Вы находитесь на странице: 1из 9

APPLICATION BULLETIN

Mailing Address: PO Box 11400 Tucson, AZ 85734 Street Address: 6730 S. Tucson Blvd. Tucson, AZ 85706
Tel: (602) 746-1111 Twx: 910-952-111 Telex: 066-6491 FAX (602) 889-1510 Immediate Product Info: (800) 548-6132

INTERMODULATION DISTORTION (IMD)


By Christian Henn, Burr-Brown International, GmbH

The intermodulation distortion (IMD) performance of gains and output voltage swings, group delay time, settling
wideband, DC-coupled amplifiers is a relatively new area time, rise time, slew rate, harmonic distortion, and IMD 1
for integrated operational amplifier suppliers. New progresses performance. In the remaining sections the application note
in IC technology extend the application of op amps where
some years ago discrete circuits played the major role.
describes the basics of intermodulation distortions, the rela-
tionship between fundamental and 3rd IMD, and shows the
2
Methods to measure and communicate the extent of this test setup and test results for the OPA622 and OPA623.
distortion to users have been borrowed from traditional 3
RF companies which have historically supplied the radar HARMONIC DISTORTION
and radio communications industries, where the importance
When Flash-A/D users talk about distortion they are gener-
of it was first highlighted.
ally concerned with the spurs introduced into the spectrum
Examples of applications demanding good intermodulation of interest. In laboratory conditions harmonic distortion is a
4
distortion include: major area of concern and is usually measured by inserting
Radar a single-tone fundamental into the DUT, then looking at the
relevant frequency (2xf, 3xf) to determine the magnitude of
Satellite Communications
the harmonic tones. While this testing is useful to many 5
Digital Radio Receivers customers, it does not always appease everyone. Manufac-
Nuclear Particle Research turers who claim to have amplifiers with 3dB bandwidth in
the tens of MHz region often test distortion at relatively low
CAD Monitor Amplifier
tones. While the results are undoubtedly favorable, the user
In radar applications good IMD performance is essential, cannot use it for a circuit design. Harmonic distortion also
because interference from other radars and jammers often neglects the magnitude of spurs from other sources. Installed
6
pollute the spectrum. For satellite communications systems, in the equipment for which it was selected, there is no
the usable bandwidth for each transponder is limited and guarantee that it will be exposed to a pure spectrum as it is
multiple signals are frequency multiplicated onto one carrier for harmonic distortion measurements. In many cases the
so that signals can interfere with each other when IMD amplifier is asked to operate in spectrally-rich environments
performance is low. For Digital Radio Receivers, a small where intermodulation distortion properties of the amp are
segment of a broader RF spectrum is digitized and scanned of keen interest.
by high-speed data signal processors. For CAD Monitor
Amplifiers and for Nuclear Particle Research test equip-
MATHEMATICAL DERIVATION
ment, the IMD or as later described the intercept point
OF INTERMODULATION DISTORTION
characterize more precisely than harmonic distortion the
large signal capabilities of wideband amplifiers. The usable dynamic range of an amplifier is limited at very
small signal levels by the noise floor and at large signal
levels by interferences between signal frequencies. Distor-
INTERMODULATION DISTORTION
tions are caused by non-linearities in the amplitude transfer
IN THE OPA622 AND OPA623
characteristics. As shown later for producing harmonics, the
The IMD test results in this application note center on new transfer curve exists of a linear and a quadratic portion and
ultra high-speed operational amplifiers available from Burr- the typical output contains not only the fundamental fre-
Brownnotably, the OPA622 voltage feedback amplifier quency, but integer multiples of it. IMD results from the
and the OPA623 current-feedback amplifier. mixing of two or more signals of different frequencies and
While the specifications are important and are fully tested, the transfer curve contains in addition a cubic portion. The
the targeted market segments for these amplifiers clearly spurious output occurs at the sum and/or difference of
called for superior AC performance. Enhanced testing for integer multiples of the input frequencies.
these parts includes 3dB bandwidth curves for various


