LM12 80W Operational Amplifier

March 1995

LM12 80W Operational Amplifier

General Description
The LM12 is a power op amp capable of driving g 25V at exceeds 150 C or as the supply voltage approaches the
g 10A while operating from g 30V supplies. The monolithic BVCEO of the output transistors. The IC withstands overvolt-
IC can deliver 80W of sine wave power into a 4X load with ages to 80V.
0.01% distortion. Power bandwidth is 60 kHz. Further, a This monolithic op amp is compensated for unity-gain feed-
peak dissipation capability of 800W allows it to handle reac- back, with a small-signal bandwidth of 700 kHz. Slew rate is
tive loads such as transducers, actuators or small motors 9V/ms, even as a follower. Distortion and capacitive-load
without derating. Important features include: stability rival that of the best designs using complementary
Y input protection
output transistors. Further, the IC withstands large differen-
Y controlled turn on tial input voltages and is well behaved should the common-
Y thermal limiting mode range be exceeded.
Y overvoltage shutdown The LM12 establishes that monolithic ICs can deliver con-
Y output-current limiting siderable output power without resorting to complex switch-
Y dynamic safe-area protection ing schemes. Devices can be paralleled or bridged for even
greater output capability. Applications include operational
The IC delivers g 10A output current at any output voltage
power supplies, high-voltage regulators, high-quality audio
yet is completely protected against overloads, including
amplifiers, tape-head positioners, x-y plotters or other ser-
shorts to the supplies. The dynamic safe-area protection is
vo-control systems.
provided by instantaneous peak-temperature limiting within b
the power transistor array. The LM12 is supplied in a four-lead, TO-3 package with V
on the case. A gold-eutectic die-attach to a molybdenum
The turn-on characteristics are controlled by keeping the
interface is used to avoid thermal fatigue problems. The
output open-circuited until the total supply voltage reaches
LM12 is specified for either military or commercial tempera-
14V. The output is also opened as the case temperature
ture range.

Connection Diagram Typical Application*

4-pin glass epoxy TO-3
socket is available from
AUGAT INC.
Part number 8112-AG7

TL/H/8704 2

TL/H/8704 1 *Low distortion (0.01%) audio amplifier

Bottom View
Order Number LM12CLK
See NS Package Number K04A

C1995 National Semiconductor Corporation TL/H/8704 RRD-B30M115/Printed in U. S. A.

Absolute Maximum Ratings
If Military/Aerospace specified devices are required, Junction Temperature (Note 3)
please contact the National Semiconductor Sales Storage Temperature Range b 65 C to 150 C
Office/Distributors for availability and specifications.
Lead Temperature (Soldering, 10 seconds) 300 C
Total Supply Voltage (Note 1) 80V
Input Voltage (Note 2) Operating Ratings
Output Current Internally Limited Total Supply Voltage 15V to 60V
Case Temperature (Note 4) 0 C to 70 C

Electrical Characteristics (Note 4)

