compounds) are extremely useful for decoupling in power supply filters. At low frequencies (<100 kHz), ferrites are inductive; thus they are useful in low-pass LC filters. Above 100 kHz, ferrites becomes resistive, an important characteristic in high-frequency filter designs. Ferrite impedance is a function of material, operating frequency range, dc bias current, and number of turns, size, shape, and temperature. Several ferrite manufacturers offer a wide selection of ferrite materials from which to choose, as well as a variety of packaging styles for the finished network. The simplest form is the bead of ferrite material, a cylinder of the ferrite which is simply slipped over the power supply lead to the stage being decoupled. Alternately, the leaded ferrite bead is the same bead, mounted by adhesive on a length of wire, and used simply as a component. More complex beads offer multiple holes through the cylinder for increased decoupling, plus other variations. Surface mount bead styles are also available. Sizing of the ferrite for current is especially important. If the saturation current of the ferrite is reached, it loses its inductive properties. This will obviously limit the ferrites usefulness in decoupling applications. This saturation current should be sized for the peak current requirements of the circuit.

The Basic Electrical Circuit

Electrical circuits involve three basic quantities: Voltage Voltage is the force created by the separation of charges. Kind of like when two opposite poles of a magnet are put close together, but are separated by a short distance. A force tries to pull them together. When there are more negative charges on the inside of the membrane of a cell, there is a force driving positive charges inward 7

to neutralize them. The unit of voltage is the volt and it is represented by the symbol V. Voltage is also called "potential" or "potential difference". Resistor Current is a measure of how difficult it is for charges to move in the system. In a cell, the lipid portion of the membrane is impermeable to ions, so the resistance to current across the membrane is determined by the opening and closing of ion channels. When the channels open, the resistance decreases. When they close, resistance increases (because ions can't move through the membrane). The units of resistance are ohms and it is represented by the symbol R. (Note - When talking about channels, "conductance" is usually used instead of resistance. Conductance is the inverse of resistance (1/R), or how easy it is to pass charges. Its units are seimans [S].) Current Current is the movement of charges. In an electrical circuit, electrons move from the negative pole to the positive pole (although electrical current is defined as the movement of positive charges, so current is said to go from the positive pole to negative pole - go figure). In cells, current is when ions move through the membrane (usually Na+, K+, Ca2+, or Cl-).

The Voltage Divider

As an example, we will consider the voltage divider, which is illustrated below. Voltage dividers are ubiquitous in electronic circuits and very important, for this discussion, we assume that we know the values of the DC voltage Vs source (we will use this subscript s to refer to source) and the two resistors R1 and R2. Although the voltage source is DC, everything we derive here also applies for a voltage source varying with time, vs(t).

These three elements (the source and the two resistors) are in series, that is, they must have the same current flowing through them. This current I is indicated in the figure below. We have assumed that it is flowing clockwise. Our equations will tell us if this is correct.

We want to find this current I and the values of the voltages along the circuit. There are three different voltages: (1) the voltage on the wire between the second resistor and the voltage source, (2) the voltage between the voltage source and the first resistor, and (3) the voltage between the first resistor and the second resistor. These three positions are labelled on the figure. Remember that we cannot define absolute voltages, only voltage differences, so there are really only two voltage differences that we have to determine. We will choose the third position between the second resistor and the voltage source as our reference point or ground. To determine the current and voltages we use Kirchhoffs Voltage Law (KVL): the sum of the changes in the voltages around a loop in a circuit is zero, that is, the net change is zero. Starting at position 1 and following the sense of the current indicated, we first increase by Vs in going from 1 2. When we go from 2 3, we decrease the voltage by IR1, because by definition, the potential is higher on the left side of the resistor R1, when current is assumed to flow from left to right. Similarly, the voltage change in going from 3 1 is IR2. The total change in voltage around this loop is zero: Vs IR1 IR2 = 0 From this equation we can determine the current I:

We can now find the voltages at points 2 and 3 in the Figure above: the voltage at point 2 is clearly Vs; the voltage at point 3 is:

This formula is the origin of the term voltage divider. The source voltage is reduced (divided) according to the fraction the second resistor R2 is of the sum of the two resistors R1 + R2. 9

. This circuit is a simple way to reduce a DC voltage source to a desired value. You will see later in applications involving amplifiers that a single amplifier may require two or more DC voltage levels. Using voltage dividers, it is possible to use only one power supply with a single output voltage. The DC voltage supply will not be explicitly shown, instead, we will indicate that a particular point on the circuit is fixed at the potential Vs with respect to ground, which is indicated by the ground symbol at the bottom of the circuit. The dotted line indicates how the DC supply could be attached.

Even though there are no explicit connections shown, there is current flowing through the circuit as indicated by the arrow:

The current would return through the path indicated by the dotted line. The voltage V2 is indicated on the figure. This voltage is our divided voltage:

Continued to week two

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Appendix
Symbols of Common Electronic / Electrical components

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Resistor Color Code Chart

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