
NCS21911, NCV21911, NCS21912, NCV21912, NCS21914, NCV21914
www.onsemi.com
13
APPLICATION INFORMATION
Overview
The NCS21911, NCS21912, and NCS21914 precision op
amps provide low offset voltage and zero drift over
temperature. With a maximum offset voltage of 25 mV and
input common mode voltage range that includes ground, the
NCS21911 series is well−suited for applications where
precision is required, such as low side current sensing and
interfacing with sensors.
The NCS21911 series of amplifiers uses a
chopper−stabilized architecture, which provides the
advantage of minimizing offset voltage drift over
temperature and time. The simplified block diagram is
shown in Figure 41. Unlike the classical chopper
architecture, the chopper stabilized architecture has two
signal paths.
+
−
−
+
+
−+−
IN+
IN−
OUT
RC notch filterChopper
Chopper
Main amp
Figure 41. Simplified NCS21911 Block Diagram
RC notch filter
In Figure 41, the lower signal path is where the chopper
samples the input offset voltage, which is then used to
correct the offset at the output. The offset correction occurs
at a frequency of 250 kHz. The chopper−stabilized
architecture is optimized for best performance at
frequencies up to the related Nyquist frequency (1/2 of the
offset correction frequency). As the signal frequency
exceeds the Nyquist frequency, 125 kHz, aliasing may occur
at the output. This is an inherent limitation of all chopper and
chopper−stabilized architectures. Nevertheless, the
NCS21911 series op amps have minimal aliasing up to
200 kHz and are less susceptible to aliasing effects when
compared to competitor parts from other manufacturers.
ON Semiconductor’s patented approach utilizes two
cascaded, symmetrical, RC notch filters tuned to the
chopper frequency and its fifth harmonic to reduce aliasing
effects.
The chopper−stabilized architecture also benefits from
the feed−forward path, which is shown as the upper signal
path of the block diagram in Figure 41. This is the high speed
signal path that extends the gain bandwidth up to 2 MHz. Not
only does this help retain high frequency components of the
input signal, but it also improves the loop gain at low
frequencies. This is especially useful for low−side current
sensing and sensor interface applications where the signal is
low frequency and the differential voltage is relatively
small.
Application Circuits
Low−Side Current Sensing
Low−side current sensing is used to monitor the current
through a load. This method can be used to detect
over−current conditions and is often used in feedback
control, as shown in Figure 42. A sense resistor is placed in
series with the load to ground. Typically, the value of the
sense resistor is less than 100 mW to reduce power loss
across the resistor. The op amp amplifies the voltage drop
across the sense resistor with a gain set by external resistors
R1, R2, R3, and R4 (where R1 = R2, R3 = R4). Precision
resistors are required for high accuracy, and the gain is set
to utilize the full scale of the ADC for the highest resolution.