Typ LM12CL
Parameter Conditions Units
25 C Limits
Input Offset Voltage g 10V s VS s g 0.5 VMAX,
2 15/20 mV (max)
VCM e 0
b a
Input Bias Current V a 4V s VCM s V b 2V 0.15 0.7/1.0 mA (max)
b
Input Offset Current V a 4V s VCM s V a b 2V 0.03 0.2/0.3 mA (max)
b
Common Mode V a 4V s VCM s V a b 2V
86 70/65 dB (min)
Rejection
a
Power Supply V e 0.5 VMAX, dB (min)
b 6V t V b t b 0.5 VMAX
90 70/65
Rejection
b
V e b0.5 VMAX,
a s 110 75/70 dB (min)
6V s V 0.5 VMAX
Output Saturation tON e 1 ms,
Threshold DVIN e 5 (10) mV,
IOUT e 1A 1.8 2.2/2.5 V (max)
8A 4 5/7 V (max)
10A 5 V (max)
Large Signal Voltage tON e 2 ms,
Gain VSAT e 2V, IOUT e 0 100 30/20 V/mV (min)
VSAT e 8V, RL e 4X 50 15/10 V/mV (min)
Thermal Gradient PDISS e 50W, tON e 65 ms
30 100 mV/W (max)
Feedback
Output-Current tON e 10 ms, VDISS e 10V 13 16 A (max)
Limit
tON e 100 ms, VDISS e 58V 1.5 0.9/0.6 A (min)
1.5 1.7 A (max)
Power Dissipation tON e 100 ms, VDISS e 20V 100 80/55 W (min)
Rating VDISS e 58V 80 52/35 W (min)
DC Thermal Resistance (Note 5) VDISS e 20V 2.3 2.9 C/W (max)
VDISS e 58V 2.7 4.5 C/W (max)
AC Thermal Resistance (Note 5) 1.6 2.1 C/W (max)
Supply Current VOUT e 0, IOUT e 0 60 120/140 mA (max)
Note 1: Absolute maximum ratings indicate limits beyond which damage to the device may occur. The maximum voltage for which the LM12 is guaranteed to
operate is given in the operating ratings and in Note 4. With inductive loads or output shorts, other restrictions described in applications section apply.
Note 2. Neither input should exceed the supply voltage by more than 50 volts nor should the voltage between one input and any other terminal exceed 60 volts.
Note 3. Operating junction temperature is internally limited near 225 C within the power transistor and 160 C for the control circuitry.
Note 4. The supply voltage is g 30V (VMAX e 60V), unless otherwise specified. The voltage across the conducting output transistor (supply to output) is VDISS and
internal power dissipation is PDISS. Temperature range is 0 C s TC s 70 C where TC is the case temperature. Standard typeface indicates limits at 25 C while
boldface type refers to limits or special conditions over full temperature range. With no heat sink, the package will heat at a rate of 35 C/sec per 100W of
internal dissipation.
Note 5. This thermal resistance is based upon a peak temperature of 200 C in the center of the power transistor and a case temperature of 25 C measured at the
center of the package bottom. The maximum junction temperature of the control circuitry can be estimated based upon a dc thermal resistance of 0.9 C/W or an ac
thermal resistance of 0.6 C/W for any operating voltage.
Although the output and supply leads are resistant to electrostatic discharges from handling, the input leads are not.
The part should be treated accordingly.

