Texas – World’s first configurable PDAs provide optimized noise and distortion performance (LMH6881)

Texas Instruments (TI) introduced what it believes to be the world’s first configurable programmable differential amplifiers (PDAs). The 2.4GHz LMH6881 single-channel PDA and 2.4GHz LMH6882 dual-channel PDA provide optimized noise, distortion and bandwidth performance over a 6dB to 26dB gain range, simplifying the way engineers design with differential amplifiers. Designing systems with PDAs increases flexibility and significantly reduces design time, solution size and bill of materials (BOM) cost for a broad range of applications.

PDAs combine the best of fully-differential amplifiers (FDAs) and digital variable gain amplifiers (DVGAs). They allow engineers to easily modify their designs by changing gain without having to adjust external resistors, replace amplifiers, or reconfigure and optimize each gain stage. Compared to traditional DVGAs, the new PDAs offer more consistent noise and distortion performance over the entire gain range. The programmable gain control in the LMH6881 and LMH6882 eliminates the need for gain-setting resistors and their associated mismatch errors, enabling more robust systems for applications, such as medical, test and measurement, military, wireless communications, and microwave backhaul.