ELECTRONICS III MIDTERMS terminals is zero.
Offset voltage can introduce errors in
MODULE 1 certain sensitive applications.
OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIER (OP AMP) FOUR DIFFERET CLASSIFICATIONS OF OP-AMP GAINS
is an integrated circuit (IC) designed to amplify the 1.VOLTAGE AMPLIFIERS – Voltage in and Voltage out
difference in voltage between two input terminals. Its 2.CURRENT AMPLIFIERS – Current in and Current out
name originates from its initial use in performing 3.TRANSCONDUCTANCE AMPLIFIERS – Voltage in and
arithmetic operations. Current out
used extensively in signal conditioning, filtering or to 4.TRANSRESISTANCE AMPLIFIERS – Current in and Voltage
out
perform mathematical operations such as add,
subtract, integration and differentiation.
COMMON OP-AMP CONFIGURATION
1. INVERTING AMPLIFIER: The input signal is applied to the
inverting (-) terminal, resulting in an amplified output signal
AN OP-AMP HAS FIVE TERMINALS
that is 180o out of phase with the input
1.Positive power supply
2.Negative power supply (GND)
2. NON-INVERTING AMPLIFIER: The input signal is applied to
3.Non-inverting input
the non-inverting (+) terminal, resulting in an amplified
4.Inverting input
output signal that is in phase with the input.
5.Output
3. DIFFERENTIAL AMPLIFIER: This configuration uses both the
inverting and noninverting inputs to amplify the difference
between two signals
4. SUMMING AMPLIFIER: An Op-Amp can be used to add
signals together, by applying multiple inputs to the inverting
terminal.
5. INTEGRATOR AND DIFFERENTIATOR: These Op-Amp
configurations can perform mathematical integration or
differentiation of the input signal over time, respectively.
APPLICATION OF OP-AMPS
1. AMPLIFICATION: Boosting weak signals for further OP-AMP PARAMETERS
processing. 1. OPEN LOOP VOLTAGE GAIN: The most important function
of an amplifier is to amplify a signal, and every amplifier has
2. FILTERS: Creating low-pass, high-pass, or band-pass some gain. It means if an input voltage is applied, it will be
filters. multiplied by the gain.
3. SUMMATION: Combining multiple input signals. 2. INPUT RESISTANCE: It is the resistance between the non-
inverting and the inverting input of the amplifier.
4. INTEGRATION AND DIFFERENTIATION: Performing
mathematical operations. 3. OUTPUT RESISTANCE: The output resistance is like the
internal resistance of the battery, and hence it is the very
5. COMPARATORS: Determining if one signal is greater than small resistance, which means the output voltage is
another. dependent on the load.
6. VOLTAGE REGULATORs: Stabilizing voltage levels in 4. INPUT OFFSET VOLTAGE: If we apply the same input
instrumentation and control systems. voltage in both terminals of the Op-Amp, the output should
be zero volts. So, to make the output zero, we have to apply
OP-AMP LIMITATIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS a small differential voltage, this voltage is known as the input
1. SATURATION: When an Op-Amp reaches its maximum or offset voltage.
minimum output voltage, it’s said to be in saturation. This
usually happens when the input signal is too large for the Op- 5. INPUT OFFSET CURRENT: If we connect both the non-
Amp to amplify further. inverting and inverting terminal of the Op-Amp to ground, a
small input current is applied to cancel out the output
2. BANDWIDTH: The frequency response of an Op-Amp is not current; (to make the output current to zero) this input
flat. As frequency increases, the gain decreases, limiting its current is known as the Input Offset Current.
effectiveness at higher frequencies. This is characterized by
the Op-Amp 6. INPUT BIAS CURRENT: The input bias current is the
average of the currents that flow into the inverting and non-
3. OFFSET VOLTAGE: This is a small voltage that is present at inverting input terminals of the Op-Amp. The smaller the
the Op-Amp’s output when the voltage difference at its input input bias current, the smaller the drift.
7. CMRR: The Common Mode Rejection Ratio (CMRR) is
defined as the ratio of the differential voltage gain to the
common-mode voltage gain. The ability of a differential
amplifier to reject a common-mode signal is expressed by the
Common Mode Rejection Ratio.
8. SLEW RATE: It is defined as the maximum rate of change of
output voltage per unit of time and expressed in volts per
microsecond. Slew rate indicates how fast the output of OP-
AMP can change in response to change in input frequency.
9. VOLTAGE SWING: It is defined as how close the output
voltage can reach the supply voltage or how close the output
can be driven to rail to rail.
10. GAIN-BANDWIDTH PRODUCT: We know that due to
parasitic junction capacitance and minority-carrier change
storage in devices, the voltage gain of OP-amp decreases at
high
frequencies. As the input signal of the frequency increases,
the open-loop gain drops off
until it finally reacts to the value 1. The frequency at which
the gain reduces to 1 is defined as unity gain frequency or
unity-gain bandwidth.
11. PEAK-TO-PEAK INPUT NOISE VOLTAGE: If we look at a
noise signal it will have a Max-point and a Min-Point and the
difference between the min and max is known as the Peak-
toPeak Input Noise Voltage.
12. UNITY GAIN: A Unity gain amplifier is an amplifier that
has a gain of 1 that also means there is no gain. The output
voltage will be the same as the input voltage it is commonly
known as a voltage follower amplifier.