2
Output-Transistor Ratings (guaranteed)
Safe Area DC Thermal Resistance Pulse Thermal Resistance

TL/H/8704 3

Typical Performance Characteristics

Pulse Power Limit Pulse Power Limit Peak Output Current

Output Saturation Voltage Large Signal Response Follower Pulse Response

TL/H/8704 4

3
Typical Performance Characteristics (Continued)

Large Signal Gain Thermal Response Total Harmonic Distortion

Frequency Response Output Impedance Power Supply Rejection

Input Bias Current Input Noise Voltage Common Mode Rejection

Supply Current Supply Current Cross-Supply Current

TL/H/8704 5

4
Application Information
GENERAL The current in the supply leads is a rectified component of
the load current. If adequate bypassing is not provided, this
Twenty five years ago the operational amplifier was a spe-
distorted signal can be fed back into internal circuitry. Low
cialized design tool used primarily for analog computation.
distortion at high frequencies requires that the supplies be
However, the availability of low cost IC op amps in the late
bypassed with 470 mF or more, at the package terminals.
1960s prompted their use in rather mundane applications,
replacing a few discrete components. Once a few basic LEAD INDUCTANCE
principles are mastered, op amps can be used to give ex- With ordinary op amps, lead-inductance problems are usual-
ceptionally good results in a wide range of applications ly restricted to supply bypassing. Power op amps are also
while minimizing both cost and design effort. sensitive to inductance in the output lead, particularly with
The availability of a monolithic power op amp now promises heavy capacitive loading. Feedback to the input should be
to extend these advantages to high-power designs. Some taken directly from the output terminal, minimizing common
conventional applications are given here to illustrate op amp inductance with the load. Sensing to a remote load must be
design principles as they relate to power circuitry. The inevi- accompanied by a high-frequency feedback path directly
table fall in prices, as the economies of volume production from the output terminal. Lead inductance can also cause
are realized, will prompt their use in applications that might voltage surges on the supplies. With long leads to the power
now seem trivial. Replacing single power transistors with an source, energy stored in the lead inductance when the out-
op amp will become economical because of improved per- put is shorted can be dumped back into the supply bypass
formance, simplification of attendant circuitry, vastly im- capacitors when the short is removed. The magnitude of
proved fault protection, greater reliability and the reduction this transient is reduced by increasing the size of the bypass
of design time. capacitor near the IC. With 20 mF local bypass, these volt-
Power op amps introduce new factors into the design equa- age surges are important only if the lead length exceeds a
tion. With current transients above 10A, both the inductance couple feet (l 1 mH lead inductance). Twisting together the
and resistance of wire interconnects become important in a supply and ground leads minimizes the effect.
number of ways. Further, power ratings are a crucial factor GROUND LOOPS
in determining performance. But the power capability of the
With fast, high-current circuitry, all sorts of problems can
IC cannot be realized unless it is properly mounted to an
arise from improper grounding. In general, difficulties can be
adequate heat sink. Thus, thermal design is of major impor-
avoided by returning all grounds separately to a common
tance with power op amps.
point. Sometimes this is impractical. When compromising,
This application summary starts off by identifying the origin special attention should be paid to the ground returns for
of strange problems observed while using the LM12 in a the supply bypasses, load and input signal. Ground planes
wide variety of designs with all sorts of fault conditions. A also help to provide proper grounding.
few simple precautions will eliminate these problems. One
Many problems unrelated to system performance can be
would do well to read the section on supply bypassing,
traced to the grounding of line-operated test equipment
lead inductance, output clamp diodes, ground loops
used for system checkout. Hidden paths are particularly dif-
and reactive loading before doing any experimentation.
ficult to sort out when several pieces of test equipment are
Should there be problems with erratic operation, blow-
used but can be minimized by using current probes or the
outs, excessive distortion or oscillation, another look at
new isolated oscilloscope pre-amplifiers. Eliminating any di-
these sections is in order.
rect ground connection between the signal generator and
The management and protection circuitry can also affect the oscilloscope synchronization input solves one common
operation. Should the total supply voltage exceed ratings or problem.
drop below 1520V, the op amp shuts off completely. Case
temperatures above 150 C also cause shut down until the OUTPUT CLAMP DIODES
temperature drops to 145 C. This may take several sec- When a push-pull amplifier goes into power limit while driv-
onds, depending on the thermal system. Activation of the ing an inductive load, the stored energy in the load induc-
dynamic safe-area protection causes both the main feed- tance can drive the output outside the supplies. Although
back loop to lose control and a reduction in output power, the LM12 has internal clamp diodes that can handle several
with possible oscillations. In ac applications, the dynamic amperes for a few milliseconds, extreme conditions can
protection will cause waveform distortion. Since the LM12 is cause destruction of the IC. The internal clamp diodes are
well protected against thermal overloads, the suggestions imperfect in that about half the clamp current flows into the
for determining power dissipation and heat sink require- supply to which the output is clamped while the other half
ments are presented last. flows across the supplies. Therefore, the use of external
diodes to clamp the output to the power supplies is strongly
SUPPLY BYPASSING
recommended. This is particularly important with higher sup-
All op amps should have their supply leads bypassed with ply voltages.
low-inductance capacitors having short leads and located
Experience has demonstrated that hard-wire shorting the
close to the package terminals to avoid spurious oscillation
output to the supplies can induce random failures if these
problems. Power op amps require larger bypass capacitors.
external clamp diodes are not used and the supply voltages
The LM12 is stable with good-quality electrolytic bypass ca-
are above g 20V. Therefore it is prudent to use output-
pacitors greater than 20 mF. Other considerations may re-
quire larger capacitors.

5
Application Information (Continued)
clamp diodes even when the load is not particularly induc- and expected nature of the load, but are not critical. A 4 mH
tive. This also applies to experimental setups in that blow- inductor is obtained with 14 turns of number 18 wire, close
outs have been observed when diodes were not used. In spaced, around a one-inch-diameter form.
packaged equipment, it may be possible to eliminate these
diodes, providing that fault conditions can be controlled.

