
APPLICATION NOTES
CURRENT LIMIT 
(SEE TYPICAL CONNECTION DIAGRAM)
   A value of current limit resistance can be calculated as fol-
lows:
SAFE OPERATING AREA (SOA)
   The MOSFET output stage of this power operational ampli-
fier has two distinct limitations:
1.  The current handling capability of the die metallization.
2.  The junction temperature of the output MOSFET's.
   NOTE: The output stage is protected against transient flyback.
However, for protection against sustained, high energy flyback,
external fast-recovery reverse biased diodes should be connected
from the output to ground.
V
R
=I
   R
CL
   *
R
CL
=(0.83 - (0.0   *
CL
)) / I
CL
Where:
     R
CL
 is the current limit resistor value
     I
CL
 is the current limit
     0.0   *
CL
 is the voltage dropped in the current limit path
      across internal impedances other than the actual current
      limit resistor
      0.83 volts is the voltage drop that must be developed across
      the current limit connections to activate the current limit
      circuit
The maximum practical value of current limit resistance is 16
ohms.  The current limit resistor will decrease available output
voltage swing in the following manner:
V
R
 is the reduction in output voltage swing due to the current
limit resistor.  It is recommended the user limit output current
to a value as close to the required output current as possible,
without clipping output voltage swing.  Current limit will vary
with case temperature.  Refer to the typical performance curves
to predict current limit drift.  If current limit is not required
replace the resistor with a short.
STABILITY
TYPICAL CONNECTION DIAGRAM
A 0.1 microfarad ceramic disc and low ESR capacitor with a
value of 10 microfarads per amp of output current should be
placed in parallel from each power supply pin to ground.  These
capacitors must be rated for the full power supply voltage.
Since the MSK 154 is commonly used in circuits where the
loop gain is greater than 10 V/V,  high frequency noise that
enters the op-amp through the power supply lines will be am-
plified and could cause the amplifier to break into oscillation.
In addition, without supply bypassing, the inductance of the
power supply lines interacts with capacitive loads to form an
oscillatory LC tank circuit.  The power supply decoupling ca-
pacitors will minimize this effect and keep the circuit stable.
POWER SUPPLY DECOUPLING
   Input protection circuitry within the MSK 154 will clip differ-
ential input voltages greater than 16 volts.  The inputs are also
protected against common mode voltages up to the supply rails
as well as static discharge.  There are 300 ohm current limiting
resistors in series with each input.  These resistors may be-
come damaged in the event the input overload is capable of
driving currents above 1mA.  If severe overload conditions are
expected, external input current limiting resistors are recom-
mended.
INPUT PROTECTION
   It is recommended that the parallel sum of the input and feed-
back resistor be 1000 ohms or less to minimize phase shift
caused by the R-C network formed by the input resistor, feed-
back resistor and input capacitance.  An effective method of
checking amplifier stability is to apply the worst case capaci-
tive load to the output of the amplifier and drive a small signal
square wave across it.  If overshoot is less than 25%, the
system will typically be stable.
Rev. B  7/00
3