Full-power response, the frequency above which the operational amplifier slew rate limits the output voltage swing, is often specified two ways: full-linear response and full-peak response. The full-linear response is typically measured by monitoring the distortion level of the output while increasing the frequency of a sinusoidal input signal. When the output shows significant distortion, the input frequency is noted as the full-linear bandwidth. The full-peak response is defined as the maximum output frequency, without regard to distortion, at which the full peak-to-peak output swing is maintained. When the output frequency is greater than the full-peak response bandwidth, or maximum output-swing bandwidth, the full peak-to-peak output swing cannot be maintained.

Because there is no industry-wide accepted value for significant distortion, the full-peak response is specified in this data sheet, and is measured using the circuit in Figure 6-1. The initial setup involves the use of a sinusoidal input to determine the maximum peak-to-peak output of the device (the amplitude of the sinusoidal wave is increased until clipping occurs). The sinusoidal wave is then replaced with a square wave of the same amplitude. The frequency is then increased until the maximum peak-to-peak output can no longer be maintained (Figure 6-5). A square wave allows a more accurate determination of the point at which the maximum peak-to-peak output is reached.

Figure 6-5 Full-Power-Response Output Signal