ECEN4827/5827 lecture notes

Effects of op-amp imperfections on application circuits (part 1)

Objectives in this segment of the course are to:
1. Define op-amp static and dynamic characteristics and examine the effects of opamp imperfections in several circuit application examples.
2. Motivate follow-up discussions about transistor-level op-amp circuit design
techniques aimed at improving op-amp characteristics.
3. Review some of the prerequisite circuit and device modeling and analysis
techniques required in subsequent course topics.
Op-amp imperfections
DC and low-frequency small-signal characteristics:

Open-loop low-frequency voltage gain Ao = vo/(v(+) v())

Output resistance, rout
Input resistance, rin
Supply voltages VDD, VSS (or VCC, VEE); supply currents IDD, ISS (or ICC, IEE)
Output saturation limits, VOmin, VOmax; output voltage swing VOmin < VO < VOmax
Maximum output (source or sink) current
Input offset voltage, VOS; temperature drift of the input offset voltage VOS/T
[mV/oC]
Input bias current, IB = (IB+ + IB)/2; temperature drift IB/T
Input offset current, IOS = IB+ IB; temperature drift IOS/T
Common-mode rejection ratio CMRR
Power-supply rejection ratio PSRR
Input common-mode voltage range, VCMmin < VCM < VCMmax

Dynamic (small-signal and large-signal) characteristics

Open-loop transfer function AOL(s)

Gain-bandwidth product GBW, or unity-gain bandwidth
Input and output impedances, Zin(s), Zout(s)
Slew-rate SR
Frequency-dependent common-mode rejection ratio CMRR(f)
Frequency-dependent power-supply rejection ratio PSRR(f)
Input noise

We will introduce the op-amp characteristics and imperfections through application

examples.

Application circuit examples

1. Basic inverting gain circuit example, effects of finite Ao, finite rin and non-zero rout
R2
VDD
R1

_
+

vI

vO

VSS

Figure 2.1: Basic inverting-gain application circuit

Assuming an ideal op-amp, the closed-loop gain of the circuit in Fig. 2.1 is well known:
(ACL)ideal = vo/vi = R2/R1.
Analysis of ideal negative-feedback op-amp circuits, such as the example of Fig. 2.1, is
usually based on the fact that the ideal op-amp with very large open-loop gain forces the
(+) and () input voltages to be equal. For example, in the circuit of Fig. 2.1,
v() = v(+) = 0, and the () input of the op-amp is called the virtual ground.
Suppose that the op-amp in Figure 2.1 has a finite open-loop gain Ao. It is of interest to
find the effect of Ao on the closed-loop gain ACL. A model of the op-amp with finite Ao,
and all other characteristics ideal, is shown in Fig. 2.2.

+
+
Ao(v(+)v())

Figure 2.2: Model of an op-amp with finite Ao

Applying this model in the circuit of Fig. 2.1, we obtain the circuit model in Fig. 2.3.

R2

R1

+
A (v(+)v())
o

vi

vo

Figure 2.3: Model of the circuit in Fig. 2.1 using an op-amp with finite Ao.
Solving the circuit model in Fig. 2.3, yields the closed-loop gain

ACL

R1
Ao
v o R2
R1 + R2

.
=
=
R1
vi R1
1 + Ao
R1 + R2

It is instructive to note that the closed-loop gain is in the form

ACL = ( ACL )ideal

T
,
1+ T

where T = AoR1/(R1+R2) is the loop-gain in the negative-feedback circuit of Fig. 2.3. Note
that the loop gain represents the total gain for a signal starting from a point in the
feedback loop to the same point around the loop. Analysis and computation of the loopgain T will be addressed in more detail later.
Comments:
Op-amps are usually constructed with a relatively large open-loop gain Ao, e.g,
Ao > 104 (80dB).
The open-loop gain of an op-amp can vary significantly from one component to
another, or over temperature, bias or other operating conditions. As a result, opamp application circuits are rarely based on a precise value of Ao.
The closed-loop gain of a negative-feedback application circuit is close to the
ideal value, independent of Ao, as long as the loop gain T is much larger than 1. In
other words, as long as Ao is large enough so that T is much larger than 1, the
exact value of Ao is not important.
The loop gain T is smaller in an application that requires a larger magnitude of
the closed-loop gain, i.e. a larger R2/R1. Therefore, an application circuit with a
larger closed-loop gain is more sensitive to variations in the op-amp open-loop
gain Ao.

