NED UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

ASSIGNMENT

BASIC ELECTRONICS (BEL)

SPRING SEMESTER 2018-19

TELECOMMUNICATION DEPT

MARIAM MUNEEB (TC-050)

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Operation of Comparator Circuits

A comparator is a specialized op-amp circuit that compares two input voltages
and produces an output that is always at either one of two states, indicating the
greater or less than relationship between the inputs.

Zero-Level Detection
One application of an op-amp used as a comparator is to determine when an input voltage exceeds a
certain level. The inverting input is grounded to produce a zero level and that the input signal voltage is
applied to the noninverting input. Because of the high open-loop voltage gain, a very small difference
voltage between the two inputs drives the amplifier into saturation, causing the output voltage to go to
its limit.

When the sine wave is positive, the output is at its maximum positive level. When the sine wave crosses
0, the amplifier is driven to its opposite state and the output goes to its maximum negative level, as
shown. The zero level detectors can be used as a squaring circuit to produce a square wave from a sine
wave.

Nonzero-Level Detection
To detect positive and negative voltages a fixed reference voltage source is connected to the inverting
input. Using a voltage divider to set the reference voltage,

Where + V is the positive op-amp dc supply voltage. A zener diode is used to set the reference voltage
(VREF = VZ). As long as Vin is less than VREF, the output remains at the maximum negative level. When
the input voltage exceeds the reference voltage, the output goes to its maximum positive voltage.
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Effects of Input Noise on Comparator Operation

In order to understand the potential effects of noise voltage, consider a low-frequency sinusoidal
voltage applied to the noninverting (+) input of an op-amp comparator used as a zero-level detector.
When the sine wave approaches 0, the fluctuations due to noise may cause the total input to vary above
and below 0 several times, thus producing an erratic output voltage.

Reducing Noise Effects with Hysteresis

In order to make the comparator less sensitive to noise, a technique
incorporating positive feedback, called hysteresis, can be used. The two
reference levels are referred to as the upper trigger point (UTP) and the
lower trigger point (LTP). This two-level hysteresis is established with a
positive feedback arrangement, as shown in Figure.

Assume that the output voltage is at its positive maximum, +Vout(max).

The voltage fed back to the noninverting input is VUTP and is expressed
as

When Vin exceeds VUTP, the output voltage drops to its negative maximum. Now the voltage fed back
to the noninverting input is VLTP and is expressed as

A comparator with built-in hysteresis is sometimes known as a Schmitt trigger. The amount of hysteresis
is defined by the difference of the two trigger levels.
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Operation of Summing Amplifier Circuits

A summing amplifier has two or more inputs, and its output voltage is
proportional to the negative of the algebraic sum of its input voltages.

A two-input summing amplifier

Two voltages, VIN1 and VIN2, are applied to the inputs and
produce currents I1 and I2, as shown. Using the concepts of
infinite input impedance and virtual ground, you can determine
that the inverting input of the op-amp is approximately 0 V and
has no current through it. This means that the total current IT,
which goes through Rf divides into I1 and I2 at summing point A.

Since Vout= -IT Rf the following steps apply:

If all three of the resistors are equal (R1 = R2 =Rf = R), then

The previous equation shows that the output voltage has the same magnitude as the sum of the two
input voltages but with a negative sign, indicating inversion. A general expression for a unity-gain
summing amplifier with n inputs, where all resistors are equal in value is given as,

Summing amplifier with n inputs.

Summing Amplifier with Gain Greater Than Unity

When Rf is larger than the input resistors, the amplifier has a gain of Rf/R, where R is the value of each
equal-value input resistor. The general expression for the output is
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As you can see, the output voltage has the same magnitude as the sum of all the input voltages
multiplied by a constant determined by the ratio -(Rf/R).

Averaging Amplifier
A summing amplifier can be made to produce the mathematical average of the input voltages. This is
done by setting the ratio Rf/R equal to the reciprocal of the number of inputs (n).