TL/H/8704 8

The LM12 can be made stable for all loads with a large
TL/H/8704 6 capacitor on the output, as shown above. This compensa-
Heat sinking of the clamp diodes is usually unimportant in tion gives the lowest possible closed-loop output imped-
that they only clamp current transients. Forward drop with ance at high frequencies and the best load-transient re-
15A fault transients is of greater concern. Usually, these sponse. It is appropriate for such applications as voltage
transients die out rapidly. The clamp to the negative supply regulators.
can have somewhat reduced effectiveness under worst A feedback capacitor, C1, is connected directly to the output
case conditions should the forward drop exceed 1.0V. pin of the IC. The output capacitor, C2, is connected at the
Mounting this diode to the power op amp heat sink improves output terminal with short leads. Single-point grounding to
the situation. Although the need has only been demonstrat- avoid dc and ac ground loops is advised.
ed with some motor loads, including a third diode (D3 The impedance, Z1, is the wire connecting the op amp out-
above) will eliminate any concern about the clamp diodes. put to the load capacitor. About 3-inches of number-18 wire
This diode, however, must be capable of dissipating contin- (70 nH) gives good stability and 18-inches (400 nH) begins
uous power as determined by the negative supply current of to degrade load-transient response. The minimum load ca-
the op amp. pacitance is 47 mF, if a solid-tantalum capacitor with an
REACTIVE LOADING equivalent series resistance (ESR) of 0.1X is used. Electro-
The LM12 is normally stable with resistive, inductive or lytic capacitors work as well, although capacitance may
smaller capacitive loads. Larger capacitive loads interact have to be increased to 200 mF to bring ESR below 0.1X.
with the open-loop output resistance (about 1X) to reduce Loop stability is not the only concern when op amps are
the phase margin of the feedback loop, ultimately causing operated with reactive loads. With time-varying signals,
oscillation. The critical capacitance depends upon the feed- power dissipation can also increase markedly. This is partic-
back applied around the amplifier; a unity-gain follower can ularly true with the combination of capacitive loads and
handle about 0.01 mF, while more than 1 mF does not cause high-frequency excitation.
problems if the loop gain is ten. With loop gains greater than
INPUT COMPENSATION
unity, a speedup capacitor across the feedback resistor will
aid stability. In all cases, the op amp will behave predictably The LM12 is prone to low-amplitude oscillation bursts com-
only if the supplies are properly bypassed, ground loops are ing out of saturation if the high-frequency loop gain is near
controlled and high-frequency feedback is derived directly unity. The voltage follower connection is most susceptible.
from the output terminal, as recommended earlier. This glitching can be eliminated at the expense of small-sig-
So-called capacitive loads are not always capacitive. A nal bandwidth using input compensation. Input compensa-
high-Q capacitor in combination with long leads can present tion can also be used in combination with LR load isolation
a series-resonant load to the op amp. In practice, this is not to improve capacitive load stability.
usually a problem; but the situation should be kept in mind.

TL/H/8704 7 TL/H/8704 9

Large capacitive loads (including series-resonant) can be An example of a voltage follower with input compensation is
accommodated by isolating the feedback amplifier from the shown here. The R2C2 combination across the input works
load as shown above. The inductor gives low output imped- with R1 to reduce feedback at high frequencies without
ance at lower frequencies while providing an isolating im- greatly affecting response below 100 kHz. A lead capacitor,
pedance at high frequencies. The resistor kills the Q of se- C1, improves phase margin at the unity-gain crossover fre-
ries resonant circuits formed by capacitive loads. A low in- quency. Proper operation requires that the output imped-
ductance, carbon-composition resistor is recommended. ance of the circuitry driving the follower be well under 1 kX
Optimum values of L and R depend upon the feedback gain at frequencies up to a few hundred kilohertz.

6
Application Information (Continued)
equalization resistors. More output buffers, with individual
equalization resistors, may be added to meet even higher
drive requirements.

