LM4818
SNAS163B –APRIL 2002–REVISED MAY 2013
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power dissipation, the graph Figure 20 must be used. From the graph, the maximum power dissipation for an 8Ω
load and a 5V supply is approximately 575mW. Substituting this value back into Equation 4 for PDMAX and using
θJA = 170°C/W for the D package, the maximum ambient temperature is 52°C. Refer to the TYPICAL
PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS curves for power dissipation information for lower output powers and
maximum power dissipation for each package at a given ambient temperature.
POWER SUPPLY BYPASSING
As with any power amplifier, proper supply bypassing is critical for low noise performance and high power supply
rejection. The capacitors connected to the bypass and power supply pins should be placed as close to the
LM4818 as possible. The capacitor connected between the bypass pin and ground improves the internal bias
voltage's stability, producing improved PSRR. The improvements to PSRR increase as the bypass pin capacitor
value increases. Typical applications employ a 5V regulator with 10µF and 0.1µF filter capacitors that aid in
supply stability. Their presence, however, does not eliminate the need for bypassing the supply nodes of the
LM4818. The selection of bypass capacitor values, especially CB, depends on desired PSRR requirements, click
and pop performance as explained in the section, PROPER SELECTION OF EXTERNAL COMPONENTS, as
well as system cost and size constraints.
SHUTDOWN FUNCTION
The voltage applied to the LM4818's SHUTDOWN pin controls the shutdown function. Activate micro-power
shutdown by applying VDD to the SHUTDOWN pin. When active, the LM4818's micro-power shutdown feature
turns off the amplifier's bias circuitry, reducing the supply current. The logic threshold is typically 1/2VDD. The low
0.7µA typical shutdown current is achieved by applying a voltage that is as near as VDD as possible to the
SHUTDOWN pin. A voltage that is less than VDD may increase the shutdown current. Avoid intermittent or
unexpected micro-power shutdown by ensuring that the SHUTDOWN pin is not left floating but connected to
either VDD or GND.
There are a few ways to activate micro-power shutdown. These included using a single-pole, single-throw switch,
a microcontroller, or a microprocessor. When using a switch, connect an external 10kΩto 100kΩpull-up resistor
between the SHUTDOWN pin and VDD. Connect the switch between the SHUTDOWN pin and ground. Select
normal amplifier operation by closing the switch. Opening the switch connects the shutdown pin to VDD through
the pull-up resistor, activating micro-power shutdown. The switch and resistor ensure that the SHUTDOWN pin
will not float. This prevents unwanted state changes. In a system with a microprocessor or a microcontroller, use
a digital output to apply the control voltage to the SHUTDOWN pin. Driving the SHUTDOWN pin with active
circuitry eliminates the pull-up resistor
PROPER SELECTION OF EXTERNAL COMPONENTS
Optimizing the LM4818's performance requires properly selecting external components. Though the LM4818
operates well when using external components with wide tolerances, best performance is achieved by optimizing
component values.
The LM4818 is unity gain stable, giving the designer maximum design flexibility. The gain should be set to no
more than a given application requires. This allows the amplifier to achieve minimum THD+N and maximum
signal-to-noise ratio. These parameters are compromised as the closed-loop gain increases. However, low gain
demands input signals with greater voltage swings to achieve maximum output power. Fortunately, many signal
sources such as audio CODECs have outputs of 1VRMS (2.83VP-P). Please refer to the AUDIO POWER
AMPLIFIER DESIGN EXAMPLE section for more information on selecting the proper gain.
Another important consideration is the amplifier's close-loop bandwidth. To a large extent, the bandwidth is
dictated by the choice of external components shown in Figure 1. The input coupling capacitor, Ci, forms a first
order high pass filter that limits low frequency response. This value should be chosen based on needed
frequency response for a few distinct reasons discussed below
Input Capacitor Value Selection
Amplifying the lowest audio frequencies requires a high value input coupling capacitor (Ciin Figure 1). A high
value capacitor can be expensive and may compromise space efficiency in portable designs. In many cases the
speakers used in portable systems, whether internal or external, have little ability to reproduce signals below
150Hz. Applications using speakers with limited frequency response reap little improvement by using a large
input capacitor.
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