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TeachyourselfcircuitsimulationusingLTspice
Aim To learn how to use the circuit simulation software LTspice for the design and
analysisofelectricalcircuits.
Objectives
1. TolearnhowtouseLTspiceSchematicstosetupcircuitmodels.
2. Togainexperiencewithusingthecomponentlibrary,andinparticulartobeableto
specifythefollowingcomponents:resistors,capacitors,inductors,DCandACvoltage
sources,diodes,fieldeffecttransistors(FET)andoperationalamplifiers(opamp).
3. To learn how to use a variety of simulation modes by carrying out a series of
exercises: steady state DC and AC; transient DC and AC; smallsignal analysis;
frequencyresponse.
4. TogainexperiencewiththepostprocessingfacilitiesofLTspiceinordertoviewand
analysetheresultsofyoursimulations.
5. To reinforce the IA Linear Circuits lecture course by comparing LTspice simulation
resultswithanalyticalresults.
6. ToseehowsomeoftheIAMathematicscourseisappliedinelectricalengineering.
Introduction
In the IA Linear Circuits and Digital Circuits courses you will learn about the properties of
circuit components, how they are connected together to form circuits which perform a
varietyofusefulfunctions,andhowsuchcircuitsareanalysed.Whilstitisimportanttohave
agoodunderstandingoftheprinciplesofelectricalengineering,inpracticethemethodsof
circuit analysis you will be taught have limited applicability. For example: the analysis of
circuits with many circuit components results in large systems of equations to solve; for
transient studies these equations can turn out to be systems of coupled differential
equations;nonlinearcircuitelementssuchasdiodesandfieldeffecttransistors(FETs)can
resultintheequationsbecominganalyticallyintractable.Forthesereasonsitiscommonto
findthatelectricalengineersusecircuitsimulationpackages,ofwhichLTspiceisanexample.
TheaimofthislabisforyoutogainexperienceusingLTspice,sothatyoucanapplywhat
youlearnheretothedesignandanalysisoftheAMradioreceiveryouwillbebuildinginthe
IntegratedElectricalProject(IEP).
ThehandoutstartsbyexplaininghowtousetheLTspiceSchematiceditorinordertodefine
circuits,andhowtodefinecomponentvalueswithintheeditor(Modeldefinition).Itthen
continuestoshowhowLTspicecanbeusedtoperformavarietyoftypesofanalysis:DC,AC,
frequencyresponse,transient,biaspointandsmallsignalanalysis(Modelsimulation).Some
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of the facilities for obtaining useful output from the simulations are explored (Post
processing).Allofthisisachievedviaanumberofexercises,whichhavebeensynchronised
withtheIALinearCircuitslecturessothatyoucanworkthroughthematyourownpace.
Organisationandpracticalities
Following on from the Introductory Lecture, there will be a onehour supervised LTSpice
sessionintheEIETLdesignedtohelpyougettogripswiththebasicsofusingLTSpice.Thisis
halfofyourfirst2hourlab.sessionscheduledintheEIETLfortheIEP(theotherhalfofthat
sessionisforIEPActivity2).Afterthat,youareexpectedtoworkthroughtherestofthis
handout in synchronism with the IA Linear Circuits lectures. So the idea is that when you
have covered a particular topic in the lecture course, you should attempt the associated
exercise.Exercise1reliesonnothingmorethanknowledgeofOhmsLawandyoushouldbe
able to complete that within the supervised 1 hour LTspice session. Exercise 2 concerns
chargingofacapacitor,whichmanyofyouwillhavecoveredpriortocominghere.Forthose
whohavenot,pleasereadtherelevantsectionoftheIEPTheoryDocumentbeforecarrying
out the exercise. Again, it is expected thatyou attempt this within the supervisedLTspice
sessions.Afterthat,youshouldattempttheremainingexercisesaccordingtotheschedule
below.
Exercise

Title

Page

Whentoattempt

Potentialdivider

DuringLTspicesession

Transientanalysis

DuringLTspicesession

Diodecharacterisation

10

AfterLecture6

FETcharacterisation

12

AfterLecture7

BiasingaJFETamplifier

13

AfterLecture7

ACcircuitanalysis

15

AfterLecture9

Frequencyresponse

16

AfterLecture11

Amplifiersmallsignalanalysis

20

AfterLecture13

JFETsmallsignalparameters

22

AfterLecture13

10

Amplifiercouplingcapacitors

23

AfterLecture14

11

Amplifierfrequencyresponse

25

AfterLecture14

12

Opampcircuits

26

AfterLecture17

LTspiceisaWindowsapplicationandisavailableontheWindowsPCsintheDPOandallof
theEIETLPCs.IfyouhaveyourownPCrunningWindowsasitsoperatingsystemthenyou
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can easily download and install LTspice and use it without needing to come into the
Department.
LTspice may be downloaded from http://www.linear.com/designtools/software/#LTspice
clickonDownloadLTspiceIVandfollowtheinstallationinstructions.
You can quickly generate lots of files whilst running LTspice, and so you are advised to
createanLTspicefolder,perhapswithsubfoldersforthevariousexercises.Itisalsoagood
ideatosaveyourworktoamemorystick.
Completing all 12 exercises in this handout will ensure that you gain experience with
simulatingallthecircuitcomponents,andallthemodesofcircuitsimulationthatyouwill
meetintheIALinearCircuitscourse.ItwillalsomeanthatyoucanuseLTspicetosimulate
allaspectsoftheAMradiocircuitthatyouwilldesignandbuild.
Fourmarksofstandardcreditareavailableonsuccessfulcompletionofall12exercises.A
markup will be conducted in the Lent term, as detailed in the Individual IEP Project
SpecificationandOrganisationDocument.Youshouldbringyourcompletedhandouttothis
markup,andbepreparedtodemonstrateyourunderstandingofthisactivity.

Exercise1 Potentialdivider
YoushouldattemptthisexerciseduringthesupervisedLTspicesession.
TheoryConsiderthecircuitshowninFig.1,consistingoftworesistorsinseriesconnected
to a 10V DC power supply. Determine the current flowing in the circuit and the voltage
acrosstheloadresistor,VL.Ifyoudontknowhowtodothisrefertotherelevantsectionin
theIEPTheoryDocument.
RS=100

10 V

RL =900

VL

Fig.1Potentialdividercircuit
Current=..mA
VoltageacrossRL=V
Any LTspice simulation may be regarded as three operations: circuit definition; circuit
simulation; results processing (this may be trivial/nonexistent in the case of very simple
circuitssuchasthisone!)