TL/H/8704 10

Extending input compensation to the integrator connection

is shown here. Both the follower and this integrator will han-
dle 1 mF capacitive loading without LR output isolation.
TL/H/8704 13
CURRENT DRIVE This connection allows increased output capability without
requiring a separate control amplifier. The output buffer, A2,
R2 VIN provides load current through R5 equal to that supplied by
IOUT e
R1 R6 the main amplifier, A1, through R4. Again, more output buff-
ers can be added.
Current sharing among paralleled amplifiers can be affected
by gain error as the power-bandwidth limit is approached. In
the first circuit, the operating current increase will depend
upon the matching of high-frequency characteristics. In the
second circuit, however, the entire input error of A2 appears
across R4 and R5. The supply current increase can cause
power limiting to be activated as the slew limit is ap-
proached. This will not damage the LM12. It can be avoided
TL/H/8704 11
in both cases by connecting A1 as an inverting amplifier and
This circuit provides an output current proportional to the restricting bandwidth with C1.
input voltage. Current drive is sometimes preferred for servo
motors because it aids in stabilizing the servo loop by reduc- SINGLE-SUPPLY OPERATION
ing phase lag caused by motor inductance. In applications
requiring high output resistance, such as operational power
supplies running in the current mode, matching of the feed-
back resistors to 0.01% is required. Alternately, an adjusta-
ble resistor can be used for trimming.
PARALLEL OPERATION

TL/H/8704 14

Although op amps are usually operated from dual supplies,

single-supply operation is practical. This bridge amplifier
TL/H/8704 12 supplies bi-directional current drive to a servo motor while
Output drive beyond the capability of one power amplifier operating from a single positive supply. The output is easily
can be provided as shown here. The power op amps are converted to voltage drive by shorting R6 and connecting
wired as followers and connected in parallel with the out- R7 to the output of A2, rather than A1.
puts coupled through equalization resistors. A standard, Either input may be grounded, with bi-directional drive pro-
high-voltage op amp is used to provide voltage gain. Overall vided to the other. It is also possible to connect one input to
feedback compensates for the voltage dropped across the a positive reference, with the input signal varying about this
equalization resistors. voltage. If the reference voltage is above 5V, R2 and R3 are
With parallel operation, there may be an increase in unload- not required.
ed supply current related to the offset voltage across the

7
Application Information (Continued)
HIGH VOLTAGE AMPLIFIERS

TL/H/8704 15
TL/H/8704 16
The voltage swing delivered to the load can be doubled by
using the bridge connection shown here. Output clamping to One limitation of the standard bridge connection is that the
the supplies can be provided by using a bridge-rectifier as- load cannot be returned to ground. This can be circumvent-
sembly. ed by operating the bridge with floating supplies, as shown
above. For single-ended drive, either input can be ground-
ed.

TL/H/8704 17

This circuit shows how two amplifiers can be cascaded to double output swing. The advantage over the bridge is that the output
can be increased with any number of stages, although separate supplies are required for each.

TL/H/8704 18

Discrete transistors can be used to increase output drive to g 70V at g 10A as shown above. With proper thermal design, the IC
will provide safe-area protection for the external transistors. Voltage gain is about thirty.

8
Application Information (Continued)
OPERATIONAL POWER SUPPLY

Note: Supply voltages for the

LM318s are g 15V

TL/H/8704 19

External current limit can be provided for a power op amp as shown above. The positive and negative current limits can be set
precisely and independently. Fast response is assured by D1 and D2. Adjustment range can be set down to zero with potentiom-
eters R3 and R7. Alternately, the limit can be programmed from a voltage supplied to R2 and R6. This is the set up required for
an operational power supply or voltage-programmable power source.

SERVO AMPLIFIERS
When making servo systems with a power op amp, there is
a temptation to use it for frequency shaping to stabilize the
servo loop. Sometimes this works; other times there are
better ways; and occasionally it just doesnt fly. Usually its a
matter of how quickly and to what accuracy the servo must
stabilize.

