EQUIPMENT

CONSTRUCTION
 CHAPTER -1-
The Operational Amplifier
THE DIFFERENTIAL AMPLIFIER
➢A differential amplifier is an amplifier that
produces outputs that are a function of the
difference between two input voltages.
➢The differential amplifier has two basic
modes of operation: differential (in which the
two inputs are different) and common mode
(in which the two inputs are the same).
➢The differential amplifier has two inputs
and two outputs.
Basic Operation
VCC

RC1 RC2
Output 1 Output 2

Input 1 Input 2
Q1 Q2

RE

-VEE

Fig.(1.1) Basic differential amplifier.

▪First, when both inputs are grounded (0V), the emitters are
at -0.7V. It is assumed that the transistors are identically
matched so that their dc emitter currents are the same when
there is no input signal. Thus,
IE1 = IE2
Since both emitter currents combine through RE,
IE1 = IE2 =IRE / 2
where
𝑉𝐸 − 𝑉𝐸𝐸
𝐼𝑅𝐸 =
𝑅𝐸
Based on the approximation that IC ≅ IE
IC1 = IC2 =IRE / 2
VC1 = VC2 = VCC - IC1RC1
Next, input 2 is left grounded, and a positive bias voltage VB
is applied to input 1The positive voltage on the base of Q1
increases IC1 and raises the emitter voltage to VE = VB – 0.7V
This action reduces the forward bias (VBE) of Q2 because its
base is held at 0 V (ground), thus causing IC2 to decrease.
The net result is that the increase in IC1 causes a decrease in
VC1, and the decrease in IC2 causes an increase in VC2.
.
Finally, input 1 is grounded and a positive bias voltage VB is
applied to input 2, The positive bias voltage causes Q2 to
conduct more, thus increasing IC2. Also, the emitter voltage is
raised. This reduces the forward bias of Q1, since its base is
held at ground, and causes IC1 to decrease. The result is that
the increase in IC2 produces a decrease in VC2, and the
decrease in IC1 causes VC1 to increase
Modes of Signal Operation
Single-Ended Differential Input
VCC

RC1 RC2 Vout2

Vout1
1 2

1 2
Q1 Q2
Vin1

RE Ve

-VEE
Fig.(1.2) Single-ended differential input operation.
 VCC

VP VP
RC1 RC2 Vout2
Vout1
1
2

1 2
Q1 Q2
Vin1

Ve RE

-VEE
Fig.(1.3) Single-ended differential input operation.
Double-Ended Differential Inputs
VCC

2VP 2VP

RC1 RC2
Vout1 Vout2
1
2

1 2
Q1 Q2
Vin1 Vin2

RE

-VEE
Fig.(1.4) Double-ended differential operation.
Common-Mode Inputs
VCC

RC1 RC2
Vout1 Vout2
1
2

1 2
Q1 Q2 Vin2
Vin1

RE

-VEE
Fig.(1.5) Common-mode operation of a differential amplifier.
Outputs due to Vin1 and Vin2 cancel because they are equal in amplitude but opposite
in phase. The resulting outputs are 0 V ac.
Common-Mode Rejection Ratio
❑ Desired signals appear on only one input or with opposite polarities
on both input lines. These desired signals are amplified and appear on
the outputs
❑ Unwanted signals (noise) appearing with the same polarity on both
input lines are cancelled by the diff-amp and do not appear on the
outputs.
❑ The measure of an amplifier’s ability to reject common-mode signals
is a parameter called the CMRR (common mode rejection ratio).
❑ A good measure of the diff-amp’s performance in rejecting
unwanted common-mode signals is the ratio of the differential voltage
gain Av(d) to the common-mode gain, Acm. This ratio is the common-
mode rejection ratio, CMRR.
The CMRR is often expressed in decibels (dB) as

Example
A certain diff-amp has a differential voltage gain of 2000
and a common-mode gain of 0.2. Determine the CMRR and
express it in decibels.
Solution
Av(d ) = 2000, and Acm = 0.2. Therefore,
INTRODUCTION TO OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIERS

Terminals on an Op Amp

OFFSET OUTPUT A 1 8 V+
NULL
1 8 N.C.

