When is an OTA not an OTA - when it's a 13600!

When is an OTA not an OTA? elektor april 1982 - 4-35 The difference between an OTA and a normal opamp can be summed up in a few words. An opamp is voltage-driven: the differential input voltage is mul- tiplied by a fixed gain (100,000 times, or so), so that a much larger voltage appears at the output. In other words: it"s a voltage amplifier with fixed gain. The input to an OTA is also a differen- tial voltage, but the output is a current. when is an OTA not an OIR? ...when it"s a 13600! Many readers will be familiar with the 3080 and 3094 Operational Transconductance Amplifiers, or OTAs. Since their introduction by RCA in the early seventies, this type of device has been used extensively in the most varied applications. Recently, a new and improved version has been announced - the 13600. It includes linearizing diodes at the input, to allow for higher input levels and a greater linear control range (over six decades!), as well as controlled impedance buffers at the output. In...