Data Sheet

ADA4857-1/ADA4857-2

Rev. D | Page 19 of 21

NOISE

To analyze the noise performance of an amplifier circuit, identify

the noise sources and determine if the source has a significant

contribution to the overall noise performance of the amplifier.

To simplify the noise calculations, noise spectral densities were

used rather than actual voltages to leave bandwidth out of the

expressions (noise spectral density, which is generally expressed

in nV/Hz, is equivalent to the noise in a 1 Hz bandwidth).

The noise model shown in Figure 57 has six individual noise

sources: the Johnson noise of the three resistors, the operational

amplifier voltage noise, and the current noise in each input of the

amplifier. Each noise source has its own contribution to the noise

at the output. Noise is generally referred to input (RTI), but it is

often easier to calculate the noise referred to the output (RTO)

and then divide by the noise gain to obtain the RTI noise.

Figure 57. Operational Amplifier Noise Analysis Model

All resistors have Johnson noise that is calculated by

)

4

( kBTR

where:

k is Boltzmann’s Constant (1.38 × 10–23 J/K).

B is the bandwidth in Hertz.

T is the absolute temperature in Kelvin.

R is the resistance in ohms.

A simple relationship that is easy to remember is that a 50 Ω

resistor generates a Johnson noise of 1 nV/Hz at 25°C.

In applications where noise sensitivity is critical, care must

be taken not to introduce other significant noise sources to

the amplifier. Each resistor is a noise source. Attention to the

following areas is critical to maintain low noise performance:

design, layout, and component selection. A summary of noise

performance for the amplifier and associated resistors can be

seen in Table 9.

CIRCUIT CONSIDERATIONS

Careful and deliberate attention to detail when laying out the

ADA4857 board yields optimal performance. Power supply

bypassing, parasitic capacitance, and component selection all

contribute to the overall performance of the amplifier.

PCB LAYOUT

Because the ADA4857 can operate up to 850 MHz, it is essential

that RF board layout techniques be employed. All ground and

power planes under the pins of the ADA4857 must be cleared of

copper to prevent the formation of parasitic capacitance between

the input pins to ground and the output pins to ground. A single

mounting pad on the SOIC footprint can add as much as 0.2 pF

of capacitance to ground if the ground plane is not cleared from

under the mounting pads. The low distortion pinout of the

ADA4857 increases the separation distance between the inputs

and the supply pins, which improves the second harmonics. In

addition, the feedback pin reduces the distance between the output

and the inverting input of the amplifier, which helps minimize

the parasitic inductance and capacitance of the feedback path,

reducing ringing and peaking.

POWER SUPPLY BYPASSING

Power supply bypassing for the ADA4857 was optimized for

frequency response and distortion performance. Figure 49 shows

the recommended values and location of the bypass capacitors. The

0.1 μF bypassing capacitors must be placed as close as possible to

the supply pins. Power supply bypassing is critical for stability,

frequency response, distortion, and PSR performance. The

capacitor between the two supplies helps improve PSR and

distortion performance. The 10 μF electrolytic capacitors must be

close to the 0.1 μF capacitors; however, it is not as critical. In some

cases, additional paralleled capacitors can help improve frequency

and transient response.

GROUNDING

Ground and power planes must be used where possible. Ground

and power planes reduce the resistance and inductance of the

power planes and ground returns. The returns for the input, output

terminations, bypass capacitors, and RG must all be kept as close to

the ADA4857 as possible. The output load ground and the bypass

capacitor grounds must be returned to the same point on the

ground plane to minimize parasitic trace inductance, ringing, and

overshoot and to improve distortion performance. The ADA4857

LFSCP packages feature an exposed paddle. For optimum electrical

and thermal performance, solder this paddle to the ground plane

or the power plane. For more information on high speed circuit

design, see A Practical Guide to High-Speed Printed-Circuit-

Board Layout at www.analog.com.

GAIN FROM

B TO OUTPUT

= – R2

R1

GAIN FROM

A TO OUTPUT

=

NOISE GAIN =

NG = 1 +

IN–

VN

VN, R1

VN, R3

R1

R2

IN+

R3

4kTR2

4kTR1

4kTR3

VN, R2

B

A

VN2 + 4kTR3 + 4kTR1

R2

2

R1 + R2

IN+2R32 + IN–2

R1 × R2

2

+ 4kTR2

R1

2

R1 + R2

R1 + R2

RTI NOISE =

RTO NOISE = NG × RTI NOISE

VOUT

+

R2

R1