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Very Low Power Preamp
I am working on a project for receiving a very narrow bandwidth signal
at 60 kHz. One of the design goals is to keep the power consumption to an absolute minimum. I'm trying to figure out how to run a pre-amplifier on less than 100 uW. So far I have found nothing. Any suggestions? -- Rick |
#2
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Very Low Power Preamp
rickman wrote:
I am working on a project for receiving a very narrow bandwidth signal at 60 kHz. One of the design goals is to keep the power consumption to an absolute minimum. I'm trying to figure out how to run a pre-amplifier on less than 100 uW. So far I have found nothing. Any suggestions? Specifying the output, impedance, and degree of linearlity required might get a meaningful response. The Maxim MAX480 opamp will run from a single supply down to 1.6V with a supply current of less tha 20 uA. Most of the micropower opamps I've seen run in the range of 30 to 50 uW quiescent which doesn't leave a lot for output. -- Jim Pennino |
#3
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Very Low Power Preamp
On 11/4/2014 6:29 PM, rickman wrote:
I am working on a project for receiving a very narrow bandwidth signal at 60 kHz. One of the design goals is to keep the power consumption to an absolute minimum. I'm trying to figure out how to run a pre-amplifier on less than 100 uW. So far I have found nothing. Any suggestions? I agree with Jim. We need many more specifics to provide a meaningful answer. There are a lot of micropower opamps out there now, but the devil is in the details. -- ================== Remove the "x" from my email address Jerry, AI0K ================== |
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Very Low Power Preamp
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#5
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Very Low Power Preamp
On 11/4/2014 9:42 PM, Jerry Stuckle wrote:
On 11/4/2014 6:29 PM, rickman wrote: I am working on a project for receiving a very narrow bandwidth signal at 60 kHz. One of the design goals is to keep the power consumption to an absolute minimum. I'm trying to figure out how to run a pre-amplifier on less than 100 uW. So far I have found nothing. Any suggestions? I agree with Jim. We need many more specifics to provide a meaningful answer. There are a lot of micropower opamps out there now, but the devil is in the details. I've only found one detail that is giving me the devil. That is the bandwidth. The signal is 60 kHz. I can't think of any other issues I would have with any amp capable of amplifying this signal with a low power level. What more info do you feel is needed? Can you ask questions? Better yet, just point me to any amp that will meet my two stated requirements! -- Rick |
#7
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Very Low Power Preamp
On 11/5/2014 1:57 PM, wrote:
rickman wrote: On 11/4/2014 8:29 PM, wrote: rickman wrote: I am working on a project for receiving a very narrow bandwidth signal at 60 kHz. One of the design goals is to keep the power consumption to an absolute minimum. I'm trying to figure out how to run a pre-amplifier on less than 100 uW. So far I have found nothing. Any suggestions? Specifying the output, impedance, and degree of linearlity required might get a meaningful response. The Maxim MAX480 opamp will run from a single supply down to 1.6V with a supply current of less tha 20 uA. Most of the micropower opamps I've seen run in the range of 30 to 50 uW quiescent which doesn't leave a lot for output. Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure what you are asking regarding the output and impedance. The input would be high impedance and the output low driving another high impedance input. I can design the circuit around the amp, I just can't find anything very low power. The main problem seems to be getting enough gain-bandwidth product to actually amplify the signal. The output and impedance determine E^2/R, which subtracts from the 100 uW leaving you with approximetly the quiescent power budget. The degree of linearity has a big effect on efficiency which has a big effect on the power budget. Also the desired gain would be a nice thing to know as in would a single transistor be enough. 20 dB would be a good start. The part you suggest has a number of problems. One is that it is not recommended for new designs. The other is that it only has a gain bandwidth product of 20 kHz. It was just a micropower opamp off the top of my head. I assume you have looked into designs using various FET's? Such as? -- Rick |
#8
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Very Low Power Preamp
rickman wrote:
On 11/5/2014 1:57 PM, wrote: rickman wrote: On 11/4/2014 8:29 PM, wrote: rickman wrote: I am working on a project for receiving a very narrow bandwidth signal at 60 kHz. One of the design goals is to keep the power consumption to an absolute minimum. I'm trying to figure out how to run a pre-amplifier on less than 100 uW. So far I have found nothing. Any suggestions? Specifying the output, impedance, and degree of linearlity required might get a meaningful response. The Maxim MAX480 opamp will run from a single supply down to 1.6V with a supply current of less tha 20 uA. Most of the micropower opamps I've seen run in the range of 30 to 50 uW quiescent which doesn't leave a lot for output. Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure what you are asking regarding the output and impedance. The input would be high impedance and the output low driving another high impedance input. I can design the circuit around the amp, I just can't find anything very low power. The main problem seems to be getting enough gain-bandwidth product to actually amplify the signal. The output and impedance determine E^2/R, which subtracts from the 100 uW leaving you with approximetly the quiescent power budget. The degree of linearity has a big effect on efficiency which has a big effect on the power budget. Also the desired gain would be a nice thing to know as in would a single transistor be enough. 20 dB would be a good start. Off the top of my head that seems to be a bit high for a single transistor. The part you suggest has a number of problems. One is that it is not recommended for new designs. The other is that it only has a gain bandwidth product of 20 kHz. It was just a micropower opamp off the top of my head. I assume you have looked into designs using various FET's? Such as? Well, you could start with an amplifier design that uses a theoretical transistor which meets your goals then search maker spec sheets for a real transistor that has the needed qualities. I thought you said you had Spice? If I were doing it, I would start with some common transistor then tweak the transistor specs until it did what I wanted or became obvious it can't be done with a single transistor. If there were no real transistor with the required specs or it is not possible to do with a single transistor, I would go to two transistors and repeat. -- Jim Pennino |