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Circuit definition is achieved via the LTspice Schematic editor. This provides a convenient
graphicaluserinterface(GUI)forthispurpose,andalsoprovidestheinterfaceforspecifying
thecircuitsimulationtobecarriedout.
LTspicesimulation
1. OpenLTspice.
2. OpenanewfileFile,NewSchematic.
3. Get the components you will need. For resistors, capacitors, inductors and diodes
you will see shortcuts on the top toolbar (

and

respectively). For

othercomponents(aswellastheaforementionedones)click .Anewwindowwill
appear.Thisgivesaccesstoahugelibraryofpredefinedcomponents.Forexample,
ifyouusethescrollbartoscrollacrossyouwillcometores.Clickonthisandabox
willappearwiththecircuitsymbolforaresistor(oldfashionedone!)andsometext
toconfirmthatitisindeedaresistor.IfyounowclickonOKtheboxdisappearsand
you will be able to place resistors on the main window by clicking the lefthand
mousebutton.Whenyouhaveenoughresistorsclicktherighthandmousebutton
to halt the procedure. You will also need a voltage source follow the same
procedure as you did for resistors except click on voltage in the component list.
Finallyyouwillneedagroundforyourcircuit.Thereisashortcutforthisonthetop
toolbar,clickon
andthenplaceyourgroundonthemainwindow.Atthisstage
dontworryaboutwhereexactlyyouhaveputallyourcomponents.Ifeverythinghas
gonetoplanthenyourmainwindowshouldlooksomethinglikeFig.2below.

Fig.2LTspicescreenafterstep3

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4. Nowyouneedtoorientateyourcomponentsandwirethemupintoacircuit.Usually
somesortofsquareformationworkswell.Accordingly,selectoneofyourresistors.
To do this, click on
from the top toolbar, and then click on the resistor. Now
enterCtrl+rthisrotatestheresistorsothatitishorizontal.Alternatively,selectthe
componentyouwanttorotateandclickonthe symbolfromthetoptoolbar.Click
on the left mouse button. You can click on all of your components whilst
is
highlightedanddragthemtowhereyouwantthem.Nowwireupyourcircuit.Todo
thisclickon
fromthetoptoolbarandalignthecrosshairsthatappearwithone
of the component terminals. Trace a path with the mouse in order to link the
componentwiththenextcomponentinthecircuit.Clicktheleftmousebuttonifyou
needtoputarightangledbendintothewire.Alsoclicktheleftmousebuttonwhen
you reach the next component. You can repeat this process until all components
formacircuit.Finallyattachyourgroundpointusingthewiringtool.Noticethatthis
creates a node, which appears as a square dot on your circuit. This square dot
indicatesthatthereisanelectricalconnection.InLTspicewirescancrosseachother
withoutanelectricalconnectionexistinginthatcasethereisnosquaredot.You
shouldnowhavesomethinglikeFig.3below.

Fig.3LTspicescreenafterstep4
5. Nowyouneedtogiveallyourcomponentsvalues.Foraresistor,pointattheresistor
and right click. A dialogue box will appear and you simply type the value of the
resistorintheResistor[]:box.Thereareboxesfortheresistortoleranceandpower
rating but these can be left blank. LTspice allows some useful abbreviations as
follows:
ppico=1012

nnano=109

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umicro=106

mmilli=103
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kkilo=103

megmega=106

Page6

ggiga=109

Thus,toentera1Mresistorforexample,youcouldeitherenter1000000or1meg.
Forthevoltagesource,rightclickonitandadialogueboxwillappear.Youtypethe
valueoftheDCvoltageintotheDCvalue[V]:box,andoptionallyaseriesresistance
too. Notice that LTspice displays on the main window voltage source and series
resistancevalues.
6. At this point your circuit is fully defined and so the next step is to simulate it. The
only relevant simulation here is a DC analysis, known in LTspice as DC operating
point.ClickSimulate,EditSimulationCmdfromthetoptoolbarandadialoguebox
will appear. Note the various analysis modes available. Select DC op pnt and click
OK.AtthispointthemorebasicsideofLTspiceisrevealed.Youwillseethatabox
hasappearedthatyoucandragaroundyourschematic.Leftclickandinthatboxyou
willseethetext.op.ThisiscalledanLTspicedirectiveoriginallythisprogramwasa
purelycommandlinedrivencircuitsimulatorwithnoGUI,andasyouhavejustseen,
relicsofthishistorystillremain!
7. NowclickSimulate,Run,orusethetoptoolbarshortcut
.Followingthisyouwill
seeawindowappearcontainingtheresultsofthesimulation.Ifalliswell,your
screenshouldnowlooksomethinglikeFig.4below.

Fig.4LTspicewindowafterstep7

Again,alegacyofthehistoryofLTspiceisrevealed,namelyaratherconfusingtext
basedsetofresults,sayingthingslike:

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V(n002): 9

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voltage

This means that the voltage at node2 of the circuit is 9V. But what is meant by
node2?LTspiceinternallyallocatesnodenumberstoallnodesinthecircuit(ground
excluded)butdoesntrevealtotheuserwhatthisallocationis.Fortunatelyyoucan
labelnodesinthecircuittomakeinterpretingtheseresultsmorestraightforward.
.Adialogueboxappearsandyoucan
8. Closetheresultswindowandnowselect
enteranameforanode.So,sinceyouwanttoknowwhattheloadvoltageistype
VloadintotheboxlabeledABC.ClickOKandthenattachtheresultingboxtothe
topoftheloadresistorinyourcircuit.Simulatethecircuitagainthistimetheline
thatsaid:
V(n002):

voltage

has been replaced by:

V(vload):

voltage

Much clearer! Notice that currents are described in a much more straightforward
fashion since currents flow through components they are referenced by the
componentnamesthatappearonyourcircuite.g.
I(R1):

0.01

device_current

meansthecurrentflowingthroughresistorR1.
9. Checkyourresultsdothevaluesprintedonthescreenforthecircuitcurrentand
loadvoltageagreewithyourcalculations?.
10. FinallysaveyourcircuitFile,SaveAs.

Exercise2 Transientanalysis
YoushouldattemptthisexerciseduringthesupervisedLTspicesession.
In this exercise you will explore the ability of LTspice to simulate electrical transients by
lookingatthechargingofacapacitor.Youwillalsogainfamiliaritywithsomeofthepost
processingfacilitiesavailablewithinLTspiceforanalyzingresults.
Theory
InthecircuitshowninFig.5thecapacitorisinitiallyuncharged,andsoinitiallyacurrentof
VDC/Rflows (sincethereisnocapacitorvoltageatt=0andthevoltageacrossacapacitor
cannot be changed instantaneously), depositing charge onto the plates of the capacitor.
Thusthecapacitorvoltageincreasesandsothecurrentdecreases,resultinginaslowerrate
ofchargingofthecapacitor.
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R= 1 k

VDC=10V

C=1mF

V(t)

Fig.5RCcircuit
ItisshownintheIEPTheoryDocumentthatthecapacitorvoltageisgivenby:
t

