XICOR, Inc. announced the X9430, the industry's first programmable operational amplifier (op amp). The programmable parameters include gain, offset and power level. This mixed signal device represents a new category of device in the electronics industry, and is the first device to use Xicor's smart analog technology which combines analog, digital and nonvolatile memory circuits in a single chip.

The X9430 will be used in many general purpose applications. Potential applications include personal and laptop computers, networking devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, cellular telephones, DVD players, printers, copiers, radios, stereo equipment, televisions, bar-code readers, power supplies and others.

The programmable nonvolatile features of this new device make it easier for engineers to design in features such as self-calibration and self-testing. The programmable power level gives engineers the ability to extend battery life in portable products, and the high-level of integration will reduce the number of chips required in a design.

The X9430 contains two general purpose op amps that are programmed via a digital value loaded over either a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) or I²C serial interface. The programmable op amps have specifications comparable to the industry standard 741, 301A and OP07. The programmable op amp parameters (i.e., gain, offset and power level) are stored in nonvolatile memory which means they are maintained when power is turned off. The chip also has 16 bytes of EEPROM memory of which 4 bytes each are allocated for op amp or DCP parameters or for general use.

The functions in the X9430 can also be used independently which include the two op amps, two digital potentiometers and 16 bytes of EEPROM memory.

"We developed our smart analog technology and product line based on feedback from our customers throughout the electronics industry who are calling for a single chip that integrates many of the traditional building blocks of analog, digital and nonvolatile memory," said Bob Anderson, product line manager.

We are one of the only companies capable of developing this new product line because we pioneered and perfected the nonvolatile EEPROM technology which is the hardest part of the solution. The analog and digital portions of the smart analog solution are available to us because their basic building blocks are an intrinsic part of our EEPROM design and manufacturing process," he concluded.

Programmable Features

The gain in the X9430 can be programmed via a serial interface. The offset in the op amps can be programmed in real time to zero which enables a product to self-calibrate for offset drifts that occur with temperature or age. The X9430 allows both its digital power supply and analog op amp supplies to be programmed to a sleep mode when those functions are not in use. The standby current for the digital supply is 1uA, and the current for the analog supply is 100nA.

I don't suppose you have ever had one of those days when you are measuring resistor after resistor just to find the one that must be there which is at the limit of its value tolerance? Then, when you slap it into your circuit the levels are still not quite right? Those are the days when you wish you had used one of these programmable op amps. The premium for the programmability is obviously not something you would want to deliberately steer your design towards, but there are those occasional circuits where each amplifier just has to be set up individually. Also, in many pieces of test equipment the existence of these amplifiers will allow for a "centering" of component design values such that age and drift can be balanced out through the amplifier stage.

When you have the basic design capabilities in house for your existing products -- as Xicor do -- it becomes a "why not" project. I think the parts will do extremely well but it may be a while before the notion to use them catches on. And I hope that the family stops here; smart ADCs, etc. probably would not fly with most designers who are used to other types of control elements already in those type of circuit.

The X9430 and X9438 are in production and are in both 24-lead SOIC and TSSOP. The X9430 (with the SPI interface) is priced at $3.95 and the X9438 (with the 2-wire interface) is priced at $3.75, both in 10,000-piece lots