TL/H/8704 21

This position servo uses an op amp to develop the rate

signal electrically instead of using a tachometer. In high-per-
formance servos, rate signals must be developed with large
error signals well beyond saturation of the motor drive. Us-
ing a separate op amp with a feedback clamp allows the
TL/H/8704 20 rate signal to be developed properly with position errors
This motor/tachometer servo gives an output speed propor- more than an order of magnitude beyond the loop-satura-
tional to input voltage. A low-level op amp is used for fre- tion level as long as the photodiode sensors are positioned
quency shaping while the power op amp provides current with this in mind.
drive to the motor. Current drive eliminates loop phase shift
due to motor inductance and makes high-performance ser-
vos easier to stabilize.

9
Application Information (Continued)
VOLTAGE REGULATORS REMOTE SENSING

TL/H/8704 24
TL/H/8704 22
Remote sensing as shown above allows the op amp to cor-
An op amp can be used as a positive or negative regulator.
rect for dc drops in cables connecting the load. Even so,
Unlike most regulators, it can sink current to absorb energy
cable drop will affect transient response. Degradation can
dumped back into the output. This positive regulator has a
be minimized by using twisted, heavy-gauge wires on the
050V output range.
output line. Normally, common and one input are connected
together at the sending end.
AUDIO AMPLIFIERS

TL/H/8704 25

A power amplifier suitable for use in high-quality audio

equipment is shown above. Harmonic distortion is about
TL/H/8704 23
0.01-percent. Intermodulation distortion (60 Hz/7 kHz, 4:1)
Dual supplies are not required to use an op amp as a volt- measured 0.015-percent. Transient response and saturation
age regulator if zero output is not required. This 4V to 50V recovery are clean, and the 9 V/ms slew rate of the LM12
regulator operates from a single supply. Should the op amp virtually eliminates transient intermodulation distortion. Us-
not be able to absorb enough energy to control an overvolt- ing separate amplifiers to drive low- and high-frequency
age condition, a SCR will crowbar the output. speakers gets rid of high-level crossover networks and at-
tenuators. Further, it prevents clipping on the low-frequency
channel from distorting the high frequencies.

