How to Read a Datasheet

DAVID KRESS
Director of Technical Marketing

11/09/2016

Outline
Purposes
What

of a datasheet

info do you need today?

Product

selection

Specifications
Absolute
Thermal
Theory

maximum ratings
analysis

of operation and applications

Packages
Ways

and conditions

and pinouts

to find what you are looking for

Whats

not in a datasheet

Purposes of a Datasheet
Product

description

Will this product fit my application

Functions and specifications
Owners

manual

How do I get the functions to work

How do I plug it in
Complex products, such as DSP, often have separate manual on
programming
Idea

generator

What else can the product do

What new applications can I build
Warranty

document

What performance is guaranteed

What voids the warranty

What Do I Need Today?

Idea

generator

What else can the product do

What new applications can I build
Product

Selection

Will this product fit my application

Functions and specifications
Owners

manual

How do I get the functions to work

How do I plug it in
What else do I need
Software
Connecting products

Documentation

Choosing a Product the Progression

General

descriptions of product types

Selection

tables

Product

features on product page

Product

features on product page

Choosing a Product the Progression

General

specs and
features look good

Go

to the datasheet

Complete
Detailed

specs

description

Applications

Specifications

Details of the product performance

What the company guarantees

All important, measureable parameters

Accuracy and speed
Timing
Power requirements

Specifications Definitions
Many
Most

datasheets have a Definitions or Terminology section

often found in specialized products

Otherwise,

search the Analog Devices Glossary

https://wiki.analog.com/university/courses/electronics/text/glossary

Specifications Models
Models

in a product family

Different specifications, Different temperature ranges

Different packages, Different shipping packages (reel, tray, tube, etc)
Spec

differences will have separate columns

Test Conditions General and Specific

General

conditions at the top of specification page

Apply

to all specifications unless overridden in specific conditions of

each spec

Power supplies
Operating temperature -- usually 25C
Input signal range
Reference level, loading, gain setting, etc.

Simple

for op amps

Complex

for data converters and other products

Test Conditions General and Specific

Specific

conditions shown at each spec line

Describe
Typical

conditions of testing and guarantees

performance charts show wider range of performance

Test conditions General and Specific

Power Supplies get very specific
Parameter

Symbol Min Typ Max Unit

Undervoltage lockout

Hysteresis
Total Input Current

ILIM

50

100

150

mV

74
114

92

100
150

mA

VINx Current Consumption

Battery Current Consumption

IQVIN
IQVIN_DIS
IQBATT

470

2
280
20

0.5

Falling threshold, higher of VVIN and

VBAT_SNS
Hysteresis, higher of VVIN and VBAT_SNS
rising1
Nominal USB initialized current level
USB superspeed
USB enumerated current level
(specification for China)

300
425

Test Conditions/Comments

500
900
1500

USB enumerated current level

Dedicated charger input
Dedicated wall charger
Charging or LDO mode
DIS_IC1 = high, VISO_B < VINx < 5.5 V
LDO mode, VISO_S > VBAT_SNS

450

mA
A
A

Standby, includes ISO_Sx pin leakage,

VVIN = 0 V, TJ = 40C to +85C

0.9

mA

Standby, battery monitor active

Test Conditions Notes

Notes

cited at bottom of page provide definitions, clarifications, and

additional conditions

The

fine print

Minimum / Maximum / Typical

All
If

If

specifications have a distribution of values

it says typical, its not tested often

It was tested at release characterization
Some units will be above, some below the spec
Some distributions are loose, some tight
Typical specs are screened by QA

it says minimum or maximum, it may not be tested 100%

Specifications over temperature are guaranteed by characterization and

guardbanding
Testing

and specifications are driven by statistics

All tests have noise with Gaussian distribution

Guardbands are set to keep failure in low ppm range

Typical Performance Curves (TPCs)

Typical

performance curves show performance over the full operating

range
More likely to cover your operating range of interest
Characterization of a large number of parts
Often difficult to test by users
Often

an important part of product selection

Application may be non-standard, not at the center of specifications

Datasheet authors attempt to anticipate most common use cases and
operating conditions

Typical Performance Curves (TPCs)

Absolute Maximum Ratings

Section

normally appears after Specifications

Describes

limits that will result in device damage

Maximum

voltages between pins

Maximum

currents into/out of pins

Maximum

temperatures for usage and storage

Soldering

and assembly conditions

Absolute Maximum Ratings Recommendations

to do if it is certain part has exceeded Absolute Max but still

seems to work

What

Performance has been compromised in hidden ways

Replace the part if you are making critical performance measurements
Dont send evaluation equipment with such parts to customers
Do

not operate at power supplies near max ratings

Power supply noise or transients can exceed max ratings

Even brief exposure will damage insulation oxide and induce leakage
paths that will lead to failure or compromise performance

Absolute Maximum Ratings Difficult Problems to See

Sensitive

input stages

Low voltage input transistors have high gain and low noise
Protection resistors small to minimize Johnson noise
Differential input is limited by diodes to 0.6V, so large input voltage could
create large currents
External resistors can limit current but increase errors
Careful analysis to balance protection w/accuracy