V (t ) V DC 1 e RC

ThereisalsoanexerciseintheIEPTheoryDocumentforyoutoworkthroughconcerning
thetransientbehaviourofresistorinductorcircuits.
LTspicesimulation
1. Tosavetime,startwiththecircuitusedinExercise1File,Openandthennavigate
totherequiredfile.ReplaceresistorRLwitha1mFcapacitor,andchangeRStoa1
k resistor. Capacitors are denoted cap in the components menu and the value is
altered in the same way as for resistors. Save the file under a different file name,
perhapsExercise_2.
2. Thiswillbeatransientsimulation,soclickSimulate,EditSimulationCmdandselect
TransientfromtheDialoguebox.Atthispointyouneedtothinkaboutthenatureof
thesimulation.WiththegivencomponentstheRCtimeconstantis1second.Soit
makes sense for the simulation to be over a period of time lasting say 5 time
constants i.e. 5 seconds. 10 time steps per time constant would mean that
reasonable accuracy was achieved, giving a maximum time step length of 0.1s. By
savingthedatafromtime=0thenthewholeoftheresultingwaveformcanbeseen.
Thus, enter 5 in Stop Time, 0 in Time to Start Saving Data and 0.1 in Maximum
Timestep. Leave all the other boxes unchecked. Then click OK and place the box
containingtheresultingLTspicedirectivesomewhereonyourschematic.
3. Theinitialvoltageacrossthecapacitor(whichisthesamethingasV(Vload))mustbe
settozero.ThisisdoneusingLTspicedirectives.Clickon
menu,andintheresultingdialogueboxenterthefollowing:

buttonfromthetop

.icV(Vload)=0
and then click OK. Then place the box containing this text somewhere on your
schematic.Thesyntax.icmeansInitialCondition.
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4. Nowclick
torunthesimulation.Ifalliswellanewwindowwillappearwhichis
usedtoviewwaveforms.Thehorizontalaxisforthistypeofstudyisalwaystime.To
plotthevoltageacrossthecapacitorclickon
.Thiswillbringupadialoguebox
withalistofquantitiesthatLTspicehassavedfromthesimulationandthatyoucan
plot.ClickonV(Vload)toobservethecapacitorvoltage.AlsoclickonI(C1)andthe
capacitorcurrentwillappear.YoucanplotbothonthesamewindowbypressingCtrl
and then clicking on V(Vload) and I(C1). Do this, and if all is well, you should have
somethinglikeFig.6below.

Fig.6LTspicewindowafterstep4
A nice feature of LTspice is that it will use a different axis scaling for currents and
voltages, so although the current is three orders of magnitude smaller than the
voltageinthiscircuit,thewaveformsbothfillupthegrapharea.
5. Do the LTspice results agree with your predictions? Using the equation for the
capacitorvoltageV(t),itmaybeshownthatI(t)isgivenby:

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I (t )

VDC RC
e

Calculatethefollowingquantites:
I(0)=.mA

I(1)=..mA

I(5)=.mA

V(0)=.V

V(1)=V

V(5)=V

6. NowclickonV(Vload))intheresultswindowandhorizontalandverticalcursorswill
appear,aswellasaboxtellingyouthehorizontalvalue(time)andtheverticalvalue
(Volts) depending on where you position the cross of the cursors on the V(Vload)
curve.UsethisfeaturetoreadoffV(0),V(1)andV(5).Youcandothesamethingfor
thecurrentclickonI(C1)andnowthecursorpositionwillbelinkedtoI(C1)Notice
thatnowtheverticalaxisinthecursorboxhasunitsmA.ReadoffI(0),I(1)andI(5).
Doeseverythingagreewithyouranalyticalsolution?.

Exercise3 Diodecharacterisation
YoushouldattemptthisexerciseafterLecture6oftheIALinearCircuitscourse.
Theory
The diode has the circuit symbol shown in Fig.7(a). It is a semiconductor device which
conducts current when the voltage of the anode is positive with respect to that of the
cathode,butnotwhenthecathodeispositivewithrespecttotheanode.Thesesituations
are termed forward biased and reverse biased respectively. Furthermore, in the forward
biased case the voltage across the diode needs to reach a certain value known as the
forwardvoltagedropbeforeanysubstantialcurrentflows.Butafterthatthediodevoltage
increasesverylittlewithfurtherincreasedcurrentthroughit.Thereisafiniteslope,dVD/dID
inthisregionandthisgivesrisetowhatisknownastheonstateresistanceofthediode.An
idealisedcurrentvsvoltageplotforasilicondiodeisshowninFig.7(b),andfromthisitis
seen that a diode can be characterised by its forward voltage drop and its onstate
resistance.
I

anode

cathode

Fig.7(a)Diodesymbolandterminalnames
IEPActivity1:CircuitsimulationusingLTspice

Vf

Fig.7(b)IdealisedIvsVcharacteristic
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LTspicesimulation
LTspice can be used to plot these characteristics using the idea of the DC Sweep. The DC
SweepallowsyoutosetupaDCvoltagesource(orcurrentsource)sothatitvariesbetween
alowerandupperlimitandwithacertainincrement.Itwillthenplotthevariableofyour
choiceagainstthesweptvariable.

Fig.8Diodecharacterisationcircuit
1. SetupthecircuitshowninFig.8.SelecttheIN4148silicondiodebyrightclickingon
thediodeinyourschematic,PickNewDiodeandthenclickonIN4148fromthelist
ofdiodes,thenclickOK.SettheDCvoltagesourceto0V.
2. SetupthesimulationselectDCSweepandenterV1astheNameof1stsourceto
Sweep assuming this is the default name for the voltage source in your LTspice
schematic. Set Type of Sweep to Linear, Start Value to 0, Stop Value to 3 and
Incrementto1mV.ClickonOKandplacetheresultingLTspicedirectivesomewhere
onyourschematic.Runthesimulation.
3. Select I(D1) to view, and observe that the diode current only starts to become
significant when the diode voltage exceeds a certain value, around 0.7V. You may
findithelpfultozoominaroundthisvalueonyourplot.Tofindthedioderesistance
youcouldmeasuretheslopeofthecharacteristicandtakeitsreciprocal.Butyoucan
make LTspice do the hard work for you. If you right click on I(D1) in the results
windowadialogueboxwillappearintowhichyoucanenterexpressionswhichare
functions of I(D1) to plot. LTspice has a mathematical library of functions which is
reasonably extensive. You can also write your own functions using the .func
directive.IfyouwanttofindoutwhatLTspiceiscapableofinthisrespectclickHelp,
Help Topics, then within Waveform Viewer read about Waveform Arithmetic and
UserDefinedFunctions.Butfornowjusttyped(I(D1))intotheExpressionEditor
thisisLTspicesyntaxforfindingandplottingthederivativeofI(D1).Thiswillgiveyou
a graph showing the conductance of the diode vs voltage (conductance is the
reciprocal of resistance). Notice that the plot has zero slope for small voltages (ie
infinite resistance) but a finite and approaching constant slope at V=3V. Using

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cursors,findoutwhatthisslopeis,andhencewritedownthedioderesistance.Also
writedownthediodeforwardvoltagedrop.
Rdiode=..