1994 Burr-Brown Corporation AB-194 Printed in U.S.A. April, 1994

SBOA077
Remembering that [sin2x = (1 cos2x)/2] and [sin(x)sin(y)
= (cos(x y) cos(x + y))/2] and substituting into
Equation 4 provides:
K 2 (V IN )2 = K 2 (E12 + E 22 ) / 2
(5a)
(K 2 / 2)(E12 cos 21t + E 22 cos 2 2 t) + (5b)
2K 2 E1E 2 (cos(1t 2 t) cos(1t + 2 t)) (5c)

The first and second terms in Equation 5 represent DC offset


and second-order harmonics. The third term is the second-
order IMD. This exercise can be repeated with the fourth
term of Equation 3 to study third-order effects.
I

K 3 (V IN )3 = K 3 (E13 sin 3 1t + E 32 sin 3 2 t +


IA
BP
Bias Point
3E12 E 2 sin 2 1t(sin 2 t) +
3E1E 22 sin 1t(sin 2 2 t) (6)

Utilizing the identities, sin3x = 1/4(3sin sin3x) and sin2xsiny


VK VB = 1/2(siny 1/2(sin(2x + y) sin(2x y))), Equation 6
V reduces to:
K 3 (V IN )3 =
FIGURE 1. Nonlinear Transfer Characteristics. (3K 3 / 4)(E13 sin 1t + E 32 sin 2 t +

The non-ideal characteristics of an amplifier can be de- 2E12 E 2 sin 2 t + 2E 22 E1 sin 1t) (7a)
scribed by using the Power Series Expansion: (K 3 E 32 / 4)(E13 sin 31t + E 32 sin 3 2 t) + (7b)
V OUT = K 0 + K1 (V IN ) + K 2 (V IN ) + K 3 (V IN ) + L (1)
2 3 (3K 3 E12 E 2 / 2)(sin(21t 2 t) 12 sin(21t + 2 t)) +(7c)
(3K E 2 E / 2)(sin(2 t t) 1 sin(2 t + t)) (7d)
3 2 1 2 1 2 1
A one-tone input signal (V = Esint) produces harmonic 2
distortion, a two-tone input signal produces harmonic distor- Term (a) from Equation 7 represents amplitude offset at the
tion and intermodulation distortion. fundamental frequencies. Term (b) signifies the third-order
harmonics. Term (c) and (d) represent third-order IMD.
V IN = E1 sin 1t + E 2 sin 2 t (2)
The result clearly indicates that IMD and crossmodulation
Combining equations 1 and 2 results in the following iden- only occur on a curved transfer characteristic with cubic
tity: terms like term (c) and (d) in Equation 7. In contrast a
transfer characteristic with a linear and quadratic portion
V OUT = K 0 + K1 (E1 sin 1t + E 2 sin 2 t)2 + generates the mixing products (sum and difference) and the
harmonics of the input signals.
K 2 (E1 sin 1t + E 2 sin 2 t)2 +
K 3 (E1 sin 1t + E 2 sin 2 t)3 + L (3) SOME SIMPLE RELATIONSHIPS
The first term (K0) represents the DC offset of the amplifier, Intermodulation distortion occurs at frequencies that are the
the second term is the fundamental signal(s). The subse- sum and/or difference of integer multiple of the fundamental
quent terms represent the distortion of the amplifier. The frequencies. For example, assume a composite signal has
second IMD can be found by analyzing the third term of fundamental frequencies l and 2. Distortion products will
Equation 3. occur at frequencies alb2 where a and b = 0, 1, 2, 3,
The following table illustrates this relationship.
K 2 (V IN )2 = K 2 (E12 sin 2 1t + E 22 sin 2 2 t +
2E1E 2 sin 2 1t(sin 2 t)) (4)
2nd-Order Frequencies 3rd-Order Frequencies
1 2 21 + 2 22 + 1
1 + 2 21 2 22 1

TABLE I.