-IN 2 7 V+ -IN A 2 − 7 OUTPUT B

−
+
+IN 3 + 6 OUTPUT
+IN A 3 − 6 -IN B

OFFSET V− 4 + 5 +IN B
V− 4 5 NULL

DIP-741 Dual op-amp 1458 device

 OP-AMP PROPERTIES
V1
(1) Infinite Open Loop gain +
Vo
- The gain without feedback V2
- Equal to differential gain −
- Zero common-mode gain
- Practically, Aol≅ 200,000 i1~0 +
Vo
(2) Infinite Input impedance i2~0 −
- Input current ii ~0A
- T- in high-grade op-amp
- m-A input current in low-grade op-
Rout
amp
Vo' +−
(3) Zero Output Impedance Rload
- act as perfect internal voltage source
- No internal resistance Rload
- Output impedance in series with load Vload = Vo
- Reducing output voltage to the load Rload + Rout
- Practically, Rout ~ 20-100 
 FREQUENCY-GAIN RELATION

• Ideally, signals are amplified from DC to the highest

AC frequency
• Practically, bandwidth is limited
• 741 family op-amp have an limit bandwidth of few
KHz.
 Comparison between Ideal and Practical Op-Amp

Ideal Practical Ideal op-amp

+ AVin
Open Loop gain A  105
Vin ~ Vout
Bandwidth BW  10-100Hz − Zout=0

Input Impedance Zin  >1M

Output Impedance 0 20-100 
Zout
Practical op-amp
+
Output Voltage Vout Depends only Depends
Zin Zout
on Vd = slightly on Vin Vout
(V+−V−) average input ~
Differential Vc = (V++V−)/2 − AVin
mode signal Common-Mode
signal
CMRR  10-100dB
Internal Block Diagram of an Op-Amp

2. OP-AMP INPUT MODES AND PARAMETERS

1. Input Signal Modes

Differential Mode
- In differential mode any one of the two scenarios
can occur
▪Either one input is applied to one input while the other input
is grounded (single-ended) as shown in the following Figure

▪Or opposite polarity signal are applied to the inputs (double-

ended) as shown in the following Figure
 Common Mode
- output. In common mode, two signals voltages of the same
amplitude, frequency and phase are applied to the two inputs
as shown in the Figure.
- The same input tend to cancel each other and the output is
zero.
- This is called common-mode rejection.
- This is useful to reject unwanted signal that appears to both
inputs. It is cancelled and does not appear at the output
 2. Op-Amp Parameters
➢Open-Loop Voltage Gain, Aol
•The open-loop voltage gain, , of an op-amp is the internal
voltage gain of the device and represents the ration of output
voltage to input voltage when there are no external
components.
•Open-loop voltage gain is in the range of 200,000 (106dB).
➢Common-Mode Rejection Ratio CMRR
•The ability of an amplifier to reject the common-mode input
is a parameter called CMRR (common-mode rejection ratio).
•Op-amp have very low common-mode gain, Acm , (much less
than1) while providing very high open-loop differential
voltage gain Aol.
The CMRR is therefore given as

The CMRR is often expressed in decibels (dB) as

➢Maximum Output Voltage Swing Vo(pp)

• Ideal op-amp have a maximum output voltage swing of ±VCC.
•In practical op-amp, Vo(pp) , varies with load resistance. The
datasheet of KA741, for example, shows a typical Vo(pp) of ±13V
for a VCC = ± 15V when RL =2KΩ and Vo(pp) of ± 14V when RL
=10KΩ .
 ➢Input Offset Voltage (Vos or VIo )
•Ideal op-amp produce zero output voltage if the differential
input is zero, so Vout = 0 for Vos =0 .
•The amount of differential input voltage required between
the inputs to force the output to zero volts is the input offset
voltage, Vos or VIo .
•Typical value of VIo is about 2mV
➢Input Bias Current (IBIAS )
The input bias current is the DC
current required by the inputs of the
op-amp to operate the first stage of
the op-amp. It is given as
 ➢Input Impedance
The input impedance of an op-amp is specified in two ways:
differential input impedance and common-mode input
impedance.
- Differential input impedance, ZIN(d), is the total resistance
between inverting and noninverting input as shown in Fig. (a).
- Common-mode input impedance, ZIN(cm), is the resistance
between each input and ground as shown in Fig. (b).
 ➢Input Offset Current (IOS )
The input offset current is the difference of the input bias
currents given as IOS = |I1 – I2 |
- It should be as low as possible for op-amps with high voltage
gain and high input impedance as it develops an offset voltage
given as
VOS =IOS Rin
- This input offset voltage is amplified by voltage gain of the
op-amp and appears at the output as Vout(error) given by
Vout(error) = Av IOS Rin
➢Output Impedance
The output impedance is the
resistance as seen from
output of the op-amp
➢Slew Rate
The maximum rate of change of the output voltage in response
to a step input voltage is the slew rate of an op-amp.
 3. NEGATIVE FEEDBACK
Negative feedback is the
process whereby a portion
of the output voltage of an
amplifier is returned to the
input with a phase angle that
is opposite to the input signal.