Vf=..V

Exercise4 FETcharacterisation
YoushouldattemptthisexerciseafterLecture7oftheIALinearCircuitscourse.
Thetheoryandanalysisofamplifiercircuitsbasedonfieldeffecttransistors(FET)formsa
significantpartoftheIALinearCircuitscourse.Thisexerciseisconcernedwithdetermining
theDCcharacteristicsofthesedevicesintheformofgraphsshowing draincurrent(ID)vs
drainsourcevoltage(VDS)fordifferentvaluesofgatesourcevoltage(VGS).
Theory
FETsarethreeterminaldevices,andthethreeterminalsareknownasthegate,drainand
sourceasshowninFig.9(a)below,andabbreviatedG,SandDrespectivelyinsubsequent
figures.Bycontrollingthevoltageatthegatewithrespecttothesource,thecurrentflowing
fromdraintosourcemaybecontrolled.Thiseffectiscausedbythegatevoltagecontrolling
the resistance of the drainsource channel, and is frequently expressed using families of
curvesinwhichthedraincurrent,ID,isexpressedasafunctionofthedrainsourcevoltage,
VDS,foravarietyofvaluesofgatesourcevoltage,VGS.N.B.thegatecurrentofaJFETiszero,
asshowninFig.11(b).Thismeansthatthedraincurrentandsourcecurrentarealwaysthe
same.InthefirstexerciseyouwilluseLTspicetoderivethesecharacteristicsforthe2N3819
JFET.

drain(D) I
D

ID

IG =0 G

VDS

VDS

gate(G)

VGS

VGS

IS=ID

source(S)

Fig.9(a)CircuitsymbolforthenchannelJFET

Fig.9(b)JFETtestcircuit

LTspicesimulation
1. Using the LTspice schematic editor set up the circuit shown in Fig.9(b). The JFET
appears in the component menu as njf, standing for nchannel JFET. To select the
specificJFETshowninthecircuit,rightclickontheFETandawindowwillappear,in
whichyouclickonPickNewJFET.Inthenextwindowclickon2N3819,thenclickOK.

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2. Nextsetupthesimulation.Todothis,usetheDCSweepwhichyouusedtoobtain
thediodecharacteristicsinthepreviousexercise.Inthiscaseyouneedtovarytwo
quantities,VDSandVGSsothesetupisslightlydifferent.IntheDCsweepmenuset
thefirstsourcetobeVDSbytypingthenameofthevoltagesourceinyourschematic
whichsuppliesthedrainsourcevoltageintotheNameof1stsourcetoSweepbox.
Set the Start Value, Stop Value and Increment to 0, 10 and 0.1 respectively. Now
clickon2ndsourceandsetNameof2ndsourcetoSweeptothenameofthevoltage
sourceinyourschematicwhichsuppliesthegatesourcevoltage.SettheStartValue,
StopValueandIncrementto5,0and0.5respectively.
3. Runthesimulationandviewtheresults.ItisthevariationofIDwithVGSandVDSyou
areinterestedin,sowithinPlotSettings,VisibleTracesselectId(J1). Youwillthen
seethefamilyofIDvsVDScurvesfordifferentvaluesofVGS.Ifeverythinghasgone
accordingtoplanyourcurveswilllooksimilartothoseshownintherelevantsection
oftheIEPTheoryDocumentandinyourLinearCircuitslecturenotes.

Exercise5 BiasingaJFETamplifier
YoushouldattemptthisexerciseafterLecture7oftheIALinearCircuitscourse.
Theory
InordertooperateaJFETasanamplifier,itmustbebiased.Biasingistheartofselecting
resistorsandDCpowersupplyvoltagesinordertoachieveacertainoperatingpointforthe
transistor. This operating point should be in the saturation region of the transistors
operatingcharacteristics.ThismeansthattheregiontotheleftofthekneeofalltheIDVDS
characteristicsmustbeavoided.Also,thegatesourcevoltagemustneverexceed0V.Often
agoodoperatingpointisonewhichisinthemiddleoftheVDSrange.Anoperatingpointof
VDS=5V,VGS=1.5VandID=3mAissuggested.Alsoassumetheavailabilityofasingle10V
DCpowersupply.ThismeansthatthecircuitofFig.10belowshouldbeused.
Thisisaselfbiasingamplifier,anditworksbecausethe1Mresistorholdsthegateat0V
(rememberthatnogatecurrentcanflowinaFET,sotherecanbenocurrentinthe1M
resistor. This ensures there is no voltage across it, and therefore the gate voltage is 0V).
ThismeansthattheVGSvalueof1.5VissetbytheresistorRS,andisgivenby:
VGS=IDRS=VSwhereVSisthevoltageofthesourcewithrespecttoground.
CalculatethevalueofRSneededtogiveVGS=1.5VwhenID=3mA.
RS=.

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ID =3mA

10V

RD

VDS =5V
S

1M

VG =0V

RS

VS =1.5V

0V
Fig.10SelfbiasedJFETamplifiercircuit

TocalculateRDwehave:
10=VS+VDS+IDRD,withVS=1.5V,VDS=5VandID=3mA.CalculateRDtosatisfythisequation.
RD=k
LTspicesimulation
1. SetupthecircuitofFig.10inLTspiceusingyourcalculatedvaluesofRSandRD.Use
thesameJFETasbefore,the2N3819.Youshouldalsoapplylabelstothegate,drain
and source terminals e.g. gate, drain and source! This will aid in viewing results
afterwards.The10VsupplyisaDCvoltagesupply,sosetthatupinthenormalway.
2. To set up the simulation, Simulate, Edit Simulation Cmd, DC op pnt, OK. This tells
LTspicetoperformaDCanalysisofthecircuit.Nowrunthesimulation.
3. WritedownthevaluesofVDS,VGS(rememberthatVDS=VDVS,VGS=VGVS)andID
thatresultfromthesimulation.
VDS=.V

VGS=..V

ID=..mA

Dothesevaluesagreewiththeoperatingpointyouwereaimingfor?.

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Exercise6 ACcircuitanalysis
YoushouldattemptthisexerciseafterLecture9oftheIALinearCircuitscourse.
Theory
ConsiderthecircuitshowninFig.11.Itshowsa127.3mHinductor,symbolL,connectedin
series with a 30 resistor R to a sinusoidal voltage source of peak voltage 100V and
frequencyfof50Hz.