2
Most IMD can be filtered out. However, if the input tones Amplitude of 3rd IMD Tones = 3K 3 E12 E 2 / 2
are of similar frequencies, the third-order IMD (2l 2, Converting to dB provides:
22 l) will be very close to the fundamental frequencies
Amplitude of 3rd IMD tone =
and cannot be easily filtered. Third-order IMD is of most
concern in narrow bandwidth applications. Second-order 20 log(3K 3 / 2) + 20 log(E12 ) + 20 log(E 2 )
IMD is of greater concern in broad bandwidth applications. Amplitude of 3rd IMD Tone (dB) = (8)
Figure 2 below illustrates on a spectrum analyzer the output constant + 2E1 + E 2
spectrum of two frequencies (fl, f2) applied to the non-linear
transfer characteristic of a mixer with an overdrive level of where E1 and E 2 are expressed in dB
10dB.
Equation 8 shows that if the input level (dB) increases, the
level of the third-order IM products increases three times
faster.
Figure 4 shows the graphic presentation of the theoretical
increase of the IMD products when the level increases. The
desired output of an amplifier and any IMD can be repre-
sented by two straight lines of different slopes. The desired
output lines have a slope of +1, any IMD has a slope of n,
where n is the order of IMD.
Consequently, the third-order IMD has a slope of 3.
As can be seen in Figure 4 for low level input signals the
output tracks the input. At higher input levels Gain Com-
pression occurs at the point where the actual output power
drops below the ideal. The 1dB gain compression point is
a well accepted performance parameter for RF amplifiers.
The intercept point can be found at the intersection of the
theoretical line extension of output signal and IMD. The
FIGURE 2. Generation of Harmonics and IMD. intercept point can be determined from the value of the
harmonic suppression (IM) which must be determined
Figure 3 shows the 2nd and 3rd IMDs for the condition in experimentally. Equation 9 illustrates this relationship.
which the fundamental terms (l and 2) are 20 and 21MHz
sinewaves.
70

60
Fundamental Signals
20MHz = 1; 21MHz = 2 50
40 30dBm
IP2
3rd IMDs 30
22MHz = 22 1 20
Amplitude

5dBm
19MHz = 21 2 3rd IMD
10 IP3
Harmonic
2
IM

Suppression 0
2nd IMD 2nd IMD 10 1dB
1MHz = 2 1 41MHz = 2 + 1
dBm

Compression
20
30
3
IM

40
70dBc IM3

Frequency 50
al
60dBc IM2
gn
Si

60
70
FIGURE 3. Relationship Between Fundamentals and IMDs. 80
90
INTERCEPT POINT 100
The location of the IMDs relative to the fundamental tones 120
has now been defined. The relationship of amplitudes of the
60 50 40 30 20 10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
IMD tones depends on the order of the IMD. The coeffi-
18dBm 5dBm
cients of the third-order IMD term in Equation 7 can be used
as a starting point in the analysis.
FIGURE 4. Relationship Between Fundamental and 3rd
IMD.
3
Intercept Point = (Hamonic Suppression) / (N 1) + DETERMINING HARMONIC SUPPRESSION
(Power of One Fundamental at Output of Amplifier) (9) The test system used to measure harmonic suppression is
diagrammed below.
By rearranging the Equation 9 the magnitude of third-order
products can be easily calculated for any output power 1. Set the amplitude of the two inputs equal with the
(dBm) when the intercept point is known. power meter.
2. Check for gain compression by reducing the signal
Third IMD = 2 (OIP3 PO) power of both fundamentals by 1dB, then checking to
Third IMD = third-order intermodulation ration make sure that the 3rd IMD tone is reduced by 3dB. If
below each output tone (dB) (10) past the compression point (see Figure 2), then the
One can also make a judgment about the dynamic range of amplitude of the input to the amplifier should be
an amplifier with the knowledge about the IP value and the reduced (repeat Step 1).
sensitivity (amplifier noise power). A limit for the best 3. Measure the harmonic suppression of the 3rd IMD
distortion-free dynamic range is available when the IM tone on the spectrum analyzer. This is the difference
products equal the sensitivity. between the magnitude of the fundamental and the 3rd
For a sensitivity of P N = 140dBm at measurement IMD (See Figure 1).
BW = 10Hz for an input mixer and OIP3 = +5dBm, the best 4. Measure the amplitude of a fundamental signal at the
input level can be calculated with Equation 11. output of the DUT by disconnecting one of the signal
generators.
(N 1) OIP + P N
P IN = 5. Calculate the intercept point using Equation 9.
N
2 5 + (140)
= = 43dBm (11)
THIRD-ORDER RESULTS
3
FOR THE OPA622 AND OPA623
The distortion free dynamic range results with Equation 12
The 3rd IMD intercept points are measured for the OPA622/
to 90dB for narrow spaced input signals.
623 using fundamental input frequencies from 5MHz to
(N1 ) (OIP P N ) 250MHz with 1MHz spacing between tones. All parts were
IM =
N set up in a gain of +2 and were driven into a 100 load.
2 135
= = 90dB (12)
3

