
Preliminary Technical Data AD7686
Driver Amplifier Choice
Although the AD7686 is easy to drive, the driver amplifier
needs to meet the following requirements:
• The noise generated by the driver amplifier needs to be
kept as low as possible in order to preserve the SNR and
transition noise performance of the AD7686. Note that the
AD7686 has a noise much lower than most of the other 16-
bit ADCs and, therefore, can be driven by a noisier op amp
while preserving the same or better system performance.
The noise coming from the driver is filtered by the AD7686
analog input circuit 1-pole, low-pass filter made by R1 and
C2 or by the external filter, if one is used. Because the
typical noise of the AD7686 is 35 µV rms, the SNR
degradation due to the amplifier is
+
=
−2
3dB )(f
2
π
1225
35
20log
N
LOSS
Ne
SNR
where:
f–3dB is the input bandwidth in MHz of the AD7686
(9 MHz) or the cutoff frequency of the input filter, if one is
used.
N is the noise factor of the amplifier (+1 in buffer
configuration).
eN is the equivalent input noise voltage of the op amp, in
nV/√Hz.
• For ac applications, the driver needs to have a THD
performance suitable to that of the AD7686. F
gives the THD versus frequency that the driver should
exceed.
igure 12
• For multichannel multiplexed applications, the driver
amplifier and the AD7686 analog input circuit must be able
to settle for a full-scale step of the capacitor array at a 16-
bit level (0.0015%). In the amplifier’s data sheet, settling at
0.1% to 0.01% is more commonly specified. This could
differ significantly from the settling time at a 16-bit level
and should be verified prior to driver selection.
Table 8. Recommended Driver Amplifiers.
Amplifier Typical Application
AD8021 Very low noise and high frequency
AD8022 Low noise and high frequency
OP184 Low power, low noise, and low frequency
AD8605, AD8615 5 V single-supply, low power
AD8519 Small, low power and low frequency
AD8031 High frequency and low power
Voltage Reference Input
The AD7686 voltage reference input, REF, has a dynamic input
impedance and should therefore be driven by a low impedance
source with efficient decoupling between the REF and GND
pins as explained in the Layout section.
When REF is driven by a very low impedance source, e.g., a
reference buffer using the AD8031 or the AD8605, a 10 µF
(X5R, 0805 size) ceramic chip capacitor is appropriate for
optimum performance.
If an unbuffered reference voltage is used, the decoupling value
depends on the reference used. For instance, a 22 µF (X5R, 1206
size) ceramic chip capacitor is appropriate for optimum
performance using a low temperature drift ADR43x reference.
If desired, smaller reference decoupling capacitor values down
to 2.2 µF can be used with a minimal impact on performance,
especially DNL.
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