L=127.3mH
V=100V,f=50Hz

R=30

Fig.11RLACcircuit
Themagnitudeofthecurrentisgivenby

V
R (L) 2
2

inwhich=2fwherefisthefrequencyoftheacsinusoidalsupply.Thephaseangle ,of
thecurrentwithrespecttothevoltageisgivenby

tan 1

L
R

ForthecircuitshowninFig.11determinethemagnitudeandphaseangleofthecurrent:
Magnitude=..A

Phaseangledegrees

LTspicesimulation
1. SetupthecircuitshowninFig.11.Theinductorhaspartnameind,anditsvalueis
setinasimilarwaytoresistorsandcapacitors.Forthevoltagesupply,rightclickonit
and then click on Advanced. This enables you to set a variety of different voltage
source waveforms, but the one you need is the one on the righthand side of the
dialogue box entitled Smallsignal AC Analysis(.AC). Enter the AC Amplitude as
100VandtheACPhaseas0,thenclickOK.
2. NowsetupthesimulationbyclickingSimulate,EditSimulationCmdandselectAC
Analysis. This dialogue box assumes that you want to know how the circuit will
behave at a variety of frequencies, whereas you are only interested in its
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performancewitha50Hzvoltagesupply.Soenter50intoboththeStartFrequency:
andStopFrequency:boxes.Theothertwoboxes,Numberofpointsperdecadeand
TypeofSweeparethenredundant,soitdoesntmatterwhatisenteredintothose
(but you have to enter something!). Click OK, and then place the resulting box
containingtheLTspicedirectivesomewhereonyourschematic.
3. Nowrunyoursimulationintheusualway.Aresultsboxwillappear.Writedownthe
magnitudeandphaseofthecurrentpredictedbyLTspice.
Magnitude=..A

Phase=..degrees

Dotheyagreewithyourearliercalculations?..

Exercise7 Frequencyresponse
YoushouldattemptthisexerciseafterLecture11oftheIALinearCircuitscourse.
In the previous exercise the steadystate AC analysis of an RL circuit at 50Hz was
explored.HereyouwilllookattheabilityofLTspicetodeterminethefrequencyresponseof
anRCcircuitwhichbehavesasalowpassfilter,andaresonantcircuitwhichbehavesasa
bandpassfilter.
Thefrequencyresponseofacircuittellsushowtheinputoutputcharacteristicofthecircuit
(oftenthevoltagegain)varieswithfrequency.Whyisthisimportant?Thisquestionisbest
answeredbyconsideringanexample.Imagineanamplifierusedforinterfacingbetweenthe
outputofa CDplayerplayingsomemusic,andsomeloudspeakers.Alsoimaginebreaking
the signal from the CD player down into different frequencies. Thus there will be low
frequenciespresentowingtothebassplayer,mediumfrequencies,andpossiblysomevery
high frequencies e.g. drummer hitting cymbals. For the amplified version of the signal
comingfromyourCDplayertosoundasintendedthenallofthesecomponentsshouldbe
amplifiedequally.Thus,thegainoftheamplifiershouldbeconstantforallfrequencies.Or
should it? Well, to answer this you need to think about the experience of the listener i.e.
you!Theaudiblefrequencyrangeofthehumanearistypicallyfrom20Hz20kHz.Soit
doesnt really matter whether the gain of the amplifier starts to reduce for frequencies
below 20Hz and above 20kHz since you cant hear them anyway. Thus, a typical audio
amplifiermighthaveaconstantvoltagegainovertheaudiorangeoffrequencies,butthen
someattenuationbelow20Hzandabove20kHz.

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TheoryLowpassfilter
R =1k

vi=1V

C=159.2nF

v0

Fig.12(a)RClowpassfilter
Consider the circuit shown in Fig.12(a). The impedance of a capacitor is 1/C and so for
large frequencies is very small, and for zero frequency (dc) is infinite. Thus, at high
frequenciestheoutputofthecircuitiseffectivelyconnectedtoground,whereasatdcthere
is an open circuit between the output and ground and so the output voltage and input
voltagewillbethesame.Thiscircuitisthereforeknownasalowpassfilteritallowslow
frequencysignalsfromtheinputtopropagatetotheoutput,butattenuateshighfrequency
signals.Wecanexpressallofthismathematicallyas:

Gain

vo
1

vi
1 ( CR) 2

Thephaseoftheoutputvoltagewithrespecttotheinputvoltageisgivenby:

tan 1 CR
You should be able to derive these expressions from your IA Linear Circuits course. The
derivation is also outlined in IEP Theory Document, and you should consult the relevant
section if necessary. By examining this equation you can see that for small values of
frequency(andhence)thegainisunity,butforverylargevaluesitvariesapproximately
as1/(CR),asexpectedfromthephysicalreasoninggivenabove.
Howdoyoucharacterisesuchcircuits?Normallythereisarangeoffrequenciesoverwhich
thegainispracticallyconstant.Thisrangeoffrequenciesisreferredtoasthemidband,and
thecorrespondinggainasthemidbandgain.Bylookingattheequationforthegainabove
youcanseethatprovidingCR<<1thenthegainis1,andthisisthenthemidbandgainof
thecircuit.Itiscommonpracticetoquotethefrequencyatwhichthegainhasfallento1/2
ofthemidbandgaintoo.Thisfrequencygoesbyabewilderingvarietyofnamescorner
frequency,3dBfrequency,halfpowerfrequency.Anexplanationofthesetermsisgivenin
the IEP Theory Document. In this case this frequency is the upper limit of the midband
rangeoffrequencies,thelowerlimitbeingDCi.e.zero.Itisseenfromtheequationabove
thatthisconditioncorrespondstoCR=1,andsoprovidingRandCareknown,the3dB
frequencyofthecircuitmaybefound(dontforgetthat=2f,areallycommonmistake!).
Alternatively,foradesiredvalueof3dBfrequencyacircuitdesignercaneasilyworkout
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whatvaluesofRandCareneeded.ForthecircuitshowninFig.12(a),calculateandwrite
downthe3dBfrequencyandthecorrespondingphaseangleoftheoutputvoltage.
3dBfrequency=..Hz

Phaseat3dBfrequency=..degrees

LTspicesimulation
1. MakeanLTspicemodelforthecircuitofFig.12(a).Tosavetimeyoucouldstartwith
the LTspice circuit of Exercise2, making any necessary changes to the component
values.Setthevoltagesourceasyoudidinthepreviousexercisebutto1Vandzero
phase.GetridofanyexistingLTspicedirectives.
2. NowsetupthesimulationunderACanalysisselectDecadefortheTypeofSweep,
10fortheNumberofpointsperdecade,10fortheStartFrequencyand100kHzfor
the Stop Frequency. This will cause LTspice to compute the frequency response of
the circuit over a range of frequencies from 10Hz up to 100kHz, displaying the
resultssothatdecadechangesinfrequency(thismeansachangeinfrequencyofa
factorof10e.g.10Hzupto100Hz)takeequalincrementsalongthehorizontalaxis.
Itwillcompute10pointsforeverydecadeinterval.Runthesimulation.
3. SelectV(Vload)astheoutputvariabletoplot.Noticethatthisproducestwoplots,
oneforthemagnitudeoftheoutputvoltage,theotheroneforitsphase.Thesolid
lineistheformer,thedashedlinethelatter.Usingthecursorsfindandwritedown
the3dBfrequencyandthecorrespondingphaseangle.
3dBfrequency=..Hz Phaseat3dBfrequency=..degrees
Dothesevaluesagreewithyourtheoreticalpredictions?
Theoryresonantfilter
ConsiderthecircuitshowninFig.12(b)consistingofaninductorLinserieswithacapacitor
C.TheresistorRmodelstheeffectoftheresistanceofthewirefromwhichtheinductoris
made.