10
Application Information (Continued)
DETERMINING MAXIMUM DISSIPATION
It is a simple matter to establish power requirements for an audio applications. The peak dissipation of each transistor is
op amp driving a resistive load at frequencies well below about four times average. In ac applications, power capabili-
10 Hz. Maximum dissipation occurs when the output is at ty is often limited by the peak ratings of the power transistor.
one-half the supply voltage with high-line conditions. The The pulse thermal resistance of the LM12 is specified for
individual output transistors must be rated to handle this constant power pulse duration. Establishing an exact equiv-
power continuously at the maximum expected case temper- alency between constant-power pulses and those encoun-
ature. The power rating is limited by the maximum junction tered in practice is not easy. However, for sine waves, rea-
temperature as determined by sonable estimates can be made at any frequency by assum-
TJ e TC a PDISS iJC, ing a constant power pulse amplitude given by:
VS2
(
where TC is the case temperature as measured at the cen-
ter of the package bottom, PDISS is the maximum power PPK j 1-cos (w i) ,
2ZL
dissipation and iJC is the thermal resistance at the operat-
where w e 60 and i is the absolute value of the phase
ing voltage of the output transistor. Recommended maxi-
angle of ZL. Equivalent pulse width is tON j 0.4u for i e 0
mum junction temperatures are 200 C within the power tran-
and tON j 0.2u for i t 20 , where u is the period of the
sistor and 150 C for the control circuitry.
output waveform.
If there is ripple on the supply bus, it is valid to use the
average value in worst-case calculations as long as the DISSIPATION DRIVING MOTORS
peak rating of the power transistor is not exceeded at the A motor with a locked rotor looks like an inductance in se-
ripple peak. With 120 Hz ripple, this is 1.5 times the continu- ries with a resistance, for purposes of determining driver
ous power rating. dissipation. With slow-response servos, the maximum signal
Dissipation requirements are not so easily established with amplitude at frequencies where motor inductance is signifi-
time varying output signals, especially with reactive loads. cant can be so small that motor inductance does not have
Both peak and continuous dissipation ratings must be taken to be taken into account. If this is the case, the motor can
into account, and these depend on the signal waveform as be treated as a simple, resistive load as long as the rotor
well as load characteristics. speed is low enough that the back emf is small by compari-
son to the supply voltage of the driver transistor.
With a sine wave output, analysis is fairly straightforward.
With supply voltages of g VS, the maximum average power A permanent-magnet motor can build up a back emf that is
dissipation of both output transistors is equal to the output swing of the op amp driving it. Reversing
this motor from full speed requires the output drive transis-
2VS2
PMAX e , i k 40 ; tor to operate, initially, along a loadline based upon the mo-
q2 ZLcosi tor resistance and total supply voltage. Worst case, this
and loadline will have to be within the continuous dissipation
VS2 4 rating of the drive transistor; but system dynamics may per-
PMAX e
2ZL q (
b cosi , i t 40 , mit taking advantage of the higher pulse ratings. Motor in-
ductance can cause added stress if system response is
where ZL is the magnitude of the load impedance and i its fast.
phase angle. Maximum average dissipation occurs below
maximum output swing for i k 40 . Shunt- and series-wound motors can generate back emfs
that are considerably more than the total supply voltage,
resulting in even higher peak dissipation than a permanent-
magnet motor having the same locked-rotor resistance.
VOLTAGE REGULATOR DISSIPATION
The pass transistor dissipation of a voltage regulator is easi-
ly determined in the operating mode. Maximum continuous
dissipation occurs with high line voltage and maximum load
current. As discussed earlier, ripple voltage can be aver-
aged if peak ratings are not exceeded; however, a higher
average voltage will be required to insure that the pass tran-
sistor does not saturate at the ripple minimum.
Conditions during start-up can be more complex. If the input
voltage increases slowly such that the regulator does not go
into current limit charging output capacitance, there are no
problems. If not, load capacitance and load characteristics
TL/H/8704 26 must be taken into account. This is also the case if automat-
ic restart is required in recovering from overloads.
The instantaneous power dissipation over the conducting
half cycle of one output transistor is shown here. Power Automatic restart or start-up with fast-rising input voltages
dissipation is near zero on the other half cycle. The output cannot be guaranteed unless the continuous dissipation rat-
level is that resulting in maximum peak and average dissipa- ing of the pass transistor is adequate to supply the load
tion. Plots are given for a resistive and a series RL load. The current continuously at all voltages below the regulated out-
latter is representative of a 4X loudspeaker operating below put voltage. In this regard, the LM12 performs much better
resonance and would be the worst case condition in most than IC regulators using foldback current limit, especially
with high-line input voltage above 20V.

11
Application Information (Continued)
POWER LIMITING case temperature is almost entirely dependent on heat sink
design and the mounting of the IC to the heat sink.