Suppose that the op-amp in Figure 2.1 has a finite open-loop gain Ao, a finite input
resistance rin, and a non-zero output resistance rout. A model of the op-amp with these
imperfections is shown in Fig. 2.4.

rout
+
Ao(v(+)v())

rin

Figure 2.4: Model of an op-amp with finite Ao

Applying this model in the circuit of Fig. 2.1, we obtain the circuit model in Fig. 2.5.
R2

R1

rout
rin

vi

+
A (v(+)v())
o

vo

Figure 2.5: Model of the circuit in Fig. 2.1 using an op-amp with finite Ao, finite rin, and
non-zero rout.
A feedback-circuit analysis technique (to be studied later) can be used to obtain the
closed-loop gain by inspection:
ACL = ( ACL )ideal

rout
rin
T
1
,
+
1 + T rout + R2 + R1 || rin rin + R1 1 + T

where the loop-gain T is given by

T = Ao

R1 || rin
R1 || rin + R2 + rout

and (ACL)ideal = R2/R1. You may want to verify the result for ACL using standard circuitanalysis techniques.

Comments:
If the loop-gain T is very large, the closed-loop gain is close to the ideal value,
independent of Ao, rin, or rout. An op-amp with a very large open-loop gain Ao (so
that T is very large) can be used to construct precise negative-feedback
application circuits even though it may have significant imperfections in rin or
rout. Large gain is the most important characteristic of an op-amp.
Finite rin, and non-zero rout tend to reduce the loop gain in application circuits,
requiring a larger Ao to achieve large loop-gain values.
The parameters Ao, rout, rin, are small-signal parameters they apply to smallsignal variations of voltages and currents around a DC operating point.
2. Static transfer characteristic; output voltage swing
The ranges of output and input voltages such that an op-amp operates with a large smallsignal open-loop gain Ao are constrained by the supply voltages VDD and VSS. On the
output side, the saturation voltages Vomin and Vomax define the available output voltage
swing. A typical static transfer characteristic of an op-amp is shown in Fig. 2.6.
Vo
VDD
Vomax
output voltage swing
Vomin < Vo < Vomax
slope = Ao

v(+) v()

Vomin
VSS

Figure 2.6: Static transfer characteristic of an op-amp.

In a typical op-amp, due to the limitations of the transistors in the output stage, the
output voltage swing is smaller than the supply voltage range, Vomax < VDD and
Vomin > VSS. Using more advanced circuit design techniques, it is possible to achieve an
output voltage swing approximately equal to the supply voltage range, Vomax VDD and
Vomin VSS. Such op-amps are said to have a rail-to-rail output voltage swing, which
is particularly advantageous in low-voltage applications where achievable signal-tonoise ratios can be limited by the available supply voltages.

3. A positive-feedback circuit example

Consider the circuit of Fig. 2.7, which is the same as the basic inverting amplifier of
Fig. 2.1, except that the op-amp inputs have been swapped.
R2
VDD
R1
+
_
+
vI

vO

VSS

Figure 2.7: A positive-feedback circuit.

Assuming vI = 0, Figure 2.8 shows a graphical analysis of possible DC operating points
in this circuit: the op-amp transfer characteristic overlaps the DC transfer characteristic
of the feedback circuit around the op-amp: VO = V(+)(R1+R2)/R1.
Vo
b
Vomax

a
V(+)

Vomin

V(+)

Figure 2.8: Graphical analysis of the possible DC operating points in the positivefeedback circuit of Fig. 2.7.
There are three intersections of the two curves, i.e., there are three possible DC operating
points. If the circuit operates at the operating point a, i.e. assuming that vi = 0 results in
V(+) = VO = 0, the ideal closed-loop gain of the circuit in Fig. 2.7 would be R2/R1, the
same as in Fig. 2.1. However, consider an arbitrarily small perturbation V(+) in V(+)
around the operating point a. In a practical circuit, this perturbation, from internal noise
or offset imperfections, or from external disturbances, would be unavoidable. The
graphical analysis in Fig. 2.8 shows that the operation of the circuit diverges from point
a to one of the saturation limits at point b or at point c, depending on the sign of the
disturbance. In conclusion, the DC operating point of the positive feedback circuit in

Fig. 2.6 is at one of the two saturation limits, not at the point a where the closed-loop
small-signal gain ideally equals R2/R1. Finally, we note that the small-signal closedloop gain at point b (or c) is zero: a small-signal input voltage vi = Vi results in no
output voltage variations, vo = Vo = 0.
Comments:
The ideal op-amp circuit analysis based on v(+) = v() holds only for negativefeedback application circuits, and under the assumption that the op-amp operates
with very large open-loop voltage gain Ao away from the saturation limits.
Negative-feedback is used to construct amplifiers and other linear application
circuits. Stability of negative-feedback circuits is an important topic, which will
be addressed later.
In positive-feedback circuits, the non-linearity of the op-amp transfer
characteristic, such as the saturation limits, must be included in the analysis to
find possible DC operating points. Positive-feedback is used to construct circuits
such as voltage comparators or oscillators.