
PRODUCT SPECIFICATION
TMC1173A/TMC1273
12
P
Applications Discussion
The circuit in Figure 12 employs a band-gap reference to 
generate a variable RT reference voltages for the 
TMC1173A/1273 as well as a bias voltage to offset the 
inverting wideband input amplifier to mid-range. An "offset 
adjust" is also shown for varying the mid-range voltage level. 
The operational amplifier in the reference circuitry is a 
standard 741-type.
The voltage reference at R
T
 can be adjusted from 0.0 to 2.4 
volts while R
B
 is grounded. Diodes are used to restrict the 
wideband amplifier output to between -0.7V and V
DD
+0.7V. Diode protection is good practice to limit the analog 
input voltage at V
IN
 to the safe operating range.
The circuit in Figure 13 shows self-bias of R
T
 and R
B
 by 
connection to VR+ and VR-. This sets up a 0.4 to 1.7 Volt 
input range for V
IN
. The input range is susceptible to power 
supply variation since the voltages on R
T
 and R
B
 are directly 
derived from V
DDA
. The video input is AC-coupled and 
biased at a adjustable midpoint of the A/D input range. This 
circuit offers the advantage of minimum support 
circuitry for the most cost-sensitive applications. 
In Figure 14, an external band-gap reference sets R
T
 to +1.2 
Volts while R
B
 is grounded. The internal pull-up resistor, 
R+, provides the bias current for the band-gap reference. The 
A/D converter input is biased to the mid-point of the input 
range.
Grounding
The TMC1173A/1273 has separate analog and digital 
circuits. To keep digital system noise from the A/D 
converter, it is recommended that power supply voltages 
(V
DDD
 and V
DDA
) come from the same source, and that 
ground connections (D
GND
 and A
GND
) be made to the ana-
log ground plane. Power supply pins should be individually 
decoupled at the pin. The digital circuitry that gets its input 
from the TMC1173A/1273 should be referred to the system 
digital ground plane.
Printed Circuit Board Layout
Designing with high performance mixed-signal circuits 
demands printed circuits with ground planes. Wire-wrap is 
likely to degrade performance. Overall system performance 
is strongly influenced by the board layout. Capacitive cou-
pling from digital to analog circuits may result in poor A/D 
conversion. Consider the following suggestions when doing 
the layout:
1.
Keep the critical analog traces (V
IN
, R
T
, R
B
, VR+, VR-) 
as short as possible and as far as possible from all digital 
signals. The TMC1173A/1273 should be located near 
the board edge, close to the analog input connectors.
2.
The power plane for the TMC1173A/1273 should be 
separate from that which supplies the rest of the digital 
circuitry. A single power plane should be used for all of 
the V
DD
 pins. If the power supply for the TMC1173A/
1273 is the same as that of the system's digital circuitry, 
power to the TMC1173A/1273 should be decoupled 
with ferrite beads and 0.1
m
F capacitors to reduce noise.
3.
The ground plane should be solid, not cross-hatched. 
Connections to the ground plane should have very short 
leads.
4.
Decoupling capacitors should be applied liberally to 
V
DD
 pins. Remember that not all power supply pins are 
created equal. They supply different circuits on the inte-
grated circuit, each of which generate varying amounts 
and types of noise. For best results, use 0.1
m
F ceramic 
capacitors. Lead lengths should be minimized. Ceramic 
chip capacitors are the best choice.
5.
If the digital power supply has a dedicated power plane 
layer, it should not be placed under the TMC1173A/
1273, the voltage reference, or the analog inputs. Capac-
itive coupling of digital power supply noise from this 
layer to the TMC1173A/1273 and its related analog cir-
cuitry can have an adverse effect on performance.
6.
CONV should be handled carefully. Jitter and noise on 
this clock may degrade performance. Terminate the 
clock line carefully to eliminate overshoot and ringing.
Evaluation Board
An evaluation board is available that implements good inter-
face practices and provide a convenient testbed for develop-
ing system applications and circuit variations. An on-board 
D/A converter is provided to reconstruct the digitized signal 
and to evaluate converter performance.
Contact your sales representative for information.