
TPA3000D1
SLOS379A
–
SEPTEMBER 2001
–
REVISED JANUARY 2002
15
www.ti.com
APPLICATION INFORMATION
input resistance
Each gain setting is achieved by varying the input resistance of the amplifier, which can range from its smallest
value to over six times that value. As a result, if a single capacitor is used in the input high-pass filter, the
–
3 dB
or cutoff frequency also changes by over six times.
Ci
IN
Zi
Zf
Input
Signal
The
–
3-dB frequency can be calculated using equation 5.
(5)
f
1
2 Z
i
C
i
input capacitor, C
i
In the typical application an input capacitor (C
i
) is required to allow the amplifier to bias the input signal to the
proper dc level for optimum operation. In this case, C
i
and the input impedance of the amplifier (Z
i
) form a
high-pass filter with the corner frequency determined in equation 6.
f
c
1
2 Z
i
C
i
–
3 dB
fc
(6)
The value of C
i
is important, as it directly affects the bass (low frequency) performance of the circuit. Consider
the example where Z
i
is 241 k
and the specification calls for a flat bass response down to 20 Hz. Equation 6
is reconfigured as equation 7.
C
i
1
2 Z
i
f
c
(7)
In this example, C
i
is 33 nF, so one would likely choose a value of 0.1
μ
F as this value is commonly used. If the
gain is known and will be constant, use Z
i
from Table 1 to calculate C
i
. A further consideration for this capacitor
is the leakage path from the input source through the input network (C
i
) and the feedback network to the load.
This leakage current creates a dc offset voltage at the input to the amplifier that reduces useful headroom,
especially in high gain applications. For this reason a low-leakage tantalum or ceramic capacitor is the best
choice. When polarized capacitors are used, the positive side of the capacitor should face the amplifier input
in most applications as the dc level there is held at 2.5 V, which is likely higher than the source dc level. Note
that it is important to confirm the capacitor polarity in the application.