Digital Electronics/Second Class Second Subject

Basic Operation Circuits

1-Integrators and Differentiators

2- The Op-Amp Integrator:-

The Ideal Integrator An ideal integrator is shown in Figure (1).

Notice that the feedback element is a capacitor that forms an RC circuit
with the input resistor. Although a large -value resistor is normally used
in parallel with the capacitor to limit the gain .it does not affect the basic
operation and is not shown for purposes of this analysis.

Figure (1 ):- An op-amp integrator.

How a Capacitor Charges To understand how an integrator works, it is

important to review how a capacitor charges. Recall that the charge Q on
a capacitor is proportional to the charging current (IC) and the time (t).

Q = IC t

Also, in terms of the voltage, the charge on a capacitor is

Q = CVC

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From these two relationships, the capacitor voltage can be expressed as

This expression has the form of an equation for a straight line that
begins at zero with a constant slope of ( IC/C) . Remember from algebra
that the general formula for a straight line is y =mx+ b.

In this case, y = VC, m =IC/C, x= t, and b =0.

Recall that the capacitor voltage in a simple RC circuit is not linear but
is exponential. This is because the charging current continuously
decreases as the capacitor charges and causes the rate of change of the
voltage to continuously decrease. The key thing about using an op-amp
with an RC circuit to form an integrator is that the capacitor’s charging
current is made constant, thus producing a straight-line (linear) voltage
rather than an exponential voltage. Now let’s see why this is true.

In Figure (2), 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

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Figure (2): Currents in an integrator

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 (2), 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 by the virtual ground of the
op-amp. The voltage on the negative side of the capacitor, which is the
op-amp output voltage, decreases linearly from zero as the capacitor
charges, as shown in Figure( 3). This voltage, VC, is called a negative
ramp and is the consequence of a constant positive input.

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Figure (3):- A linear ramp voltage is produced across the capacitor by the
constant charging current.

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. This is indicated in Figure (4).

Figure (4):- A constant input voltage produces a ramp on the output

of the integrator.

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 ΔVout /Δt.

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Digital Electronics/Second Class Second Subject

∆𝐕𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝑽𝒊𝒏
=─
∆𝐭 𝑹𝒊 𝑪

(Integrators are especially useful in triangular- wave oscillators)

Example1:-

(a) Determine the rate of change of the output voltage in response to the
input square wave, as shown for the ideal integrator in Figure below. The
output voltage is initially zero. The pulse width is 200µs.
(b) Describe the output and draw the waveform.

Solution
(a) The rate of change of the output voltage during the time that the input
is at +2.5 V (capacitor charging) is:-

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2-The Op-Amp Differentiator:-

The Ideal Differentiator An ideal differentiator is shown in Figure (5).

Notice how the placement of the capacitor and resistor differ from the
integrator. The capacitor is now 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.

Figure (5):-An op-amp differentiator

To see how the differentiator works, apply a positive-going ramp voltage

to the input as indicated in Figure (6). 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

𝑉𝑐
IC = ( 𝑡 ) 𝐶

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Figure (6):- A differentiator with a ramp input

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, as illustrated in Figure
(7). During the positive slope of the input, the capacitor is charging from
the input source and the constant current through the feedback resistor is
in the direction shown. During the negative slope of the input, the current
is in the opposite direction because the capacitor is discharging.

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Notice in Equation above that the term VC/t is the slope of the input. If
the slope increases, Vout increases. If the slope decreases, Vout decreases.
The output voltage is proportional to the slope (rate of change) of the
input. The constant of proportionality is the time constant, Rf C.

Figure (6):- Output of a differentiator with a series of positive and

negative ramps (triangle wave) on the input.

Example:
Determine the output voltage of the ideal op-amp differentiator in
Figure for the triangular-wave input shown.

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Figure shows a graph of the output voltage waveform relative to the

input.

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Digital Electronics/Second Class Second Subject

2 -Summing Amplifiers:-
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 is shown in figure ( 8 ) ,but any number of
inputs can be used .the operation of the circuit and derivation of the
output expression are as follows. Two voltages,VIN1 and VIN2 ,are applied
to the inputs and produce currents I1 and I2 , as shown.