Signal
Generator A

6dB Spectrum
Filter Analyzer
Attenuator
Power 3dB Power
DUT
Divider Attenuator Divider
6dB
Filter
Attenuator Power
Power Meter
Meter
Signal (Attenuators are used to limit the IMD of the signal generator setup; for every 1dB
Generator B attenuation of the fundamental signs, the nth order IMD is reduced by n dB.)

FIGURE 5. Test Setup to Measure Harmonic Suppression.

4
Non Inverting
R3
100 RI
180 RO
In+ 7
3 51
6
OPA623 Out
R2
2 4
100
RO

R1
300

+5V 7
C1 C3 + C5
R2 470pF 10nF 2.2F
300 Gnd
C2 C4 + C6
470pF 10nF 2.2F
5V 4

FIGURE 6. Circuit Schematic DEM-OPA623-1GC Used for IMD Performance Tests.

OPA623 OPA623
IM3 AND IP3 vs FREQUENCY (10dBm Input) IM3 AND IP3 vs FREQUENCY (0dBm Input)
40 40

20 20
IP3
0 0
IP3 P0
P0
dB
dB

20 20
IM3 IM3
40 40

60 60

80 80
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Frequency (MHz) Frequency (MHz)

FIGURE 7. IM3 and IP3 vs Frequency (10dBm Input). FIGURE 8. IM3 and IP3 vs Frequency (0dBm Input).

5
OPA623 OPA623
IM3 AND IP3 vs FREQUENCY (10dBm Input) IM3 AND IP3 vs INPUT LEVEL (100MHz)
40 40 35

30
20 20 IP3

Quiescient Current, (IQmA)


IP3 25
0 0
P0
20
IM3

dB
20
dB

20
P0 15
IM3
40
40 IQ 10

60 5
60
80 0
80 40 30 20 10 0 10 20
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 Input Level (dBm)
Frequency (MHz)

FIGURE 9. IM3 and IP3 vs Frequency (10dBm Input). FIGURE 11. IM3 and IP3 vs Input Level (100MHz).

OPA623 OPA623
IM3 AND IP3 vs INPUT LEVEL (50MHz) IM3 AND IP3 vs INPUT LEVEL (200MHz)
40 35 100 60
IP3 80
30

Quiescient Current, (IQmA)


20 50
Quiescent Current, IQ, (mA)

P0 60
25 IQ
0 40 40
20
dB

20
dB

20 IP3 30
Iq 15 0
IM3 P0
40 20 20
10
IMD
40
60 5 10
60
80 0 80 0
40 30 20 10 0 10 20 40 30 20 10 0 10 20
Input Level (dBm) Input Level (dBm)

FIGURE 10. IM3 and IP3 vs Input Level (50MHz). FIGURE 12. IM3 and IP3 vs Input Level (200MHz).

