Operational Amps Extend Battery's Life

Two new families of 1.8V, rail-to-rail operational amplifiers are claimed to give designers of portable and handheld systems the ability to increase battery life without sacrificing the amplifier performance. The TLV278x family provides a unity gain stable b andwidth of 8 MHz and include s a high input impedance, input bias currents of only 2.5 pA, and low offset errors when interfaced to sensors with high output impedances. The TLV276x family in turn operates from a supply current of only 20 µA and provides a bandwidth of 500 kHz. Both families are claimed to expand the life of two AA or AAA batteries, including an operating range from 3.6V down to 1.8V. Prices range from $0.74 to $1.84 each/1000.