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INA333: capacitive load capability - dealing with capacitances around 1nF

Part Number: INA333
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: OPA335

INA333 has relatively CL capacitance - datasheet states CL=500pF.

I've found that using 1n - even with serial resistor of 1k doesn't always lead to stable output. Some parts show oscillations and some not - it's hard to tell.

I've tested several serial resistor values but when some parts were stable with this 1n/1k setup - other were oscillating even with 1n/4k7.

I'd rather not to use such high resistances in my application so the question arises - what distribution of stability I should expect.
The output is at 1,2V at it's max (that's the reference value for AD7706 converter in my application).

For the parts that tend to oscillate at 1n/1k setup, I've tested limiting the CL and I've found that I'd had to go even below 300pF.
That is a bit too much reduction for me (looking at the AD converter requirements).

So my question is - what solution I could use to be sure that my circuit will not oscillate at some combination of input signal/temperature ?

I understand that my 1nF is twice as CL max of 500pF however 1k separation value is quite large resistance I think.

In the INA333 datasheet there is an application with CL exceeding 1nF - together with 10k serial resistor but as I said I'd rather not use such large values (again - ADC specification).

  • Hello Andrew,

    the reason for the instability with a load capacitance of 1nF and an isolation resistance of 1kohm is that load crosses the amplifiers output impedance (Zout) at approximately 60kHz.  At the point of intersection, the load is capacitive and Zout is inductive (+20dB/dec slope) and the 1kohm does not take effect until after the intersection.  The plot below is silicon measured data and shows the output impedance peaks at about 7.5kohms when it starts to flatten around 220kHz.  This is why the datasheet recommends a high isolation resistor of 10kohms.  I have attached an application note that explains this in more detail to this thread.

    Also, depending on the converter the IA may not be able to drive the ADC without another op amp such as OPA335 shown in the INA333 application circuit example.  There is away to model the converter interfaced with an IA or op amp and simulate the error.  I have attached a link below that demonstrates how to do this in TINATI. 

    Closed-Loop Analysis of Load-Induced Amplifier Stability Issues Using Zout.pdf

    Best regards,

    Errol Leon

    Texas Instruments

    Precision Amplifiers Application Engineer