The Philips Semiconductors NE/SE5539 ultra-high frequency operational amplifier is one of the fastest monolithic amplifiers made today. With a unity gain bandwidth of 350MHz and a slew rate of 600V/ms, it is second to none. Therefore, it is understandable that to attain this speed, standard internal compensation would have to be left out of its design. As a consequence, the op amp is not unconditionally stable for all closed-loop gains and must be externally compensated for gains below 17dB. Properly done, compensation need not limit slew rate. The following will explain how to use the methods available with the NE/SE5539.