
Tripath Technology, Inc. - Technical Information
output during high power operation.
R118 and R119 are gate pull down resistors to ensure the output FETs remain off if VPP and
n and the TA3020 is not powered on. 499kΩ is the ideal value for these
es of R118 and R119 can cause the gate of the output FETs to float and
lel for the purposes of higher current handling capability and improved power
issipation. (Note: Bridged RBTA3020-1 does not have M101 and M103 and it’s associated
components because it has a lower power output) The devices used on the evaluation board are
STW34NB20 MOSFETs. The TA3020 data sheet contains information on output FET selection as
well as Tripath application notes “FETs – Selection and Efficiency” and “Designing with Switching
Amplifiers for Performance and Reliability”.
The output filter L100/C114 is the low-pass filter that recovers the analog audio signal. One of the
benefits of the Class-T design is the ability to use output filters with relatively high cutoff
frequencies. This greatly reduces the speaker interactions that can occur with the use of lower-
frequency filters common in Class-D designs. Also, the higher-frequency operation means that
the filter can be of a lower order (simpler and less costly).
The OEM may benefit from some experimentation in the filter design, but the values provided in
the reference design, 11uH, 0.1uF, 0.22uF (nominal resonant frequency of 65kHz), provide
excellent results for most loads between 2Ω and 4Ω. Figure 10 below shows the SPICE simultion
results for the output filter used on the Bridged RB-TA3020-3 board with a 4Ω load. Figure 11
below shows the SPICE simulation results for the output filter used on the Bridged RB-TA3020-3
board with a 2Ω load. The Y axis of the graph is in units of dB referred to 1V. The X axis of the
graph is in units of Hz. All of the Bridged RB-TA3020-X boards will have the same frequency
response, however the gains will be different.
The gate resistors (labeled R113, R114, R120, and R121 in Figure 9 and the attached schematic)
are used to control MOSFET switching rise/fall mes and thereby minimize voltage overshoots.
They also dissipate a portion of the power resu ng from moving the gate charge each time the
MOSFET is switched. If RG is too small, excessive heat can be generated in the driver. Large
gate resistors lead to slower gate transitions res
larger BBM setting.
The gate diodes (D104, D105, D106, D107) are used to reduce the fall time at the gate of the
output FETs. This allows us to use the 5.6Ω gate resistor, which increases the rise time of the
gate, reduces switching noise at the output FETs and reduce the overall noise floor of the amplifier.
The source resistors (R124, R125, R126, R127) are recommended to protect the TA3020 from
any overvoltage damage. The source resistors p ovide protection to the HO1COM and LO1COM
pins due to the large overshoots and undershoots of the switching waveform that can occur at the
ti
lti
ulting in longer rise/fall times and thus requiring a
r
VNN are powered o
resistors. Larger valu
smaller values of R118 and R119 will affect the drive capabilities of the HO1 and LO1 pins.
The output FETs (M100, M101, M200 and M201) provide the switching function required of a
Class-T design. They are driven directly by the TA3020 through the gate resistors. M100 and
M102 are placed in parallel and provide the high side drive of the output stage. M101 and M103
are in parallel and provide the low side drive of the output stage. The FETs are required to be
placed in paral
d
Bridged RB-TA3020-1-3 – MC/1.0/06-01, EAD003
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