Analog Devices' New Variable Gain Amplifier Boosts Bandwidth, Cuts Cost and Power in Industrial and Instrumentation Applications.

NORWOOD, Mass. -- - Requiring 25% less power per channel than competing devices, ADI's dc-coupled VGA is industry's fastest in small chip scale package.

Analog Devices Inc. (NYSE: ADI), a global leader in high-performance semiconductors for signal processing applications, today introduced the industry's highest bandwidth, lowest power per channel, dc-coupled VGA (variable gain amplifier) for industrial and instrumentation applications. Fifty percent faster and one-third smaller than competing solutions, ADI's VGA also outperforms other offerings by delivering excellent dc and ac electrical performance. Excellent dc characteristics and high speed make the AD8337 VGA particularly well suited for a wide range of high-channel-count industrial and instrumentation applications, such as PET (positron emission tomography) medical imaging, industrial ultrasound, RF (radio frequency) test instruments, and high performance AGC (automatic gain control) systems.

Improved Signal Control, Low Power in Small Package

The AD8337 provides designers of industrial and instrumentation applications with a low-noise (2.2nV/rtHz), single-ended, linear-in-dB VGA element at frequencies up to 250 MHz. for improved signal control. In addition, the device offers the lowest power per channel, requiring 25 percent less power than competitive VGAs. The AD8337 is housed in a tiny 3 mm x 3 mm, 8-lead chip scale package (CSP) that occupies one-third less board area than alternatives.

"Designers of single-ended industrial and instrumentation systems who need VGAs require good dc performance and high bandwidth", said Jay Cormier, product line director, Linear Products Group, Analog Devices. "However, most VGA's available on the market are differential, operate at higher speeds from a single supply, and lack dc performance. The AD8337 meets the demands of the industrial marketplace for a VGA with outstanding dc characteristics without sacrificing bandwidth."

Fastest DC-coupled VGA Available

The AD8337 topology is an X-AMP(R) structure, ADI's patented circuit technique, with 24 dB of gain range and excellent bandwidth uniformity across the entire gain range. The gain control interface provides precise linear-in-dB scaling of 20 dB/V and can be centered by an output common mode adjust pin. Operating up to 250 MHz bandwidth, the AD8337 is the fastest dc-coupled VGA available, with a high slew rate of 475 V/microseconds in a 2 V step.

Low Power Ideal for High-channel-count Systems

Its power consumption is 78 mW at +/-2.5 V supplies, which is important in high-channel-count systems, such as PET medical imaging and high-performance AGC systems. Dual supply operation enables gain control of negative-going pulses, such as those generated by photodiodes or photo-multiplier tubes. The part's output-referred dc offset voltage is less than 20 mV over the entire gain control voltage range of 24 dB. An integrated preamplifier at its input, which can be configured with external resistors for any gain greater than 2, allows both inverting and non-inverting topologies and thereby enables a dual polarity VGA.

Driving High Speed ADCs and Precision DACs

In addition to its low power, the AD8337's low output-referred noise (34nV/rtHz) is advantageous in driving high speed ADCs (analog-to-digital converters). The AD8337 is suitable for driving high speed ADCs such as Analog Devices'AD9215, AD9235, AD9229, AD9410, and AD9432. The VGA can be controlled by DACs (digital-to-analog converters) to drive the variable gain in 8-bit (AD5302, AD5308) and 10-bit (AD5312/8) space-constrained applications.

Pricing and Availability

The AD8337 is sampling now and available in a 3 mm x 3 mm, 8-pin LFCSP (lead-frame chip scale package). The VGA is priced at $2.49 per unit in 1,000-piece quantities.

For more information, please visit: http://www.analog.com/AD8337.

Analog Devices in Industrial

Analog Devices has a 40-year heritage of working in concert with its customers in the industrial manufacturing industry to define, develop and deploy complete signal chain solutions that are optimized for their applications. ADI's legacy of supporting the industrial sector's long product lifecycles with multi-year manufacturing commitments is augmented by the company's educated sales force, knowledgeable field applications engineers and advanced design support tools that include evaluation boards and SPICE models.

About Analog Devices

Innovation, performance, and excellence are the cultural pillars on which Analog Devices has built one of the longest standing, highest growth companies within the technology sector. Acknowledged industry-wide as the world leader in data conversion and signal conditioning technology, Analog Devices serves over 60,000 customers, representing virtually all types of electronic equipment. Celebrating 40 years as a leading global manufacturer of high-performance integrated circuits used in analog and digital signal processing applications, Analog Devices is headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts, with design and manufacturing facilities throughout the world. Analog Devices' common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "ADI" and is included in the S&P 500 Index.

X-AMP(R) is a registered trademark of Analog Devices.