Variable gain amps boast big bandwidths

Wideband variable gain amplifiers features a novel architecture that provides designers with a highly flexible combination of bandwidth, gain and analogue input voltage.

A new family of integrated wideband variable gain amplifiers features a novel architecture that provides designers with a highly flexible combination of bandwidth, gain and analogue input voltage to address design challenges of differential line receivers and equalisers, pulse shaping, continuously variable gain and attenuation stages, automatic gain control (AGC) and voltage tunable filters.

These applications are typically used in the professional video, test and measurement, military, communications and medical markets.

The VCA820, VCA821, VCA822 and VCA824 offer industry-leading bandwidth, noise and slew rate with a flexible analogue input voltage.

These features enable customers to process large amounts of data at faster rates while minimising harmonic distortion to improve signal fidelity.

The VCA821 and VCA824 offer the industry's largest bandwidth of 420MHz for a gain of 10V/V which is over 300% larger than comparable devices.

They also provide the fastest slew rate of 2500V/us, which is 40% faster than what is available today.

The VCA820 and VCA822, meanwhile, offer a competitive 150MHz bandwidth and slew rate of 1700V/us.

The VCA82x voltage-controlled amplifiers give customers the ability to set the maximum gain anywhere from 0dB (1V/V) to 40dB (100V/V) with external resistors.

An externally supplied gain voltage can then be varied dynamically to implement a greater than 40dB gain adjust range.

Designers can also choose between linear gain in decibels or volts per volt.

Offered in small, space-saving packages, the entire VCA82x family is pin compatible for easy upgrade to higher bandwidths.

This also allows for switching between decibels and volts per volt linear gain control options, further adding to the flexibility of the devices.

The VCA820, VCA821, VCA822 are VCA824 are available today in SOIC-14 and MSOP-10 packages.

Suggested resale pricing in quantities of 100 is US $4.35 for the VCA820 and VCA822, and $5.20 for the VCA821 and VCA824.

Samples and evaluation modules (DEM-VCA-SO-1B and DEM-VCA-MSOP-1A) are also available.

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