Switches and

Multiplexers Break-
Before-Make
Considerations
Joe Creech

1 // Sunday, October 9 ©2019 Analog Devices, Inc. All rights reserved.

, 2022
Contents

► Background – Break-Before-Make Timing

► Load conditions to ensure Break Before Make

► Effect of BBM Timing

► Conclusions

2 // Sunday, October 9 ©2019 Analog Devices, Inc. All rights reserved.

, 2022
Background – Break-Before-Make Timing
► Break-before-make (BBM) switching is to ensure that inputs do not get shorted together

► BBM ensures that one switch is off before the next switch turns on

► BBM is usually measured between the 80% (relative to ground) point of both switches when
switching from one address state to another

3 // Sunday, October 9 ©2019 Analog Devices, Inc. All rights reserved.

, 2022
Load Conditions to Ensure BBM

► BBM switching is heavily dependant on the load conditions on the switch or multiplexer output
► While the switch channel is off and there is no internal connection between multiplexer channels,
the load may still be charged, which may cause issues when the next switch channel is engaged
► BBM is typically specified using a 300Ω resistor and a 35pF capacitor to ground (see diagram on
previous page)
► Changing these values will affect the BBM performance
 Reducing the resistance value increases the BBM time
 Increasing the resistance value decreases the BBM time
► Fully capacitive loads may not exhibit a BBM characteristic as the charge on the capacitor has no
path to ground
 Relies on leakage current to discharge the capacitor voltage
 May take a long time depending on setup

4 // Sunday, October 9 ©2019 Analog Devices, Inc. All rights reserved.

, 2022
Effect of BBM Timing

► The longer the BBM time of a multiplexer the longer the wait time before another channel can be
switched on without negative effects

► If a channel is engaged before the load is discharged, shorts can occur which can create
inaccuracies on the load voltage

► If no load resistor is present a long wait time must be used to ensure leakage has discharged the
load capacitor or pin capacitance of the next component – This is not recommended

5 // Sunday, October 9 ©2019 Analog Devices, Inc. All rights reserved.

, 2022
Conclusions

► Multiplexer load conditions effect the BBM timing

► To ensure predictable BBM times the signal must be provided a path to ground (or another
reference)

► Relying on parasitic effects such as leakage to discharge the load node is not recommended

► BBM times should be considered when switching between multiplexer channels to ensure signal
integrity

6 // Sunday, October 9 ©2019 Analog Devices, Inc. All rights reserved.

, 2022