The 5-Minute Method for Stabilizing Any Control Loop
By Steve Sandler | January 28, 2020 One method of designing stable control loops is to create an accurate broadband simulation model and...
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Picotest
Nov 2, 20171 min read
Bode Plots are Overrated
Control loop stability is critically important. But whether your focus is on power supply design, power integrity, or mixed-signal power...
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Picotest
Jun 20, 20171 min read
Introduction to NISM – Non-Invasive Stability Measurement with Steve Sandler
More information on this revolutionary measurement technology can be found here: https://www.picotest.com/non-invasive-stability-measurem...
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Picotest
Nov 29, 20161 min read
Introduction to Power Integrity – Video
Steve Sandler of Picotest and Heidi Barnes of Keysight teach this short course on Power Integrity. This is part 1 (~90 min) as presented...
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Picotest
Jan 29, 20161 min read
Killing the Bode Plot
Many new linear devices, including voltage references, voltage regulators and opamps have internal feedback loops, prohibiting...
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Picotest
Jan 12, 20152 min read
Impedance measurements stabilize op-amp buffers
Figure 1. Op amps are often used as unity gain signal buffers, which are not as simple to use as it may appear. The unity-gain op amp...
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Picotest
Nov 14, 20141 min read
Essential 1-Port PDN PROBE: Applications Abound
BROWSER-CLASS PROBE Several companies manufacture and distribute high-frequency TDR probes. These probes are typically designed for very...
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Picotest
Jul 1, 20142 min read
Three Stability Assessment Methods Every Engineer Should Know About
Many engineers are familiar with the Bode plot as an effective stability assessment method. However, some authors suggest and even teach...
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Picotest
Apr 23, 20141 min read
Software Enables Accurate Stability Test, Improves Non-Invasive Phase Margin Measurement Accuracy
The mathematics behind the non-invasive measurement was incorporated into the OMICRON Lab Bode 100 VNA software, sold by Picotest.com,...
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Picotest
Jan 22, 20142 min read
Five Things Every Engineer Should Know About Bode Plots
In 1938 Hendrik Wade Bode, who worked at Bell Labs, published his asymptotic assessment of phase margin and gain margin, bearing his name...
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Picotest
Jan 6, 20141 min read
Non-Invasively Assess Your Multiple-Loop LDO’s Stability
Some low-dropout regulators (LDOs) use multiple feedback loops to improve output voltage transient response. In many of these cases, some...
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Picotest
Nov 7, 20132 min read
Combination VNA/FRAs Offer More Capability And Lower Cost
A frequency response analyzer (‘FRA’) is often used to measure gain and phase plots of control loops (Bode plots), filter responses and...
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Picotest
Oct 7, 20131 min read
Troubleshooting Distributed Power Systems: Using Current Injectors (Part 5 of the ongoing video seri
Although not quite as accurate as the two-port VNA impedance measurement, the current injection technique has advantages including wide...
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Picotest
Aug 27, 20131 min read
How to Solve 8 of 10 Design Issues
The vast majority of design issues are directly or indirectly attributable to control loop stability. The most common offenders: Linear...
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Picotest
Jun 11, 20131 min read
Troubleshooting Distributed Power Systems: Impedance Is the Critical Measurement (Part 2 of the ongo
As Sandler explains, analysis based on impedance measurements can more thoroughly assess control loop stability than Bode plot...
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Picotest
May 15, 20131 min read
Troubleshooting Distributed Power Systems: Why Stability Matters (Part 1 of the ongoing video series
In this 5-minute video presentation, Steve Sandler discusses how stability impacts circuit performance, offering examples that...
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Picotest
Sep 28, 20121 min read
Assessing Point-Of-Load Regulators Using Non-Invasive Techniques
Evaluating the stability of a Point-Of-Load (“POL”) regulator can be performed using both traditional Bode plot and output impedance...
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Picotest
Sep 27, 20121 min read
FAQ #22: So how does this non-invasive measurement relate to phase margin and gain margin?
We can equate the stability to an equivalent phase margin by assuming the magnitude of the gain vector to be 1 and solving for the Q. In...
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Picotest
Sep 18, 20122 min read
FAQ #21: How do you use the Picotest injectors and the Agilent analyzer to measure output impedance
How do you use the Picotest injectors and the Agilent analyzer to measure output impedance and/or non-invasive step loading? For the...
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Picotest
May 16, 20121 min read
Evaluate Feedback Stability When There’s No Test Point
Fortunately, a new technique permits non-invasive stability testing of such devices.1 Designers can evaluate stability by measuring (on...
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