6
VCC +VCC +VCC OUT
1pF
COTA
5 12 10 11
RQC
390
2
VCC Biasing RL
50 Out Z O = 50
9
OB
RIN
50
OPA622

RLR
ZO = 50 In POS 150
4
OTA R1
330

RSOURCE RL2 RL1


= 50 100 100

3
FB

8 13 6
ROG
150
VCC OUT

R2
330

12

R9
10
11 +5V
+
C1 C2 C3
470pF 10nF 2.2F
Gnd
C6 C5 + C4
R8
470pF 10nF 2.2F
10
6 5V

FIGURE 13. Circuit Schematic DEM-OPA622-1GC Used for IMD Performance Tests.

7
OPA622
OPA622
IM3 AND IP3 vs FREQUENCY (10dBm Input)
IM3 AND IP3 vs INPUT LEVEL (50MHz)
30
60 35
20

Quiescent Current, IQ (mA)


40 30
10
0 20 IP3 25
IP3
10
dB

0 20

dB
20 P0 IQ IM3
P0
30 20 15
IM3
40 40 10
50
60 5
60
70 80 0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 40 30 20 10 0 10 20
Input Level (MHz)
Frequency (MHz)

FIGURE 14. IM3 and IP3 vs Frequency (10dBm Input). FIGURE 17. IM3 and IP3 vs Input Level (50MHz).

OPA622
IM3 AND IP3 vs FREQUENCY (0dBm Input) OPA622
IM3 AND IP3 vs INPUT LEVEL (100MHz)
30
30 50
20
20

Quiescent Current, IQ (mA)


IP3 30
10 10
P0
0 0 25
IP3
IQ
10 10
P0
dB

20
dB

IM3
20 20
IM3
15
30 30
40 40 10
50 50
5
60 60

70 70 0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 40 30 20 10 0 10 20

Frequency (MHz) Input Level (dBm)

FIGURE 15. IM3 and IP3 vs Frequency (0dBm Input). FIGURE 18. IM3 and IP3 vs Input Level (100MHz).

OPA622
IM3 AND IP3 vs FREQUENCY (10dBm Input) OPA622
30 IM3 AND IP3 vs INPUT LEVEL (200MHz)
30 50
20
20
30
Quiescent Current IQ (mA)

10
IP3 10
0 25
P0 0
10 IP3
10
dB

20
dB

20 IM3 IM3
20
30 15
30
P0 IQ
40 40 10
50 50
5
60 60
70 70 0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 40 30 20 10 0 10 20

Frequency (MHz) Input Level (dBm)

FIGURE 16. IM3 and IP3 vs Input Level (50MHz). FIGURE 19. IM3 and IP3 vs Input Level (200MHz).

8
IMPORTANT NOTICE

Texas Instruments and its subsidiaries (TI) reserve the right to make changes to their products or to discontinue
any product or service without notice, and advise customers to obtain the latest version of relevant information
to verify, before placing orders, that information being relied on is current and complete. All products are sold
subject to the terms and conditions of sale supplied at the time of order acknowledgment, including those
pertaining to warranty, patent infringement, and limitation of liability.

TI warrants performance of its semiconductor products to the specifications applicable at the time of sale in
accordance with TIs standard warranty. Testing and other quality control techniques are utilized to the extent
TI deems necessary to support this warranty. Specific testing of all parameters of each device is not necessarily
performed, except those mandated by government requirements.

Customers are responsible for their applications using TI components.

In order to minimize risks associated with the customers applications, adequate design and operating
safeguards must be provided by the customer to minimize inherent or procedural hazards.

TI assumes no liability for applications assistance or customer product design. TI does not warrant or represent
that any license, either express or implied, is granted under any patent right, copyright, mask work right, or other
intellectual property right of TI covering or relating to any combination, machine, or process in which such
semiconductor products or services might be or are used. TIs publication of information regarding any third
partys products or services does not constitute TIs approval, warranty or endorsement thereof.

Copyright 2000, Texas Instruments Incorporated

Вам также может понравиться