SSM2164 If additional SSM2164s are added, the 100 pF capacitor may V need to be increased to ensure stability of the output amplifier. C30k Most op amps are sensitive to capacitance on their inverting I inputs. The capacitance forms a pole with the feedback resistor, IOUT500VCA1I which reduces the high frequency phase margin. As more IN560pF SSM2164’s are added to the mixer circuit, their output capaci- VC100pF tance and the parasitic trace capacitance add, increasing the 30k overall input capacitance. Increasing the feedback capacitor will IIOUT maintain the stability of the output amplifier. 500VCA230k Ω IINDigital Control of the SSM2164560pFOP176VOUT One option for controlling the gain and attenuation of the VC SSM2164 is to use a voltage output digital-to-analog converter 30k such as the DAC8426 (Figure 26), whose 0 V to +10 V output IIOUT500VCA3 controls the SSM2164’s attenuation from 0 dB to –100 dB. Its IIN560pF simple 8-bit parallel interface can easily be connected to a microcontroller or microprocessor in any digitally controlled VC system. The voltage output configuration of the DAC8426 30k provides a low impedance drive to the SSM2164 so the attenua- IIOUT500VCA4 tion can be controlled accurately. The 8-bit resolution of the IIN560pF DAC and its full-scale voltage of +10 V gives an output of 3.9 mV/bit. Since the SSM2164 has a –33 mV/dB gain con- FROM ADDITIONAL SSM2164sPOWER SUPPLYFOR > 4 CHANNELS stant, the overall control law is 0.12 dB/bit or approximately AND BIASING CIRCUITRY 8 bits/dB. The input and output configuration for the SSM2164 is the same as for the basic VCA circuit shown V+GNDV–MODE earlier. The 4-to-1 mixer configuration could also be used. Figure 25. Four-Channel Mixer (4 to 1) +15VVCVVREFOUT +10VDDIINI4IOUT18VCA110VDAC8426REFERENCEVC2LATCH ADAC AVOUTAIIINIOUT1VCA2LATCH BDAC BVOUTB7MSBVC14DATA BUSLSB20LATCH CDAC CVOUTCIINIIOUT19VCA3LATCH DDAC DVOUTDOBSOLETE15VCWR16LOGICA117CONTROLA0IIOUTVCA4356IINVSSAGNDDGNDPOWER SUPPLYAND BIASING CIRCUITRYV+GNDV– MODE+15V–15V Figure 26. Digital Control of VCA Gain REV. 0 –9–