In the speech of people associated with electronics, the phrase: "You need to see the datasheet." What is meant and where to get the notorious datasheet?
The word is borrowed from the English language and is originally recorded as a datasheet. If you translate it into Russian, literally you get a "sheet with information." The document is compiled on various devices and electronic components. Therefore, it is right to say that a datasheet is a technical documentation prepared by a manufacturer.
Search for electronic components
Perhaps it will become clear what a datasheet is after it is opened. But the question: "Where to get it?"
In the Soviet Union, documentation was standardized. If you needed to find information about a transistor or microcircuit, you had to take the appropriate manual. Today the need for directories has disappeared. They were replaced by search engines - just drive the word datasheet and specify the name of the required device. The second option to get the datasheet is to go to the site where the documentation is collected, and already search on it.
Component specifications are provided as pdf files. You can open them directly in the browser.
First datasheet page
After the document is downloaded to the computer, you need to open the datasheet. What does it contain, what should I pay attention to first of all?
Begin from the first page. It provides information that emphasizes the uniqueness of a particular device, for example, a wide frequency range, low power consumption, low dark current.
The technical specification home page contains:
- component properties
- description (description / general description) ;
- pin configuration in the form of a table or circuit.
It should be noted that the information provided is not always enough, so you should not completely trust it. Answers to emerging questions must be sought in the relevant sections of the document. The purpose of the first page is to give an idea of ββit, that is, to tell what it is.
The transistor datasheets are small compared to a similar document for microcircuits, so on the first page they immediately indicate information about its parameters and connection.
Document Content
Most often, users ask about the datasheet: "What is it and how to read it?" If the first question has been considered, then the second remains to be studied.
Electronic engineers pay attention to the following sections of the document.
Describes the purpose of each pin of a microcircuit or transistor. The designer is interested in the conclusions labeled Vcc and GND. The first of them is designed to supply power (most often +5 V), the second - to connect the "ground". Microcontrollers can have several of these findings. Their location depends on the type of enclosure (PDIP / TQFP / MLF).
- Device Diagram (Block Diagram).
Depicts the internal content of a component. For example, for a microcontroller, its memory, clock generator, input-output ports are shown.
Defines a typical device connection. In practice, the circuits differ from those given in the documentation, since in each case the microcircuit or transistor is part of a complex electronic device in which all its components must be taken into account.
- Temperature and electrical parameters.
These values ββare given in the form of graphs reflecting the dependence of one parameter on another.
Final recommendations
A novice electronic equipment developer does not always understand how to read a datasheet, what is a device diagram and why is a pinout necessary. Nevertheless, it is recommended to read reference materials when developing a new device or repairing failed equipment.