R = 10

L = 400 H
vi

C = 175.9 pF

v0

Fig.12(b)Seriesresonantcircuit
Inelectricalresonance,energyisswappedbetweentheenergystoredintheelectricfieldof
a capacitor and the energy stored in the magnetic field of an inductor. For any circuit
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containing inductance and capacitance there will be a natural, or a resonant frequency at

whichthistransferofenergytakesplace.Theseideasareanaloguestoaformofmechanical
resonance with which you will be familiar, that of pendulum of a clock. Here, energy is
swapped between potential and kinetic energy, and the frequency of the resulting
oscillationsistheresonantfrequencyofthesystem.Whatabouttheeffectoftheresistor?
Resistorsconsumeelectricalpower,convertingitintoheat,andsotheyacttodampdown
theresonance.Thisisanalogoustofrictionandairresistancegraduallyremovingtheenergy
fromtheswingingpendulum,andthetermforthisisdamping.Todescribehowsignificant
thedampingis,thetermqualityfactor,orQ,ofthesystemisused.Qisdefinedastherate
atwhichenergyisswappedbetweenthetwotypesofenergydividedbytherateatwhich
energyisdissipatedduetodamping.Thus,aheavilydampedresonancewillsoondieout,
whereasalightlydampedonewillcontinueformanyperiodsofoscillation.InyourIALinear
Circuitsnotes,andintheIEPTheoryDocumentthefollowingresultsarederivedforseries
electricalresonantcircuitsofthetypedepictedinFig.12(b):

0 2 f 0
Q

0 L
R

1
LC

f
1
1 L

0
0 CR R C f

Theequationforthegainoftheresonantcircuitis
Gain

vo
1

2
vi
(CR) (1 2 LC ) 2

Gainatresonance

oCR

ForthecircuitshowninFig.12(b),calculatetheresonantfrequency,f0,theQfactorandthe
3dBbandwidthf.
f0=.kHz

Q=.

f=..kHz

LTspicesimulation
1. MakeanLTspicemodelforthecircuitofFig.12(b).Setthevoltagesourceasyoudid
inthepreviousexercise.GetridofanyexistingLTspicedirectives.
2. NowsetupthesimulationunderACanalysisselectDecadefortheTypeofSweep
and1000fortheNumberofpointsperdecade.SettheStartFrequencytof0/10and
theStopFrequencytof010.Thiswillensurethatthefrequencysweepincludesthe
frequenciesaroundresonance.
3. SelectV(Vload)astheoutputvariabletoplot.Asbefore,therewillbeamagnitude
and a phase plot. You will notice that the magnitude plot contains a sharp peak.
Using the cursors find and write down the resonant frequency and the gain at
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resonance,whichisalsothesamethingastheQfactorofthecircuit.Thencalculate
theoutputvoltageatthe3dBpoint,andusingcursorsdeterminethebandwidthof
thecircuit,fandwriteitdown.Toachievegoodaccuracyyouwillneedtozoomin
onthemagnitudeplotaroundtheresonantpeak.
Resonantfrequencyf0=kHz

Qfactor=

f=..kHz

Dothevaluesagreewithyourtheoreticalvalues?
4. Plotthecapacitorcurrentandwritedownitsphaseattheresonantfrequency.
Phase=.degrees
Explainthisresult.

5. To illustrate the effect of damping, increase the resistor to 100 and rerun the
simulation.Howdoesthenewmagnitudeplotofthecapacitorvoltagecompareto
thepreviousone?Why?

Calculate the new theoretical value of Q, and write down the new value of Q
obtainedusingyourLTspicesimulations.
TheoreticalvalueofQ=......................

SimulatedvalueofQ=.......................

Commentontheiragreement.......................................................................................

Exercise8 Amplifiersmallsignalanalysis
YoushouldattemptthisexerciseafterLecture13oftheIALinearCircuitscourse.
Theory
HavingbiasedtheFETamplifier(seeExercise5)itisnowinterestingtoseehowitperforms
asanamplifier.Onewayofdoingthisistoapplyasinusoidalvoltageofsmallamplitude(say
0.1V)attheamplifierinput(thegateoftheFET).Indeed,thisideagivesrisetothename
smallsignalanalysis.ThiswillcausethevoltageatthedrainoftheFET(theoutputvoltage
oftheamplifier)tohaveacomponentwhichoscillatesatthesamefrequencyastheinput
voltage.Byobservingthepeakpeakamplitudeofthiscomponentoftheoutputvoltageit
will become clear that amplification has occurred. A full explanation of this is provided in
theIEPTheoryDocumentandinyourIALinearCircuitslecturenotes.

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LTspicesimulation
1. StartingwiththeLTspicecircuitofExercise5,addintheadditionalvoltagesourcevi
asshowninFig.13below.Thiswillsupplythesmallsignalinputvoltage.Rightclick
on this voltage source and in the window that appears select Advanced, and then
fromthelefthandlistofoptionsselectSINE.Aseriesof7boxeswillappearbutyou
onlyhavetoentervaluesintothefirstthreeofthem.Enter0forDCoffset[V],0.1
for Amplitude[V] and 1k for Freq[Hz]. This will apply a 1kHz sinusoidal voltage of
0.1VpeakamplitudeandzeroDCoffsettotheinputoftheamplifier.
2. Also insert the capacitor CS shown in Fig.13, in parallel with RS. Set its value to
100F.YouwillfindoutmoreabouttheeffectofthiscapacitorinExercise10,but
for now it is enough to understand that capacitors become shortcircuits as far as
smallsignals are concerned (capacitor impedance is 1/C and this is negligible
compared to other resistances in the circuit at 1kHz). Thus, the effect of this
capacitor isto connect the source of the JFET to ground as far as smallsignals are
concerned.

