Design Resources to Help Expand Your Analog Expertise

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Listen to any design team manager and it won’t be long before you hear the whole gamut of what engineers need to know about analog circuitry to make their customers’ vision a reality. The list of topics is likely to include (but not limited to) power supplies and management, precision analog, imaging, audio, amplifiers, sensors, high-speed data converters and interface applications.

To help engineers on this front, every analog and embedded device from Texas Instruments features associated design resources, ranging from product selection and simulation tools to evaluation hardware and software development kits. These resources are specifically designed to aid you as you evaluate, prototype, develop, and get to production as quickly as possible.

Together with the company’s extensive partner network, library of training content, and direct technical support, engineers can leverage TI’s expertise through the entire design cycle.

Latest Circuit Techniques from TI Engineers

This article focuses on how to accelerate your development as an engineer and expand your analog expertise using TI's comprehensive design resources. Whether you’re a beginner fresh from university or an “old pro,” it will show you where to find the latest analog circuit design techniques and emerging applications. Industry’s most knowledgeable engineers share exclusive, carefully curated information geared toward engineers across all industries and levels of experience.

A good place to start is with insights from technical experts found in the Analog Design Journal. With an archive dating back to 1999, the Analog Design Journal offers access to decades of deep, technical expertise. The newest issue features topics from the impact of analog-to-digital converter (ADC) noise to comparing dual-supply discrete and integrated instrumentation amplifiers.

Here’s just one for instance, from Issue 1 in 2023: “Using a second stage filter to reduce voltage ripple.” This article compares three different control architectures to achieve 1-mV output-voltage ripple, complete with test data using the same electrical specifications to compare and contrast output-voltage ripple, solution size, load transients, and efficiency.

Speed System Design with Circuit Cookbooks

TI’s Circuit Cookbooks offer 60+ amplifier and 40+ data-converter sub-circuit designs in two easy-to-use eBooks. Each design can be easily adapted to meet specific end equipment needs and includes step-by-step instructions, basic formulas, schematic diagrams, and Spice simulations.

Fig2 Engineers Circuit Cookbook Opamps Slyy137

You would do well to check out the Analog Engineer's Circuit Cookbook: Amplifiers for a comprehensive collection of amplifier circuits.Each circuit is presented as a “definition by example.” It includes step-by-step instructions similar to a recipe. The Circuit Cookbook provides at least one recommended amplifier for each circuit, but it can be swapped with another amplifier if you’ve found one that’s a better fit for your design. Another alternative is to search online at ti.com/amplifiers.

The Analog Engineer’s Circuit Cookbook: Data Converters ADC and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) sub-circuit ideas that can be adapted to meet your specific system needs. Each data-converter circuit includes step-by-step instructions.

Similarly, the Analog Engineer’s Circuit Cookbook: Op Amps provides operational amplifier info with formulas and step-by-step instructions. Again, TI has provided at least one recommended op amp for each circuit, but you can swap it with another device if you’ve found one that’s a better fit for your design (or search TI’s portfolio of op amps at “ti.com/opamps”). In addition, all circuits are verified with Spice simulations.

TI regularly updates these cookbooks with valuable circuit building blocks. To check for the latest version, go to ti.com/circuitcookbooks.

Deepen Your Tech Expertise at All Experience Levels

To be used effectively, these sub-circuit guides require a basic understanding of applicable concepts. If you’re new to these design areas, check out the TI Precision Labs (TIPL) training series. It’s a comprehensive online classroom for analog signal chain and embedded processing designers. The on-demand video training curriculum includes both videos and downloadable reference materials. Many of the videos are topic-based, while others address a design issue or common circuit type.

TI Precision Labs content contains relevant information for each topic discussed and proceeds at a reasonable pace. From foundational knowledge to advanced concepts, this logical, sequenced, and comprehensive teaching approach is both intuitive and practical.

Industry experts guide you through an extensive library of tutorials, as well as hands-on experiments for selected topics.. Know, too, that the engineers who create TI Precision Labs videos continuously validate its quality and remain accessible as resources for questions and designs.

Conclusion

Engineers can leverage TI’s analog and embedded expertise throughout the entire design cycle. Together with an extensive partner network, library of training content, and direct technical support, the company’s diverse suite of tools, models, and simulators can be harnessed to help you select the right parts, identify external components and values, analyze your system- or product-level design, and even export it to your favorite computer-aided-design (CAD) environment.

Moreover, the interactive nature of many of these tools enables iterative design techniques that aren’t feasible without them.

In addition, TI’s seminars can connect you with experts sharing their knowledge on the latest innovations, technologies, and product offerings across a wide range of topics. Webinars with TI experts span new products and technologies to assist with application- and system-level design.