M377

The Tektronix M377 is an amplifier monolithic integrated circuit designed by John Addis.

Its initial use was in the 11A16, 11A32, 11A33, 11A34 and 11A52 plug-ins.

Later, it was also used in the following oscilloscopes:

• TDS 410 / TDS 420 /TDS 460
• TDS 520D / TDS 540D / TDS 580D
• TDS 680C / TDS 684C
• TDS 714L / TDS 724D / TDS 754D / TDS 784D

About the M377, John Addis says:

The M377 was a single channel plugin on a chip with 0 V common mode input and output voltages, excellent variable gain control, two four pole bandwidth limits, three outputs which could be separately inverted and turned on or off.

It was the first wideband analog IC with level shift on chip (allowing 0 V common mode input and output and without PNP transistors), first wideband amplifier with any on-chip bandwidth limit selection, first to have more than two fixed gain settings (it has six), and first to require only one transient response adjustment (no thermals), and the first to have a highly linear relationship between a control voltage and gain. It also had excellent overdrive recovery.

• M377 Component Specification (PDF)

Packaging of the M377

The packaged M377 die has the following Tek part numbers:

• 165-2129-03
• 165-2089-06
• 155-2089-05 (11A33)

Instrument	Instrument SN range	Part Number	Output R/side	Components on ceramic hybrid
11A32	B010100 - B031028	165-2089-03	100 Ω	M377 chip only
11A32	B031029 - up	165-2089-05	100 Ω	M377 chip only
11A34	B010100 - B031044	165-2089-04	200 Ω	M377 chip only
11A34	B031045 - up	165-2089-06	200 Ω	M377 chip only
11A52	B010100 - B010179	165-2129-02	100 Ω	Diode bridge + 50 Ω input R + M377 chip
11A52	B010180 - up	165-2129-03	100 Ω	Diode bridge + 50 Ω input R + M377 chip

Output Control Signals

The M377 has one input (differential) and three differential outputs which are identical circuits. Each output has a its own control pins for:

• Output invert
• Output enable. When an output is disabled, it has no offset and maintains the specified termination impedance. That is, the internal parallel output termination remains connected, but the signal current is shut off. The self-calibration of 11k systems makes use of this property.
• High-frequency adjustment. The HF ADJ pins have 2k ohms input resistance to ground. The nominally acceptable inputs are ±1V to ground. Because the input resistance tracks the nichrome standard resistors inside the chip, the input is actually current sensitive, not that it makes much difference. This current affects the standing current in a feedback amplifier and hence its open loop gain. At low frequencies, the gain of the M377 is determined entirely by resistor values. At high frequencies, there is phase shift and changing the open loop gain will also change the closed loop gain, hence the transient response.

Var Gain Control Signal

The M377 has a single VAR GAIN control input, which affects all three outputs. This control signal has a range of −1 V to +1 V. −1 V results in 0 gain. +1 V results in full gain.

165-2089-xx Pinout

In the 11A32, 11A34, and 11A52, pairs of 165-2089-xx IC are placed on the board so that their outputs are facing one another, allowing their outputs to be wired in parallel with a minimum of board complexity and asymmetry. The purpose of the three output channels varies depending on the rotational orientation of the IC on the board.

• Output 1 (pins 25 and 26) is either AUX SIG (aka AUX TRIGGER) or DISPLAY,
• Output 2 (pins 22 and 23) of all 165-2089-xx ICs are the TRIGGER signal.
• Output 3 (pins 19 and 20) is either AUX SIG (aka AUX TRIGGER) or DISPLAY.

Two 165-2089-xx M377 ICs facing one another in an 11A52. Output 1 of U310 is in parallel with output 3 of U410. Output 3 of U310 is in parallel with output 1 of U410.

Note that in the 11A32 and 11A34, the HF ADJUST control voltages are not set identically for the three outputs. The reason for this is that the DISPLAY and TRIGGER outputs are in parallel with the corresponding output from another M377, which forms a broadband termination. In contrast, the AUX SIG outputs are not combined, and therefore have 1/4 W resistors on the PCB, shunting to ground. The 1/4 W resistors become inductive at high frequencies, so the optimal HF adjustment for the AUX SIG output is different than for the DISPLAY and TRIGGER outputs.

Pin	Function	Notes
1	GP0	gain select bit 0
2	STB	data strobe for gain and bandwidth limit
3	+15 V
4	+Vin
5	Analog ground
6	−Vin
7	Analog ground
8	Var Gain
9	−5 V
10	−5 V
11	Output 1 Invert
12	Output 1 Enable
13	Analog Ground
14	+5 V
15	Output 2 Invert
16	Output 2 Enable
17	Output 3 Invert
18	Output 3 Enable
19	−Output 3
20	+Output 3
21	Output 3 HF Adjust	See "High-frequency adjustment" above
22	−Output 2
23	+Output 2
24	Output 2 HF Adjust	See "High-frequency adjustment" above
25	−Output 1
26	+Output 1
27	Output 1 HF Adjust	See "High-frequency adjustment" above
28	Ground
29	Ground
30	Ground
31	+5 V
32	−5 V
33	BP1	bandpass select bit 1
34	BP0	bandpass select bit 0
35	GP2	gain select bit 2
36	GP1	gain select bit 1

Pin function legend

Power pins

Ground pins

HF signals

TTL digital control signals

analog control signals

• 

  M377 in an 11A52, as U310 and U410. Each M377 chip has a differential output impedance of 200 Ω. The two chips' outputs are in parallel, driving the output pins of the plug-in with a differential impedance of 100 Ω, or 50 Ω per side.

• 

  Two M377 chips (packaged as part number 165-2129-03) in an 11A52

• 

  M377 die

• 
• 

  M377 Die pad names and numbers

Schematics

• Tektronix M377 Stage 1 Schematic (PDF)
• Tektronix M377 Stage 1 Control Schematic (PDF)
• Tektronix M377 Stage 2 Schematic (PDF)
• Tektronix M377 Stage 2 Control Schematic (PDF)
• Tektronix M377 Stage 3 Schematic (PDF, rough)

Links

• Article in Electronic Engineering Magazine on M377 by John Addis