Thermal Considerations

All

ICs have a maximum operating chip temperature

Maximum Operating Junction Temperature

Typically 125C to 150C
Exceeding this temperature will cause high leakage currents and possible
permanent damage
Junction

temperature is the ambient temperature plus temperature

rise from self-heating

Self-Heating

Self-heating

is determined by the amount of power dissipated and the

thermal resistance

Example:

The chip is using 5mA from a 5V power supply

5V x 5mA = 25mW = .025W

Thermal resistance ja= 115oC/W (TSSOP)

.025W x 115oC/W = 2.88oC temperature rise
(Not much)
At

high supplies, it gets worse, 30 volts at 10mA is 0.3W, for 34.5oC

rise (dont touch)

Self-Heating

Self-heating

will lower the maximum ambient temperature at which

the part can be used

This

is shown in a derating chart

ESD Caution in Absolute Max Ratings

ESD

Electrostatic Discharge all datasheets

Newer

products have much better protection against ESD, especially

those with external connections

ESD

precautions are still important during prototyping and testing

failure may not be catastrophic just compromises full

performance

ESD

Package Moisture Absorption

Not

typically shown on the datasheet

Small

packages can absorb water under leads if not stored in

controlled environment

During

solder re-flow cycle at 300C, water between leads and

package will boil and crack package

Products

are baked out and stored in dry-pack shipping materials

Units

have a time-period for exposure to open air prior to final

assembly

Opened

packages still containing product must be re-sealed within

time limit and re-dried

Moisture Sensitivity Level (MSL)

Not

typically shown on the datasheet

Found

in Material Declaration

Access
MSL

through Price/package table

shown on packing materials

Theory of Operation
Detailed
Can

description of how the part works and what it does

help in complex product selection

It might not perform your function the way you need it to be done
ADC has high throughput but high latency application requires immediate
return of data
Definitely

helps in setting up product

May answer questions about why it does what it does

May

lead to new ideas and applications

Theory of Operation Part 2

Owners

manual section

Theory

of operation moves to description of functions and setup

Details

of all aspects of product functions

Every

function is described

Power supplies and grounding

Signal handling and loading
Interface
Software support when applicable

Block Diagram and Simplified Schematic

Schematic

shows input and output stages and general structure

Block Diagram and Simplified Schematic

Contains

most of the functional information needed to make a

product choice

Internal

structure and interfaces

Pinout Diagram
Shows

where all the functions are connected

Grounding

If analog ground and digital ground are shown separately, dont connect
pins to the wrong one
Typically connect analog ground and digital ground at the power supplies
No

connect or NC pins

When in doubt, dont connect

New standard -- DNC
NC not internally connected best to ground for low noise performance
Exposed

thermal pad

Check for connection point may not be ground

Solder to large copper pad for best thermal results

Pinout Descriptions
Detailed
Notes

description of each pin

on connections to the pin

Typical Applications
Most

common connections for the product

Often

shows test configuration for specs

Multiple Supplies

Bipolar Input

Data Sheet Search Tools in Adobe Reader

Open
Click

the search tools in the left column

on Search to enter search terms to find topics in the

datasheet

Data Sheet Search Tools in Adobe Reader

Many

datasheets Bookmark the table of contents

Data Sheet Search Tools in Adobe Reader

Click

on Pages to get thumbnails of each for a quick search

Revision History

Not provided by all manufacturers

Analog

Devices provides revision history on page 2 or last page on older

datasheets

Lists

date of publication of each revision

Brief

listing of items changed from previous version

Spec

changes also sent by PCN

Package Drawings Outline Dimensions

Scale drawings of all packages available for the product

Package Drawings Outline Dimensions

Typically

at the end of the datasheet

What you need is the footprint of the package
Available for every product and package
Supports multiple PCB layout packages using Ultra Librarian and BXL files
ORCAD, PCAD, PowerPCB, Eagle, BoardStation, AutoCAD, etc
Accessible

from web site

Product page
Includes schematic
Layout diagrams

Ordering Guide

Typically on the last printed page of a datasheet

Lists all models available for sale with complete ordering number

Includes temperature range, package type, primary specifications

Product page on web site shows same models with pricing and availability

Branding codes shown for small packages

Evaluation Boards
Nearly

all products have an evaluation board available to permit quick,

accurate testing of a product in various operating modes

Operation

of most evaluation boards is detailed in a separate datasheet or

user guide

Layout of the board optimizes product performance

Gerber

files of most boards are available

Layouts

and BoMs are shown on datasheets or user guides

Whats Not in a Datasheet

Pricing

Pricing is volatile, depends on territory and volume

Ordering guide lists available models
Inventory
Moisture

Quality

sensitivity level

and reliability

Evaluation

board operation

Separate datasheet
Most

current tech support information

Check the website areas like ADIs EngineerZone

http://ez.analog.com

Other Useful Information

Datasheets

will typically will have spare pages at the end. They are
created in page groups of 4 because of print formatting.

Old

revisions of datasheets can be found, but they are not readily

available

Software shown on datasheets is generally available as a download

Alternate Sources of Information

Website

Product page
Similar products
Pricing

Package detail information materials

Application notes and technical articles
More details on specific applications

Circuits from the Lab

Quality and reliability
Simulation models
SPICE
IBIS

EngineerZone
Technical support

New Links Page on Datasheets

Links

page on datasheet

Thank You For Watching!

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