10V

RD

G
S

vi

1M

RS

CS

v0

0V

Fig.13SmallsignalanalysisofJFETamplifier
3. Firstofall,solveforthedcoperatingpointSimulate,EditSimulationCmd,DCop
pnt, OK. Then set up a transient simulation: Stop Time 0.01; Time to Start Saving
Data:0;MaximumTimestep:1u.ThenRunthesimulation.
4. Plot the gate voltage and the drain voltage. These plots illustrate what is going on
withyouramplifier.Thegatevoltagewillbea1kHzsinusoidofpeakpeakamplitude
0.2V,becausethatwaswhatyousetittobeinStep1.Thedrainvoltagewillhavea
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DC component, and that is the bias value that you set it to when you set the
operating point of the JFET in the previous exercise. But superimposed on this is a
1kHzsinusoidofgreateramplitudethantheinputsinusoid.Sothesmallsignalinput
voltage has been amplified. Click on V(vd) and use the cursors to measure the
minimumandmaximumvoltageatthedrain.
Min.voltage=V Max.voltage=V

Peakpeakvoltage=V

Hencefindthegainoftheamplifierbydividingthepeakpeakdrainvoltagebythe
peakpeakinputvoltage.
Gain=.
5. PlotthevoltageatthesourceoftheJFETonitsown.ItshouldhaveaDCcomponent
ofaround1.5V,assetinthepreviousexercise.Itwillalsohavea1kHzcomponent,
butitwillbetiny.YouareobservingtheeffectofthecapacitorCS.Thiscapacitorhas
noeffectonthebiasingofthecircuitbecauseitisanopencircuittoDC.Howeverit
more or less gets rid of any smallsignal voltage at the source. Measure the peak
peakvoltageatthesourceusingcursorsandwriteitdown.
Peakpeakvoltageatthesource=V
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 above, but this time without the capacitor CS connected in
parallelwithRS.Writedownthenewamplifiergainandthepeakpeakvoltageatthe
sourceoftheJFET.
Gain=

Peakpeakvoltageatthesource=..V

Whyhasthegaingonedown?

Exercise9 JFETsmallsignalparameters
YoushouldattemptthisexerciseafterLecture13oftheIALinearCircuitscourse.
Theory
ForsmallvariationsinID,VDSandVGSabouttheJFEToperatingpoint,amethodofanalysis
known as smallsignal analysis is used. Briefly, the JFET is characterised for smallsignal
operationbytwoparameters:gm,whichisknownasthemutualconductanceandrdwhichis
knownasthedrainsourceresistance.Thesearedefinedas:

gm

I D

VGS

and

I D
1

rds VDS

These definitions suggest a way of deducing the parameters from the operating
characteristicsoftheFETfoundinExercise4.SupposingVDSisheldatitsbiasvalueof5V,
and VGS is varied, and a graph of IDvsVGS is then plotted. The slope of the characteristic
measuredatVGS=1.5Vwillbetherequiredvalueofgm,sincethatisthedefinitionofgm.
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Then,byholdingVGSconstantat1.5VandvaryingVDS,aplotofIDvsVDSmaybeobtained.
The slope of this plot measured at VDS=5V is then the reciprocal of the drainsource
resistance.OnceyouhavethesmallsignalparametersoftheFETitispossibletoderivethe
smallsignalgainoftheamplifieras:
Gain

vo
RD rd

gm
vi
RD rd

DetailsofwherethisexpressioncomesfromareprovidedintheIEPTheoryDocumentand
inyourIALinearCircuitsnotes.
LTspicesimulation
1. FirstfindthesmallsignalparametersoftheJFETatthebiaspoint.Tofindgm,setup
amodelwithafixedvalueforVDSof5V,andvaryVGSfrom5Vto0V(usetheDC
sweepthatyouusedinthediodecharacterisationexercise,Exercise3).ThenplotID
asafunctionofVGS,andfindtheslopeofthecharacteristic,again,asyoudidinthe
diodeexercise.
gm=mS
NowfixVGS=1.5VandvaryVDSfrom0V10V,plotIDvsVDSandfinditsslope.The
drainsourceresistanceisthenthereciprocaloftheslopeatVDS=5V.
rds=
2. Insertthevaluesintotheexpressiondevelopedforgainabove.
Gain=.
HowdoesitcomparewiththegainfoundinExercise8?..

Exercise10 Amplifiercouplingcapacitors
YoushouldattemptthisexerciseafterLecture14oftheIALinearCircuitscourse.
Theory
As you have seen, Exercise 8 shows that the amplifier produces an output voltage which
consistsofaDCvoltage(thebiasdrainvoltage)ontowhichissuperimposedanACvoltage
(the amplified version of the input voltage). In reality it is only the AC voltage that is of
interest, and the bias voltage becomes a nuisance when connecting the amplifier, for
example, to a loudspeaker. The bias component of the output voltage will simply waste
power in the loudspeaker. Thus, coupling capacitors are generally used. This relies on the
factthatcapacitorshaveinfiniteimpedancetoDC,sinceXC=1/C,butverylowimpedance
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to AC. They also enable amplifiers to be connected in series without worrying about
connectingtwopointswhichareatdifferentDCbiasvoltagelevels.Thus,itisusualtosee
capacitorsbetweeninputvoltageandinputterminalofanamplifier,andsimilarlybetween
outputterminalandload.Thesecapacitorsareknownascouplingcapacitors.
LTspicesimulation
1. UseLTspiceSchematicstosetupthecircuitshowninFig.14.Tosavetimeyoucan
startwiththecircuitofExercise8andmodifythat.Setallthecapacitorsto100F
thisissolargethattheycanallbethoughtofasshortcircuitsatthe1kHzfrequency
ofthesmallsignalvoltagesupply.SettheloadresistorRLto5k.
2. PerformatransientanalysisasyoudidinExercise8.Observetheoutputvoltageof
theamplifieri.e.thevoltageacrosstheloadresistorRL.Noticethatasexpected,the
couplingcapacitorhasremovedtheDCcomponentofthisoutputvoltage.Measure
thegainoftheamplifierandwriteitdown.
Gain=..
Notice that the gain is somewhat smaller than you got before. Why? HINT:
ExperimentwiththevalueofRLandseehowitaffectsthegain.

