A Designer's Guide: Applying In-amps Effectively

The conventional way to power an in-amp has been from a split or dual polarity power supply. This has the obvious advantage of allowing both a positive and a negative input and output swing.

Single-supply operation has become an increasingly desirable characteristic of a modern in-amp. Many present day data acquisition systems are powered from a single low voltage supply. For these systems, there are two vitally important characteristics. First, the in-amp's input range should extend between the positive supply and the negative supply (or ground). Second, the amplifier's output should be rail-to-rail as well.