CIRCUITS AND

6.002 ELECTRONICS

The Operational Amplifier

Abstraction

Cite as: Anant Agarwal and Jeffrey Lang, course materials for 6.002 Circuits and Electronics, Spring 2007. MIT
OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu/), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].

6.002 Fall 2000 Lecture 19

 Review
MOSFET amplifier 3 ports

power
VS
+ port
+ vO output
input port
vI
port

Amplifier abstraction
VS
+

vI vO
+ +
vI v
O
Function of vI

Cite as: Anant Agarwal and Jeffrey Lang, course materials for 6.002 Circuits and Electronics, Spring 2007. MIT
OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu/), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].

6.002 Fall 2000 Lecture 19

 Review
vI vO

Function of vI

Can use as an abstract building block for

more complex circuits (of course, need
to be careful about input and output).
Today
Introduce a more powerful amplifier
abstraction and use it to build more
complex circuits.

Reading: Chapter 15 from A & L.

Cite as: Anant Agarwal and Jeffrey Lang, course materials for 6.002 Circuits and Electronics, Spring 2007. MIT
OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu/), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].

6.002 Fall 2000 Lecture 19

 Operational Amplifier
Op Amp

VS

power +
+ port
input
port output
port

+

VS

More abstract representation:

+ +
vIN vOUT

Cite as: Anant Agarwal and Jeffrey Lang, course materials for 6.002 Circuits and Electronics, Spring 2007. MIT
OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu/), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].

6.002 Fall 2000 Lecture 19

 Circuit model (ideal):

+ vO
i=0
v+
+
v +
Av

v A

i=0

i.e. input resistance

0 output resistance
A virtually
No saturation

Cite as: Anant Agarwal and Jeffrey Lang, course materials for 6.002 Circuits and Electronics, Spring 2007. MIT
OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu/), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].

6.002 Fall 2000 Lecture 19

 Using it

12V + VS = 12V

+ vO
vIN

VS = 12V RL

12V +

Demo
vO active region
12V
saturation

vIN
10 V 10V
A ~ 106
12V but unreliable,
temp. dependent

(Note: possible confusion with MOSFET saturation!)

Cite as: Anant Agarwal and Jeffrey Lang, course materials for 6.002 Circuits and Electronics, Spring 2007. MIT
OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu/), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].

6.002 Fall 2000 Lecture 19

 Let us build a circuit
Circuit: noninverting amplifier
v+
+
v vO
vIN +


R1

R2

Equivalent circuit model

+ op amp
i=0
v+ vO
+ A(v + v )
vIN +
R1

v

i=0

R2

Cite as: Anant Agarwal and Jeffrey Lang, course materials for 6.002 Circuits and Electronics, Spring 2007. MIT
OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu/), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].

6.002 Fall 2000 Lecture 19

 Let us analyze the circuit:
Find vO in terms of vIN, etc.

vO = A(v + v )

R2
= A vIN vO
R1 + R2
AR2
vO 1 + = AvIN
R1 + R2
AvIN
vO =
AR2
1+
R1 + R2

What happens when A is very large?

Cite as: Anant Agarwal and Jeffrey Lang, course materials for 6.002 Circuits and Electronics, Spring 2007. MIT
OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu/), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].

6.002 Fall 2000 Lecture 19

 Lets see When A is large
AvIN AvIN
vO =
AR2 AR2
1+
R1 + R2 R1 + R2
(R1 + R2 )
vIN
R2
Suppose A = 10 6
R1 = 9 R gain
R2 = R
10 6 vIN
vO =
10 6 R
1+
9R + R
10 6 vIN
= Demo
1
1 + 10 6

10
vO vIN 10
Gain:
determined by resistor ratio
insensitive to A, temperature, fab variations
Cite as: Anant Agarwal and Jeffrey Lang, course materials for 6.002 Circuits and Electronics, Spring 2007. MIT
OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu/), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].

6.002 Fall 2000 Lecture 19

 Why did this happen?
Insight:
5V
v+ 12V
+ 10V
v A vO = 2vIN
vIN + 5V
R
6V 6V
vO

negative i =0 2
feedback R

e.g. vIN = 5V
Suppose I perturb the circuit
(e.g., force vO momentarily to 12V somehow).
Stable point is when v+ v- .
Key: negative feedback portion of
output fed to ve input.
e.g. Car antilock brakes
small corrections.
Cite as: Anant Agarwal and Jeffrey Lang, course materials for 6.002 Circuits and Electronics, Spring 2007. MIT
OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu/), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].

6.002 Fall 2000 Lecture 19

 Question: How to control a
high-strung device?

Antilock brakes

is it
turning?

yes/no k
db ac its
fee all about
Michelin control
no
yes
release apply
sc
di

v. v. powerful brakes

Cite as: Anant Agarwal and Jeffrey Lang, course materials for 6.002 Circuits and Electronics, Spring 2007. MIT
OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu/), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].

6.002 Fall 2000 Lecture 19

 More op amp insights:
Observe, under negative feedback,
R1 + R2
vIN
R1
v+ v = O =
v
0
A A

v+ v

We also know
i+ 0
i - 0

yields an easier analysis method

(under negative feedback).

Cite as: Anant Agarwal and Jeffrey Lang, course materials for 6.002 Circuits and Electronics, Spring 2007. MIT
OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu/), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].

6.002 Fall 2000 Lecture 19

 Insightful analysis method
under negative feedback
v+ v
i+ 0
i 0

R1 + R2
a vIN g vO = vIN
R2
+
vO
b vIN
vIN +
R1 f vIN
c vIN R2
e i=0
vIN
d R2
R2

Cite as: Anant Agarwal and Jeffrey Lang, course materials for 6.002 Circuits and Electronics, Spring 2007. MIT
OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu/), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].

6.002 Fall 2000 Lecture 19

 Question:
a vIN v +
+ c vIN
v vO ?
vIN +
b vIN

vO vIN

R1 + R2
or vO = vIN
R2
with R1 = 0
R2 =

Cite as: Anant Agarwal and Jeffrey Lang, course materials for 6.002 Circuits and Electronics, Spring 2007. MIT
OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu/), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].

6.002 Fall 2000 Lecture 19

 Why is this circuit useful?

+
vO
vIN +

vO vIN

Buffer
voltage gain = 1
input impedance =
output impedance = 0
current gain =
power gain =

Cite as: Anant Agarwal and Jeffrey Lang, course materials for 6.002 Circuits and Electronics, Spring 2007. MIT
OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu/), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].

6.002 Fall 2000 Lecture 19