The open-loop gain of an op-amp is usually very high (more

than 100,000).
With negative feedback the gain of op-amp (called close-
loop gain Acl) can be reduced and controlled so that an op-
amp can function as a linear amplifier.
4. OP-AMPS WITH NEGATIVE FEEDBACK
▪ Close-Loop Voltage Gain, Acl
-The close-loop voltage gain is the voltage of an op-amp with
external feedback.

-The amplifier circuit consists of an op-amp and an external

negative feedback circuit.

-The feedback from the output is connected to the inverting

input of the op-amp.

- The negative feedback is determined and controlled by

external components.
▪ Noninverting (NI) Amplifier
 Ri 
Vf =  Vout
R +R 
 i f 
Vin = V f

Vout Rf
Acl ( NI ) = = 1+
Vin Ri
The feedback attenuation is
expressed as B
 Ri 
B= 
R +R 
 i f 
 ▪Voltage-Follower
The voltage-follower configuration is a special case of the
noninverting amplifier where all the output voltage is fed back
to the inverting input

B=1

Acl (VF ) = 1

The most important feature of voltage-follower is high input

impedance and low output impedance.
▪ Inverting (I) Amplifier
So as noninverting input is ground
therefore the voltage at the
inverting input is also zero. This is
referred as virtual ground
Input current Iin and feedback
current If are equal

Rf
Acl ( I ) = −
Ri
 EFFECTS OF NEGATIVE FEEDBACK ON
OP-AMP IMPEDANCES
➢ Impedances of the Noninverting Amplifier
• Input Impedance
For this analysis, assume a small differential voltage, Vd, exists
between the two inputs, as indicated. This means that you cannot
assume the op-amp’s input impedance to be infinite or the input
current to be zero. Express the input voltage as

Vin = Vd + Vf

Vin = Vd + BVout
Since Vout = AolVd (Aol is the open-loop gain of the op-amp),

Vin = Vd + AolBVd = (1 + AolB)Vd

Now substituting IinZin for Vd,

Vin = (1 + AolB)IinZin
where Zin is the open-loop input impedance of the op-amp
(without feedback connections).
Vin / Iin = (1 + AolB)Zin
Vin/Iin is the overall input impedance of a closed-loop
noninverting amplifier configuration.
 Zin(NI) = (1 + AolB)Zin
This equation shows that the input impedance of the
noninverting amplifier configuration with negative feedback
is much greater than the internal input impedance of the op-
amp itself (without feedback).
 • Output Impedance

Vout = AolVd - ZoutIout

Vd = Vin - Vf
By assuming that AolVd > ZoutIout , you can express the output
voltage as
Vout ≡ Aol(Vin - Vf)
Vout ≡ Aol(Vin - BVout)
 Vout = AolVin - AolBVout

AolVin = Vout + AolBVout = (1 + AolB)Vout

AolVin = (1 + AolB)IoutZout(NI)

AolVin / Iout= (1 + AolB) Zout(NI)

The term on the left is the internal output impedance

of the op-amp (Zout) because, without feedback,
AolVin = Vout. Therefore,
Zout= (1 + AolB) Zout(NI)
 Zout(NI) =Zout / (1 + AolB)
This equation shows that the output impedance of
the noninverting amplifier configuration with
negative feedback is much less than the internal
output impedance, Zout, of the op-amp itself
(without feedback) because Zout is divided by the
factor 1 + AolB.
 Voltage-Follower Impedances
Since a voltage-follower is a special case of the
noninverting amplifier configuration, the same
impedance formulas are used but with B = 1.