#9
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Very Low Power Preamp
On 11/5/2014 2:56 PM, wrote:
rickman wrote: On 11/5/2014 1:57 PM, wrote: rickman wrote: On 11/4/2014 8:29 PM, wrote: rickman wrote: I am working on a project for receiving a very narrow bandwidth signal at 60 kHz. One of the design goals is to keep the power consumption to an absolute minimum. I'm trying to figure out how to run a pre-amplifier on less than 100 uW. So far I have found nothing. Any suggestions? Specifying the output, impedance, and degree of linearlity required might get a meaningful response. The Maxim MAX480 opamp will run from a single supply down to 1.6V with a supply current of less tha 20 uA. Most of the micropower opamps I've seen run in the range of 30 to 50 uW quiescent which doesn't leave a lot for output. Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure what you are asking regarding the output and impedance. The input would be high impedance and the output low driving another high impedance input. I can design the circuit around the amp, I just can't find anything very low power. The main problem seems to be getting enough gain-bandwidth product to actually amplify the signal. The output and impedance determine E^2/R, which subtracts from the 100 uW leaving you with approximetly the quiescent power budget. The degree of linearity has a big effect on efficiency which has a big effect on the power budget. Also the desired gain would be a nice thing to know as in would a single transistor be enough. 20 dB would be a good start. Off the top of my head that seems to be a bit high for a single transistor. If the current is low enough two could be used each with a gain of 10 or more. The part you suggest has a number of problems. One is that it is not recommended for new designs. The other is that it only has a gain bandwidth product of 20 kHz. It was just a micropower opamp off the top of my head. I assume you have looked into designs using various FET's? Such as? Well, you could start with an amplifier design that uses a theoretical transistor which meets your goals then search maker spec sheets for a real transistor that has the needed qualities. I thought you said you had Spice? I don't think spice is needed to design a single transistor amp. I was actually looking for an IC that would do the job. If using a transistor someone with experience in transistors would have an idea of the limits. I have been told that bipolar devices have very low gain at low collector currents which becomes a limitation as the bias current is reduced. I don't know about FETs. It is not at all clear to me that transistor models are accurate enough to give a good representation of this in spice. If I were doing it, I would start with some common transistor then tweak the transistor specs until it did what I wanted or became obvious it can't be done with a single transistor. If there were no real transistor with the required specs or it is not possible to do with a single transistor, I would go to two transistors and repeat. If I can't find someone with more experience I may do that. The actual goal is to do this without a preamp, but I'm starting to have some doubts about being able to pull it off. I need to characterize my digital inputs. Then I will have a better idea of the requirements, but that is more easily said than done. -- Rick |
#10
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Very Low Power Preamp
On 11/5/2014 1:29 PM, rickman wrote:
On 11/4/2014 9:42 PM, Jerry Stuckle wrote: On 11/4/2014 6:29 PM, rickman wrote: I am working on a project for receiving a very narrow bandwidth signal at 60 kHz. One of the design goals is to keep the power consumption to an absolute minimum. I'm trying to figure out how to run a pre-amplifier on less than 100 uW. So far I have found nothing. Any suggestions? I agree with Jim. We need many more specifics to provide a meaningful answer. There are a lot of micropower opamps out there now, but the devil is in the details. I've only found one detail that is giving me the devil. That is the bandwidth. The signal is 60 kHz. I can't think of any other issues I would have with any amp capable of amplifying this signal with a low power level. What more info do you feel is needed? Can you ask questions? Better yet, just point me to any amp that will meet my two stated requirements! The other posts you made had the info - things like impedance and gain are important, as is frequency of operation (but we already know that). A couple of things to consider, however. The higher the impedance, the more susceptible it will be to ambient noise pickup. You're starting with a very small signal and may need to add shielding to limit external noise. The other problem is you're asking for low impedance output. Low impedance limits noise pickup, but increases current drain. So how low of an impedance do you want? There are op amps with very high (in the gigaohm range) input impedance and pretty low quiescent current drain. How much it draws during use will be greatly dependent on the output current required, which obviously depends on output voltage and impedance. I don't have time right now, but later today I'll look through some of my data sheets on op amps to see what I can find. -- ================== Remove the "x" from my email address Jerry, AI0K ================== |
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