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LT1010 - Problem with limiting during sinking operation

Thread Summary

The user experienced issues with the LT1010 buffer when driving a 50Ω load with a ±5V signal, specifically a delay and undershoot on the falling edge. The problem was resolved by removing decoupling capacitors from the Bias pin, which were mistakenly added. The final answer also noted the asymmetric dynamic behavior of the LT1010 and the potential for high current transients, but the main issue was the capacitive load on the Bias pin.
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Category: Hardware
Product Number: LT1010

Hi, 

I have used the LT1010 buffer in a design to be able to drive a 50ohm load with a +-5V signal. The supply used is +-12V. 
The schematic of the implementation is very similar to below (the simulation schematic is just missing the decoupling capacitors). 



The problem comes when I try to drive the load with a signal that has relatively fast edges swinging from +5V to -5V. On the rising edge, it works as expected, however on the falling edge at some point the LT1010 buffer enters some kind of limitation, like it's stuck at ~0V for 1us and then at -1.5V for a longer period of time until it eventually recovers. This is very consistent behaviour and goes away if the 50ohm load is removed. 

I have noticed that when I remove the bias resistor, the period of the second 'limit' section increases significantly. However, if I reduce the bias resistor to 20ohms it does not improve.

Any ideas what could be the culprit here? I was thinking that I can just replace C1 with R5, and leave R5 open, therefore the buffer is not in the feedback path anymore, but I'm thinking this would also affect the quality of my output. 

In the oscillogram below, purple = input, blue = LT1010 input, yellow = LT1010 output. 



You can see the op-amp undershooting because LT1010 limits the output and just saturates at minimum output until LT1010 recovers.
I don't think the effect is thermal because the device sits at 50degC without Rbias or at 70degC with Rbias. 

Any feedback is appreciated, thanks!

  • Hi  ,

    I apologize for the late reply. The problem regarding the falling edge can be mainly attributed to the dynamic behavior of LT1010 being asymmetric. You can check this part of the LT1010’s datasheet:

    It was also noted that the negative slew is subject to “glitching,” which may further explain why the falling edge can exhibit kinks/plateaus while the rising edge looks clean. 

    Another one could be driving the load with a signal from +5V to -5V. Can you confirm the rate of the falling edge of your input? From the looks of your scope, your input looks to be about 5V / 1us, and with a load of 50 ohms, that translates to ~100mA/us. From page 8 of datasheet:




    Can you tell me more about your setup? Have you tried using the recommended decoupling capacitors?


    Regards,
    Ian

  • Hi Ian, thank you for your reply. I have found my problem, which was just a mistake on my part. When adding decoupling capacitors, I accidentally also added decoupling capacitors on the Bias pin. Once I removed the capacitive load on the Bias pin, everything worked as expected (as the datasheet suggets). Apologies for getting back to you so late and thanks for your help.