Zin(VF) = (1 + Aol)Zin

Zout(VF) =Zout / (1 + Aol)

➢ Impedances of the Inverting Amplifier
• Input Impedance

Zin(I) = Ri

• Output Impedance
Zout(I) =Zout / (1 + AolB)
 5. BIAS CURRENT AND OFFSET VOLTAGE
▪Effect of Input Bias Current
- The small input bias current, I1, is
through Rf from the output terminal.
This creates a voltage drop at Rf.
-As the positive side of Rf is connected
to output, this creates an output voltage
I1Rf when it should be zero.
-The input bias current I1 produces a
drop across Rs and thus creates the
output error voltage.
-The input bias current I1 produces a
drop across Rf and thus creates the
output error voltage.
▪ Bias Current Compensation
Voltage-Follower
The output error voltage due to bias current can be reduced
by adding a resistor Rf equal to the source Resistance Rs in
the feedback path

- If I1 = I2 , then the output voltage is zero.

- If I1 ≠ I2, the output error voltage is reduced as
Vout ( error ) = I 2 − I1 Rs = I os Rs
Noninverting and Inverting Amplifiers
- Compensation in noninverting and inverting amplifiers is
done by adding a resistance RC
 Effect of Input Offset Voltage
-The output of an op-amp should be zero when the differential
input is zero.
-The output error voltage is produced by the input bias current
Input Offset Voltage Compensation
This is done by connecting an external potentiometer to
specific pins on the IC package
 OPEN-LOOP FREQUENCY RESPONSES
-The frequency response indicates how the voltage gain changes
with frequency.
- The phase response indicates how the phase shift between input and
output signal changes with frequency
- Frequency response of amplifiers is shown in a plot called Bode Plot.
- In Bode plot, the frequency is on the horizontal axis and is in
logarithmic scale. It means that the frequency change is not linear but
ten-times. This ten-time change in frequency is called a decade.
- The vertical axis shows the voltage gain in decibel, denoted by dB.
-A decibel is gain represented in term of logarithm as
.
Av( dB) = 20 log Av
- The maximum gain on the plot is called the midrange gain.
- The point in the frequency response of amplifiers where the gain is
3dB less than the midrange gain is called the critical frequency.
3dB Open-Loop Bandwidth
- Bandwidth of an amplifier is the range of frequency between where
the gain is 3dB less than the midrange gain.
- In general, the bandwidth equals the upper critical frequency (fcu )
minus lower critical frequency ( fcl).
- Since fcl of an op-amp is zero, the bandwidth is equal to the upper
critical frequency.
BW = f cu = f c
The frequency at which unity gain occurs is called unity-gain
frequency denoted by fT . It is also referred as unity-gain bandwidth.
 CLOSED-LOOP FREQUENCY RESPONSE
-As op-amps are usually used in a closed-loop
configuration with negative feedback in order to achieve
precise control of gain and bandwidth
- Midrange gain of an op-amp is reduced by negative
feedback.
- Bandwidth of an op-amp is increased.
The closed-loop critical frequency of an op-amp is given by
fC (cl |) = fC (ol ) (1 + BAol ( mid ) )
Where B is the feedback attenuation of the closed-loop op-amp.
- The above expression shows that the closed-loop critical
frequency , fc(cl) , is higher than the open-loop critical frequency
fc(ol) by a factor of (1+BAol(mid))
Since fc(cl) equals bandwidth therefore the closed-loop bandwidth , BWcl
, is also increased

BWcl = BWol (1 + BAol (mid ) )

 Gain-Bandwidth Product
An increase in the closed-loop gain causes a decrease in the
bandwidth and vice versa, such that the product of gain and
bandwidth is constant.
- If Acl is the gain of an op-amp with bandwidth fc(cl) then

Acl f c(cl |) = Aol f c(ol )

The gain-bandwidth product is always equal to the frequency at which
the op-amp’s open-loop gain is unity or 0dB (unity gain bandwidth, fT )
f T = Acl f c (cl | )
Note that:
Aol ( mid )
Aol =
2 2
1+ f / f c ( ol )