Comparators are very sensitive to input noise. For best results, adhere to the following layout guidelines.
- Use a printed-circuit-board (PCB) with a good, unbroken, low-inductance ground plane. Proper grounding (use of a ground plane) helps maintain specified device performance.
Likewise, high performance board materials such as Rogers or high speed FR4 is also recommended.
- Place a decoupling capacitor (100-pF ceramic, surface-mount capacitor) between VCC and
VEE as close to the device as possible. Using multiple bypass capacitors in different decade ranges such as 100-pF, 100-nF, and 1-µF provides the best noise reduction across frequency ranges.
- On the inputs and the output, keep lead lengths as short and minimize capacitive coupling to the traces by having a keepout area around the traces that is 3x the width of the traces. It is also recommended to keep inputs away from the output.
- Solder the device directly to the PCB rather than using a socket.