7.3.6 Overload Recovery

Overload recovery is defined as the time required for the op amp output to recover from a saturated state to a linear state. The output devices of the op amp enter a saturation region when the output voltage exceeds the rated operating voltage, either due to the high input voltage or the high gain. After the device enters the saturation region, the charge carriers in the output devices require time to return back to the linear state. After the charge carriers return back to the linear state, the device begins to slew at the specified slew rate. Thus, the propagation delay in case of an overload condition is the sum of the overload recovery time and the slew time.