SOT23, Dual, Precision, 1.8V, Nanopower
Comparators With/Without Reference
Board Layout and Bypassing
The MAX9015–MAX9020 ultra-low supply current typi-
cally requires no power-supply bypass capacitors.
However, when the supply has high output impedance,
long lead lengths or excessive noise, or fast transients,
bypass VCC to VEE with a 0.1µF capacitor placed as
close to the VCC pin as possible. Minimize signal trace
lengths to reduce stray capacitance. Use a ground
plane and surface-mount components for best perfor-
mance. If REF is decoupled, use a low-leakage ceram-
ic capacitor.
Window Detector
The MAX9018 is ideal for window detectors (undervolt-
age/overvoltage detectors). Figure 4 shows a window
detector circuit for a single-cell Li+ battery with a 2.9V
end-of-life charge, a peak charge of 4.2V, and a nomi-
nal value of 3.6V. Choose different thresholds by
changing the values of R1, R2, and R3. OUTA provides
an active-low undervoltage indication, and OUTB pro-
vides an active-low overvoltage indication. ANDing the
two open-drain outputs provides an active-high, power-
good signal.
The design procedure is as follows:
1) Select R1. The input bias current into INB- is nor-
mally less than 2nA, so the current through R1
should exceed 100nA for the thresholds to be accu-
rate. In this example, choose R1 = 1.24MΩ
(1.24V/1µA).
2) Calculate R2 + R3. The overvoltage threshold
should be 4.2V when VIN is rising. The design
equation is as follows:
R2
+
R3
=
R1 x
VOTH
VREF + VHB
−
1
= 1.24MΩ
x
4.2V
1.24V + 0.004
− 1
=2.95MΩ
3) Calculate R2. The undervoltage threshold should
be 2.9V when VIN is falling. The design equation is
as follows:
R2
=
(R1 +
R2
+
R3)
x
VREF − VHB
VUTH
−
R1
= (1.24MΩ + 2.95MΩ) x (1.236) −1.24MΩ
2.9
= 546kΩ
VIN VOTH = 4.2V
VUTH = 2.9V
R3
INA+
REF/INA-
REF
R2
1.24V
VEE
INB+
INB-
5V
VCC
OUTA
MAX9018
OUTB
POWER-
GOOD
R1
VEE
Figure 4. Window Detector Circuit
For this example, choose a 499kΩ standard value 1%
resistor.
4) Calculate R3:
R3 = (R2 + R3) - R2
= 2.95MΩ - 546kΩ
= 240MΩ
5) Verify the resistor values. The equations are as fol-
lows, evaluated for the above example:
Overvoltage threshold:
VOTH
=
(VREF
+
VHB )
x
(R1 +
R2
R1
+ R3)
= 4.20V
Undervoltage threshold:
VUTH
=
(VREF
−
VHB )
x
(R1 + R2 + R3)
(R1 + R2)
= 2.97V
where the internal hysteresis band, VHB, is 4mV.
Zero-Crossing Detector
Figure 5 shows a zero-crossing detector application.
The MAX9015/MAX9016/MAX9019/MAX9020s’ invert-
ing input is connected to ground, and its noninverting
input is connected to a 100mVP-P signal source. As the
signal at the noninverting input crosses zero, the com-
parator’s output changes state.
14 ______________________________________________________________________________________