AES New York 2015
Product Development Track Event PD3
Thursday, October 29, 2:15 pm — 3:45 pm (Room 1A13)
Product Development: PD3 - Designing for Ultra-Low THD+N in Analog Circuits, circa 2015
Presenter:Bruce Hofer, Audio Precision, Inc. - Beaverton, Oregon, USA
Abstract:
The performance of ultra-low THD+N in analog circuits is more often limited by component quality and component interaction, rather than the circuit design itself. Factors such as thermal modulation and the effects of component voltage coefficient are commonly over-looked, yet they may be the dominant source of non-linearity in some circuits. This presentation will focus on modeling and quantifying these non-linear effects that will hopefully enable the analog design engineer to achieve higher levels of performance. Among the many topics covered, the various types of resistors and capacitors will be compared with a particular emphasis regarding their impact on THD+N. There will also be a discussion of op-amps along with some suggested circuit “tricks” to minimize distortion contribution. Noise and its estimation will also be covered along with some examples of how to keep digital noise sources from finding their way into critical analog circuits. The sometimes surprising effects of mutual inductance between circuit components and power supply rails will also be discussed along with how these can be minimized by good circuit layout practices. This tutorial is highly recommended for the analog design engineer interested in taking their designs to a significantly higher level of performance.