TL/H/8704 27

Should the power ratings of the LM12 be exceeded, dynam-

ic safe-area protection is activated. Waveforms with this
power limiting are shown for the LM12 driving g 26V at
30 Hz into 3X in series with 24 mH (i e 45 ). With an
TL/H/8704 28
inductive load, the output clamps to the supplies in power
limit, as above. With resistive loads, the output voltage The design of heat sink is beyond the scope of this work.
drops in limit. Behavior with more complex RCL loads is Convection-cooled heat sinks are available commercially,
between these extremes. and their manufacturers should be consulted for ratings.
The preceding figure is a rough guide for temperature rise
Secondary thermal limit is activated should the case tem- as a function of fin area (both sides) available for convection
perature exceed 150 C. This thermal limit shuts down the IC cooling.
completely (open output) until the case temperature drops
to about 145 C. Recovery may take several seconds. Proper mounting of the IC is required to minimize the ther-
mal drop between the package and the heat sink. The heat
POWER SUPPLIES sink must also have enough metal under the package to
Power op amps do not require regulated supplies. However, conduct heat from the center of the package bottom to the
the worst-case output power is determined by the low-line fins without excessive temperature drop.
supply voltage in the ripple trough. The worst-case power A thermal grease such as Wakefield type 120 or Thermalloy
dissipation is established by the average supply voltage with Thermacote should be used when mounting the package to
high-line conditions. The loss in power output that can be the heat sink. Without this compound, thermal resistance
guaranteed is the square of the ratio of these two voltages. will be no better than 0.5 C/W, and probably much worse.
Relatively simple off-line switching power supplies can pro- With the compound, thermal resistance will be 0.2 C/W or
vide voltage conversion, line isolation and 5-percent regula- less, assuming under 0.005 inch combined flatness runout
tion while reducing size and weight. for the package and heat sink. Proper torquing of the
The regulation against ripple and line variations can provide mounting bolts is important. Four to six inch-pounds is rec-
a substantial increase in the power output that can be guar- ommended.
b
anteed under worst-case conditions. In addition, switching Should it be necessary to isolate V from the heat sink, an
power supplies can convert low-voltage power sources insulating washer is required. Hard washers like berylium
such as automotive batteries up to regulated, dual, high- oxide, anodized aluminum and mica require the use of ther-
voltage supplies optimized for powering power op amps. mal compound on both faces. Two-mil mica washers are
most common, giving about 0.4 C/W interface resistance
HEAT SINKING with the compound. Silicone-rubber washers are also avail-
A semiconductor manufacturer has no control over heat able. A 0.5 C/W thermal resistance is claimed without ther-
sink design. Temperature rating can only be based upon mal compound. Experience has shown that these rubber
case temperature as measured at the center of the package washers deteriorate and must be replaced should the IC be
bottom. With power pulses of longer duration than 100 ms, dismounted.
Isostrate insulating pads for four-lead TO-3 packages are
available from Power Devices, Inc. Thermal grease is not
required, and the insulators should not be reused.

12
Definition of Terms
Input offset voltage: The absolute value of the voltage Thermal gradient feedback: The input offset voltage
between the input terminals with the output voltage and cur- change caused by thermal gradients generated by heating
rent at zero. of the output transistors, but not the package. This effect is
Input bias current: The absolute value of the average of delayed by several milliseconds and results in increased
the two input currents with the output voltage and current at gain error below 100 Hz.
zero. Output-current limit: The output current with a fixed output
Input offset current: The absolute value of the difference voltage and a large input overdrive. The limiting current
in the two input currents with the output voltage and current drops with time once the protection circuitry is activated.
at zero. Power dissipation rating: The power that can be dissipat-
Common-mode rejection: The ratio of the input voltage ed for a specified time interval without activating the protec-
range to the change in offset voltage between the ex- tion circuitry. For time intervals in excess of 100 ms, dissipa-
tremes. tion capability is determined by heat sinking of the IC pack-
age rather than by the IC itself.
Supply-voltage rejection: The ratio of the specified sup-
ply-voltage change to the change in offset voltage between Thermal resistance: The peak, junction-temperature rise,
the extremes. per unit of internal power dissipation, above the case tem-
perature as measured at the center of the package bottom.
Output saturation threshold: The output swing limit for a
specified input drive beyond that required for zero output. It The dc thermal resistance applies when one output transis-
is measured with respect to the supply to which the output is tor is operating continuously. The ac thermal resistance ap-
swinging. plies with the output transistors conducting alternately at a
high enough frequency that the peak capability of neither
Large signal voltage gain: The ratio of the output voltage
transistor is exceeded.
swing to the differential input voltage required to drive the
output from zero to either swing limit. The output swing limit Supply current: The current required from the power
is the supply voltage less a specified quasi-saturation volt- source to operate the amplifier with the output voltage and
age. A pulse of short enough duration to minimize thermal current at zero.
effects is used as a measurement signal.

Equivalent Schematic (excluding active protection circuitry)

TL/H/8704 29

13
LM12 80W Operational Amplifier
Physical Dimensions inches (millimeters)

4-Lead TO-3 Steel Package (K)

Order Number LM12CLK
NS Package Number K04A

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This file is the datasheet for the following electronic components:

LM12 - http://www.ti.com/product/lm12?HQS=TI-null-null-dscatalog-df-pf-null-wwe