4 ms·

A couple recent exceptional datasheets I've come across include ADI's ADA4530 [1] and Renesas/Intersil's ISL28110 [2]; both, coincidentally, happen to be for re

A couple recent exceptional datasheets I've come across include ADI's ADA4530 [1] and Renesas/Intersil's ISL28110 [2]; both, coincidentally, happen to be for regular old op-amps. The ADA4350 datasheet in particular is absolutely stunning and proof that the old ways are not completely gone. The ISL28110 datasheet is notable when, in an era when I all too often need to read between the lines to determine the type of input transistor used (seriously, guys, it's not hard to show and there are only six possibilities so it's not like you're giving away secrets here), they show a complete device model. That said, I still miss LTC, NSC, and the pre-Renesas Intersil. [1]: https://www.analog.com/media/en/technical-documentation/data-sheets/ADA4530-1.pdf https://www.analog.com/media/en/technical-documentation/data... [2]: https://www.renesas.com/us/en/www/doc/datasheet/isl28110-210.pdf https://www.renesas.com/us/en/www/doc/datasheet/isl28110-210...

neilpanchal 7y ago
Thanks for sharing, old ways are definitely not gone but eroding away sadly. One of things I find amazing about the datasheet culture is that there is minimal marketing bullshit (although there are exceptions, I am looking at you, ST Electronics). Skimming through ADA4350 datasheet, I see no trace of any kind of trickery that we usually see in other industries. Datasheets are the thing people look for and since the audience is engineers, they won't put up with marketing nonsense. As a consequence, there is almost perfect objectivity in selling a product - based on features, performance, operability, etc. Since decision makers are engineers, data and specifications prevail.
- TFortunato 7y ago
  (Full disclosure, former AD employee) In particular with precision Analog / mixed-signal / RF, there is a real recognition that there is no perfect Amplifier / Converter / Black Box X, that will satisfy all applications. That all abstractions (and inputs) are leaky, a wire is never just a wire, ground is never ground, noise exists, etc. That the reality is that there are myriad tradeoffs to be made depending on what you want to do, and the best way to be successful is to acknowledge that fact from the start without any bullshit; And as a supplier to tell you exactly what those real-world tradeoffs are and help guide you towards being successful. To their credit the applications engineers and even sales folks when I was there were just as happy to sell you a $.05 "jellybean", as they were to sell the latest precision laser-trimmed FancyAmp if that's all you needed because they were like minded engineers too, and at the end of the day, building something that did the job it needed to was satisfying. (Plus, as anyone whose done consumer/ high-volume electronics will tell you, BOM cost is it's own variable in the optimization space that can lead to some creative design choices!)

neilpanchal 7y ago

Thanks for sharing, old ways are definitely not gone but eroding away sadly. One of things I find amazing about the datasheet culture is that there is minimal marketing bullshit (although there are exceptions, I am looking at you, ST Electronics). Skimming through ADA4350 datasheet, I see no trace of any kind of trickery that we usually see in other industries. Datasheets are the thing people look for and since the audience is engineers, they won't put up with marketing nonsense. As a consequence, there is almost perfect objectivity in selling a product - based on features, performance, operability, etc. Since decision makers are engineers, data and specifications prevail.

TFortunato 7y ago
(Full disclosure, former AD employee) In particular with precision Analog / mixed-signal / RF, there is a real recognition that there is no perfect Amplifier / Converter / Black Box X, that will satisfy all applications. That all abstractions (and inputs) are leaky, a wire is never just a wire, ground is never ground, noise exists, etc. That the reality is that there are myriad tradeoffs to be made depending on what you want to do, and the best way to be successful is to acknowledge that fact from the start without any bullshit; And as a supplier to tell you exactly what those real-world tradeoffs are and help guide you towards being successful. To their credit the applications engineers and even sales folks when I was there were just as happy to sell you a $.05 "jellybean", as they were to sell the latest precision laser-trimmed FancyAmp if that's all you needed because they were like minded engineers too, and at the end of the day, building something that did the job it needed to was satisfying. (Plus, as anyone whose done consumer/ high-volume electronics will tell you, BOM cost is it's own variable in the optimization space that can lead to some creative design choices!)