FREQUENCY STABILITY VS TEMPERATURE
DISCUSSION OF
SPECIFICATIONS
LINEARITY
The full scale frequency drift of the VFC320 versus tem-
perature is expressed as parts per million of full scale range
per °C. As shown in Figure 3, the drift increases above
10kHz. To determine the total accuracy drift over tempera-
ture, the drift coefficients of external components (espe-
cially R1 and C1) must be added to the drift of the VFC320.
Linearity is the maximum deviation of the actual transfer
function from a straight line drawn between the end points
(100% full scale input or frequency and 0.1% of full scale
called zero.) Linearity is the most demanding measure of
voltage-to-frequency converter performance, and is a func-
tion of the full scale frequency. Refer to Figure 1 to deter-
mine typical linearity error for your application. Once the
full scale frequency is chosen, the linearity is a function of
operating frequency as it varies between zero and full scale.
Examples for 10kHz full scale are shown in Figure 2. Best
linearity is achieved at lower gains (∆fOUT/∆VIN) with opera-
tion as close to the chosen full scale frequency as possible
1000
100
B and S Grades
The high linearity of the VFC320 makes the device an
excellent choice for use as the front end of Analog-to-Digital
(A/D) converters with 12- to 14-bit resolution, and for
highly accurate transfer of analog data over long lines in
noisy environments (2-wire digital transmission.)
C Grade
10
1k
10k
100k
1M
Full Scale Frequency (Hz)
Figure 3. Full Scale Drift vs Full Scale Frequency.
0.10
RESPONSE
Response of the VFC320 to changes in input signal level is
specified for a full scale step, and is 50ns plus 1 pulse of the
new frequency. For a 10V input signal step with the VFC320
operating at 100kHz full scale, the settling time to within
±0.01% of full scale is 10µs.
0.01
TA = +25°C
DFS = 0.25
THEORY OF OPERATION
0.001
1k
10k
100k
1M
The VFC320 monolithic voltage-to-frequency converter pro-
vides a digital pulse train output whose repetition rate is
directly proportional to the analog input voltage. The circuit
shown in Figure 4 is composed of an input amplifier, two
comparators and a flip-flop (forming a on-shot), two switched
current sinks, and an open collector output transistor stage.
Essentially the input amplifier acts as an integrator that
produces a two-part ramp. The first part is a function of the
input voltage, and the second part is dependent on the input
voltage and current sink. When a positive input voltage is
applied at VIN, a current will flow through the input resistor,
causing the voltage at VOUT to ramp down toward zero,
according to dV/dt = VIN/R1C1. During this time the con-
stant current sink is disabled by the switch. Note, this period
is only dependent on VIN and the integrating components.
Full Scale Frequency (Hz)
Figure 1. Linearity Error vs Full Scale Frequency.
Figure
0.003
fFULL SCALE = 10kHz
0.002
0.001
0
B Grade
C Grade
–0.001
–0.002
–0.003
Typical, TA = +25°C
When the ramp reaches a voltage close to zero, comparator
A sets the flip-flop. This closes the current sink switches as
well as changing fOUT from logic 0 to logic 1. The ramp now
0
1k
2k
3k
4k
5k
6k
7k
8k
9k 10k
Operating Frequency (Hz)
begins to ramp up, and 1mA charges through C1 until VC1
=
–7.5V. Note this ramp period is dependent on the 1mA
current sink, connected to the negative input of the op amp,
as well as the input voltage. At this –7.5V threshold point
C1, comparator B resets the flip-flop, and the ramp voltage
Figure 2. Linearity Error vs Operating Frequency.
Figure
VFC320
4
SBVS017A