Location:Training / Circuit Fundamentals / Analog / LS8 package improves voltage reference stability / LS8 package improves voltage reference stability

Video Presentation Expert: Brendan Whelan - Design Manager, Signal Conditioning Products
The stability of high-precision electronic circuits is often dominated by the stability of the voltage reference. Most electronic systems rely on one or more voltage references to ensure measurements or performance meet specifications, especially over long periods of time. Environmental factors will directly affect the stability of the voltage reference. While most system designers understand the effect of temperature changes on a reference voltage (defined as the temperature coefficient), many do not realize how significant the effects of thermal stress and long-term stability can be. And even designers who are aware of it have few options for keeping such errors low. In addition, plastic IC packages absorb moisture. Relative temperature can also significantly affect stability, but this is not widely known. The most effective way to solve this problem is to use sealed packaging. Most hermetically sealed packages, including metal cans and ceramic alternatives, are bulky, expensive, not readily available, or difficult to use during manufacturing (due to the need for through-hole PCB mounting leads). The LS8 package is a hermetically sealed ceramic package that offers significantly better performance than plastic packages while being small, surface-mountable, and low-cost (compared to other alternatives). Hysteresis and long-term stability are improved in this package, and the effects of humidity are eliminated.