LM4871
SNAS002F –FEBRUARY 2000–REVISED MAY 2013
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A bridge amplifier design has a few distinct advantages over the single-ended configuration, as it provides
differential drive to the load, thus doubling output swing for a specified supply voltage. Four times the output
power is possible as compared to a single-ended amplifier under the same conditions. This increase in attainable
output power assumes that the amplifier is not current limited or clipped. In order to choose an amplifier's closed-
loop gain without causing excessive clipping, please refer to the Audio Power Amplifier Design section.
Another advantage of the differential bridge output is no net DC voltage across load. This results from biasing
VO1 and VO2 at the same DC voltage, in this case VDD/2 . This eliminates the coupling capacitor that single
supply, single-ended amplifiers require. Eliminating an output coupling capacitor in a single-ended configuration
forces a single supply amplifier's half-supply bias voltage across the load. The current flow created by the half-
supply bias voltage increases internal IC power dissipation and my permanently damage loads such as
speakers.
POWER DISSIPATION
Power dissipation is a major concern when designing a successful amplifier, whether the amplifier is bridged or
single-ended. A direct consequence of the increased power delivered to the load by a bridge amplifier is an
increase in internal power dissipation. Equation 2 states the maximum power dissipation point for a bridge
amplifier operating at a given supply voltage and driving a specified output load.
PDMAX = 4*(VDD)2/(2π2RL) (2)
Since the LM4871 has two operational amplifiers in one package, the maximum internal power dissipation is 4
times that of a single-ended ampifier. Even with this substantial increase in power dissipation, the LM4871 does
not require heatsinking under most operating conditions and output loading. From Equation 2, assuming a 5V
power supply and an 8Ωload, the maximum power dissipation point is 625 mW. The maximum power dissipation
point obtained from Equation 2 must not be greater than the power dissipation that results from Equation 3:
PDMAX = (TJMAX–TA)/θJA (3)
For the SOIC package, θJA = 140°C/W, for the PDIP package, θJA = 107°C/W, and for the VSSOP package, θJA
= 210°C/W assuming free air operation. For the NGN package soldered to a DAP pad that expands to a copper
area of 1.0in2on a PCB, the LM4871's θJA is 56°C/W. TJMAX = 150°C for the LM4871. The θJA can be decreased
by using some form of heat sinking. The resultant θJA will be the summation of the θJC,θCS, and θSA.θJC is the
junction to case of the package (or to the exposed DAP, as is the case with the NGN package), θCS is the case
to heat sink thermal resistance and θSA is the heat sink to ambient thermal resistance. By adding additional
copper area around the LM4871, the θJA can be reduced from its free air value for the SOIC and VSSOP
packages. Increasing the copper area around the NGN package from 1.0in2to 2.0in2area results in a θJA
decrease to 46°C/W. Depending on the ambient temperature, TA, and the θJA,Equation 3 can be used to find the
maximum internal power dissipation supported by the IC packaging. If the result of Equation 2 is greater than
that of Equation 3, then either the supply voltage must be decreased, the load impedance increased, the θJA
decreased, or the ambient temperature reduced. For the typical application of a 5V power supply, with an 8Ω
load, and no additional heatsinking, the maximum ambient temperature possible without violating the maximum
junction temperature is approximately 61°C provided that device operation is around the maximum power
dissipation point and assuming surface mount packaging. For the NGN package in a typical application of a 5V
power supply, with a 4Ωload, and 1.0in2copper area soldered to the exposed DAP pad, the maximum ambient
temperature is approximately 77°C providing device operation is around the maximum power dissipation point.
Internal power dissipation is a function of output power. If typical operation is not around the maximum power
dissipation point, the ambient temperature can be increased. Refer to the Typical Performance Characteristics
curves for power dissipation information for different output powers and output loading.
POWER SUPPLY BYPASSING
As with any amplifier, proper supply bypassing is critical for low noise performance and high power supply
rejection. The capacitor location on both the bypass and power supply pins should be as close to the LM4871 as
possible. The capacitor connected between the bypass pin and ground improves the internal bias voltage's
stability, producing improved PSRR. The improvements to PSRR increase as the bypass pin capacitor increases.
Typical applications employ a 5V regulator with 10µF and a 0.1µF bypass capacitors which aid in supply stability.
This does not eliminate the need for bypassing the supply nodes of the LM4871 with a 1µF tantalum capacitor.
The selection of bypass capacitors, especially CB, is dependent upon PSRR requirements, click and pop
performance as explained in the section, Proper Selection of External Components, system cost, and size
constraints.
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