What Signal-Path Developments are Still Missing from Textbooks? (Download)
Industry amplifier development groups continue to improve on devices and analysis techniques, publishing those in datasheets, application notes, industry articles, etc. But these rarely find their way into textbook updates. Read on for a representative sample of what you might have missed in your EE education.
The classic gain bandwidth product (GBP) idea was always an oversimplification. One simple plot yields much closer SSBW versus gain prediction for any voltage feedback amplifier (VFA) or fully differential amplifier (FDA).
The well-known GBP model predicts that the closed-loop small-signal bandwidth (SSBW) will simply be the GBP divided by the noise gain (NG). The NG is the inverse of the voltage divider from the output pin back to the feedback input pin(s). In a non-inverting VFA design, the NG will be the same as the desired signal gain.