I am working with the ads5463 on a project in which our team is trying to digitize a lightning signal. We currently have had trouble implementing the ADC into our design. Our first problem is that the part heats up to an alarming temperature very quickly. Due to an oversight, the array of vias under the component for heat sinking purposes was not attached to a plane on the board. However, steps were taken after manufacturing to attach a heat sink to the part. Unfortunately, the part still heats up very quickly. We have checked all of the power and ground connections at the schematic level, and everything appears to be connected as it should be. We have two aspects of our design that we suspect might be responsible for our heating problem. First, we have not been able to verify that we are producing a proper clock signal for the ADC. Secondly, it was suggested to us that we should bias our differential input with the reference voltage of the ads5463; however, it is unclear in the documentation whether this is necessary. In some sections of the datasheet and other technical material, it appears that the input is being biased. In other sections, this idea of biasing the input does not appear to be addressed at all. We have contacted the technical support staff of TI, but they were unable to provide answers for these problems. They suggested that we contact engineers through this forum. If you can help answer these questions, we would be very grateful.
Thanks,
Matt