Scaling Adder
A different weight can be assigned to each input of a summing amplifier by simply adjusting the values
of the input resistors. As you have seen, the output voltage can be expressed as

The weight of a particular input is set by the ratio of Rf to the resistance, Rx, for that input (Rx= R1, R2,
...Rn). For example, if an input voltage is to have a weight of 1, then Rx =Rf. Or, if a weight of 0.5 is
required, Rx= 2Rf. The smaller the value of input resistance Rx, the greater the weight, and vice versa.

Operation of Integrator & Differentiator Circuits

The Op-Amp Integrator

The Ideal Integrator
An ideal integrator is shown in Figure A. Notice that the feedback element is a capacitor that forms an
RC circuit with the input resistor. In Figure B, the inverting input of the op-amp is at virtual ground (0 V),
so the voltage across Ri equals Vin. Therefore, the input current is

B
A
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If Vin is a constant voltage, then Iin is also a constant because the inverting input always remains at 0 V,
keeping a constant voltage across Ri. Because of the very high input impedance of the op-amp, there is
negligible current at the inverting input. This makes all of the input current go through the capacitor, as
indicated in Figure B, so

Ic = Iin

The Capacitor Voltage

Since Iin is constant, so is IC. The constant IC charges the capacitor linearly and produces a linear voltage
across C. The positive side of the capacitor is held at 0 V. The voltage on the negative side of the
capacitor, which is the op-amp output voltage, decreases linearly from zero as the capacitor charges.
This voltage, VC, is called a negative ramp and is the consequence of a constant positive input.

The Output Voltage

Vout is the same as the voltage on the negative side of the capacitor. When a constant positive input
voltage in the form of a step or pulse (a pulse has a constant amplitude when high) is applied, the
output ramp decreases negatively until the op-amp saturates at its maximum negative level.

Rate of Change of the Output Voltage

The rate at which the capacitor charges, and therefore the slope of the output ramp, is set by the ratio
IC/C, as you have seen. Since IC = Vin/Ri, the rate of change or slope of the integrator’s output voltage is
∆Vout/∆t.

Integrators are especially useful in triangular-wave oscillators.

The Practical Integrator

In a practical integrator, any dc error voltage due to offset error will cause the output to produce a ramp
that moves toward either positive or negative saturation (depending on the offset), even when no signal
is present. Practical integrators must have some means of overcoming the effects of offset and bias
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current. Various solutions are available, such as chopper stabilized amplifiers; however, the simplest
solution is to use a resistor in parallel with the capacitor in the feedback path.

The Op-Amp Differentiator

The Ideal Differentiator
In differentiator capacitor is the input element, and the resistor is the feedback element. A differentiator
produces an output that is proportional to the rate of change of the input voltage.

An ideal differentiator is shown as,

To see how the differentiator works, apply a positive-going ramp voltage to the input as indicated in
Figure 13–38. In this case, IC =Iin and the voltage across the capacitor is equal to Vin at all times
(VC = Vin) because of virtual ground on the inverting input. From the basic formula, VC =(IC/C)t, the
capacitor current is
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Since the current at the inverting input is negligible, IR IC. Both currents are constant because the slope
of the capacitor voltage (VC/t) is constant. The output voltage is also constant and equal to the voltage
across Rf because one side of the feedback resistor is always 0 V (virtual ground).

The output is negative when the input is a positive-going ramp and positive when the input is a
negative-going ramp.

The Practical Differentiator

The ideal differentiator uses a capacitor in series with the inverting input. Because a capacitor has very
low impedance at high frequencies, the combination of Rf and C form a very high gain amplifier at high
frequencies. This means that a differentiator circuit tends to be noisy because electrical noise mainly
consists of high frequencies. The solution to this problem is simply to add a resistor, Rin, in series with
the capacitor to act as a low-pass filter and reduce the gain at high frequencies. The resistor should be
small compared to the feedback resistor in order to have a negligible effect on the desired signal. A bias
compensating resistor may also be used on the noninverting input. Figure shows a practical
differentiator.

References
Electronic Devices, Electron Flow Version (9th Edition) By Thomas L. Floyd