10V

RD

Ci

G
S

C0

vi

1M

RS

CS

RL

V0

0V

Fig.14Amplifiercircuitwithcouplingcapacitorsandloadresistor
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Exercise11 Amplifierfrequencyresponse
YoushouldattemptthisexerciseafterLecture14oftheIALinearCircuitscourse.
Theory
Isthereanydownsidetothecapacitorsintroducedinthepreviousexercise?Yes,thereis.
Atverylowfrequenciesthecouplingcapacitorsbehaveasopencircuits,andsoeffectively
theinputvoltagetotheamplifierbecomesdisconnectedfromtheamplifierinput,andthe
load resistor becomes disconnected from the amplifier output. The trick involves making
surethattheselowfrequenciesaresolowthattheyareoutsidethefrequencyrangethat
theamplifierisrequiredtoamplify.Forexample,foranaudioamplifierthismeansmaking
sure that the attenuation due to the coupling capacitors occurs below the lowest audible
frequencythatthehumanearcanheartypicallyaround20Hz.
In addition to the circuit capacitors, at very high frequencies the presence of parasitic
capacitancesbetweengateandsource(Cgs)andgateanddrain(Cgd)oftheJFETmaymake
themselvesfelt.Thus,forhighfrequenciestheJFETmodelusedinthesmallsignalanalysis
must include the effect of these capacitances. Fortunately the LTspice model for JFETs
includestheseanyway,andsotheireffectsareautomaticallyincludedinanysimulation.The
effectofthesecapacitancesistoreducethegainoftheamplifierathighfrequencies.Thisis
anadvancedtopic,andyouwillsimplyobservethatthefrequencyresponseoftheamplifier
hasbothlowandhighfrequencylimitations.
LTspicesimulation
1. Usethesamecircuitasforthepreviousexercise,butthistimesetallthecapacitors
to1F.
2. Do a dc operating point simulation first. Then set up a frequency response
simulation from 10Hz up to 1GHz and Run the simulation. Plot the gain of the
amplifier vs frequency. Set the vertical axis to decibels. Using cursors estimate the
high frequency3dB frequency ofthe amplifier and writeit down. It should be of
theorderof100MHz.
Highfrequency3dBfrequency=MHz
WhatyouareobservingistheeffectoftheparasiticcapacitancesoftheJFET.
3. Nowinvestigatetheeffectsofthethreecircuitcapacitances.Dothisbyleavingtwo
ofthemwithverylargevalues(1F)andalteringtheotheronetosomethingmore
realisticsuchas10F.Observetheamplifiergainvsfrequencycharacteristicasyou
didinstep2,butthistimegoforarangeoffrequenciesfrom0.1Hzto10kHz.Seeif
youcancalculatevaluesforCi,C0andCSsothateachcapacitorindependentlygivesa
3dB frequency of 10Hz, using your IA Linear Circuits lecture notes. Or, if youd
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ratherjustexperiment,thensimplytryalteringthevalueofthecapacitanceuntilyou
achievea3dBfrequencyof10Hz.Asaruleofthumb,increasingthecapacitanceby
acertainfactorwillreducethe3dBfrequencybythesamefactor,andviceversa.
So for example, if you find that you get a 3dB frequencyof 100Hz with Ci set to
10F then changing Ci to 100F should bring it down to 10Hz. This exercise
illustratesamajorbenefitofLTspice:ratherthanhavingtophysicallybuildacircuit
andtryoutdifferentvaluesofcomponents,orattempttoperformacomplexcircuit
analysis,youcanplayaroundwithcomponentvaluesuntilthecircuitbehavesasyou
wantitto.Thenyougoaheadandbuildthecircuit.
When you have found values for Ci, C0 and CS that satisfy the requirement above,
writedowntheirvalues,andperformafrequencyresponseanalysisoftheamplifier
from1Hzto1GHz.
Ci=..F

C0=F

CS=..F

Exercise12 Opampcircuits
YoushouldattemptthisexerciseafterLecture17oftheIALinearCircuitscourse.
The operational amplifier (opamp for short) is a very useful device for electronics
engineers,andcanbeusedtoperformalargevarietyoffunctions.Theyaremanufactured
as integrated circuits (IC) and Fig.15(a) below shows a photograph of one of the many
different types of this device known as the 741. Fig.15(b) is an illustration of the internal
configurationofthisopamp,fromwhichyoucandeducewhatthevariouspinsoftheICdo.

Fig.15(a)741opampin8pinpackage

Fig.15(b)Internalconfiguration

Inthisexerciseyouwillsimulateanoninvertingopampcircuit.
Theory
For more detail on the theory of opamps and their circuits, consult the IEP Theory
Document. Only a very brief overview is provided here. Opamps have the circuit symbol
shownbelowinFig.16,whichalsoshowsthenamesgiventothethreeterminals.Theyalso
havetwofurtherterminalstoenableconnectiontoaDCpowersupply,labelledVCCandVCC
inFig.16.Sometimesthissupplyisunipolare.g.thepositivesupplyis5V,thenegativeone
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0V, sometimes it is bipolar e.g. 15V. These connections are often not shown in circuit
diagrams,butitisimportanttobeawareofthemsinceinrealitytheopampoutputvoltage
isconstrainedtoliewithintherangeofitspowersupplyvoltages.

+VCC
Noninvertinginput

Output

Invertinginput

VCC

Fig.16Opampcircuitsymbol
Asetofassumptions,knownastheidealopampassumptionsareoftenusedtomakethe
analysisofopampcircuitswithnegativefeedbackeasier.Negativefeedbackmeansthata
fraction of the output voltage is fed back to one of the input terminals in a way which
opposes the input voltage. In turn, this meansthat the voltages at the inverting and non
inverting inputs are always the same, and this is known as the virtual earth principle. In
addition, the input resistance of opamps is extremely high, and so it is assumed that no
current can flow into either of the inputs. Finally, the output resistance of the opamp is
verysmall,whichmeansthatitmaybeassumedthattheoutputvoltagewillnotchangeas
the opamp output current changes. These approximations enable surprisingly accurate
predictions to be made about opamp circuits, and you can use them to analyse the
performanceofthecircuitshownbelowinFig.17.Thisisastandardnoninvertingopamp
circuit.

v0

vi
R1

R2

Fig.17Noninvertingopampcircuit
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ThebehaviourofthiscircuitisanalysedintheIEPTheoryDocument,page46.Here,onlythe
finalresultisgiven.
Gain

vo
R
1 1
vi
R2

WithR2setto1kfindthevalueofR1requiredtogiveagainof10:R1=k
LTSpicesimulation
1. Set up the circuit shown in Fig.17 using the resistor values you found above. Be
carefulnottogettheinvertingandnoninvertinginputsmixedup!Fortheopamp,
withinthecomponentlibraryclickon[Opamps],OK,andthenscrolltotheendand
clickonUniversalOpamp2,OK.Setthepositivepowersupplytotheopampto5V
andthenegativeoneto0V.ForvichoosethestandardDCvoltagesourceandsetits
voltageto0V.Forthesimulationitself,performaDCsweepsothatvivariesfrom
1Vto+1V.
2. Plottheopampoutputvoltagevsviandalsothevoltageattheinvertinginputvsvi.
Forvibetween0Vand0.5Vhowistheoutputvoltagerelatedtotheinputvoltage?

Howarethevoltagesattheinvertingandnoninvertinginputsrelated?
Doesthisagreewiththeory?.
Explainwhatishappeningwhenviislessthan0Vandviisgreaterthan0.5V.

..

DrTJFlack

September2010,revisedOctober2012

DrPARobertson

revisedSeptember2013

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