Figure (8):- Two-input inverting summing amplifier

Using the concepts of infinite input impedance and virtual ground, you
can see that the inverting (-) input of the Op-amp is approximately (0V),
and there is no current at the input. This means that both currents I1 and I2
combine at this summing point and form the total current (I T), which goes
through Rf, as indicated in figure (8).

IT = I1 + I2

Since VOUT = - IT Rf ,the following steps apply :-

𝑉𝑖𝑛1 𝑉𝑖𝑛2
VOUT = - ( I1 + I2 )Rf = - ( + ) Rf
𝑅1 𝑅2

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

𝑉𝑖𝑛1 𝑉𝑖𝑛2
VOUT = - ( + ) Rf = - ( Vin1 + Vin2 )
𝑅1 𝑅2

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The pervious equation shows that the output voltage has the same
magnitude as the sum of the two input voltage but with a negative sign
indicating inversion.

A general expression is given in equation below for a unity –gain

summing amplifier with n inputs, as shown in figure (9) where all
resistors are equal in value.

VOUT = - ( Vin1 + Vin2 +Vin3 + - - - +Vin N )

Figure (9) :- Summing Op- amp

Example:-

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Summing Amplifier with Gain Greater Than Unity:-

When Rf is larger than the input resistors, the amplifier has a gain of
𝑅𝑓
( ), where R is the value of each equal-value input resistor. The general
𝑅
expression for the output is:-
𝑅𝑓
VOUT = - (Vin1 + Vin2 +Vin3 + - - - +Vin N )
𝑅

As you can see, the output voltage has same magnitude as the sum of
all the input voltages multiplied by a constant determined by the ratio:

𝑅𝑓
(- )
𝑅

Figure (10):- The Summing Amplifier

The summing amplifier, shown in Fig.10, is a variation of the inverting

amplifier. It takes advantage of the fact that the inverting configuration
can handle many inputs at the same time. We keep in mind that the
current entering each op amp input is zero. Applying KCL at node a:-

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We note that va = 0 and substitute in the above Eq. We get

This equation Indicate that the output voltage is a weighted sum of the
inputs. For this reason, the circuit in (Fig.10) is called a summer. The
summer can have more than three inputs.

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Digital Electronics/Second Class Second Subject

Scaling adder:-

A different weight can be assigned to each input of a summing amplifier

by simply adjusting the value 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 R f 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.

Example:- Determine the weight of each input voltage for the scaling
adder, and find the output voltage.

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Example:-

Use the same figure in the previous example to design an op-amp circuit
with inputs V1 ,V2 ,V3 whose output is ( Vo = - ( 2V1 + 4V2 + 8V3) )using
small resistors but no smaller than 10 KΩ .

Solution:-

Vo = - ( 2V1 + 4V2 + 8V3 )

R1, R2, R3 ≥ 10 KΩ
𝑅𝑓 𝑅𝑓 𝑅𝑓
=2 , =4 , =8
𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑅3

R3 = 10 KΩ
Rf = 80 KΩ
R2 = 20 KΩ
R1 = 40 KΩ

Cascaded Op Amp Circuits

As we know, op amp circuits are modules or building blocks for
designing complex circuits. It is often necessary in practical applications
to connect op amp circuits in cascade (i.e., head to tail) to achieve a large
overall gain. In general, two circuits are cascaded when they are
connected in tandem, one behind another in a single file.

A cascade connection is a head-to-tail arrangement of two or more op

amp circuits such that the output of one is the input of the next.

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When op amp circuits are cascaded, each circuit in the string is called a
stage; the original input signal is increased by the gain of the individual
stage.

Op- amp circuits have the advantage that they can be cascaded without
changing their input-output relationships. This is due to the fact that each
(ideal) op amp circuit has infinite input resistance and zero output
resistance. Figure (13) displays a block diagram representation of three
Op- amp circuits in cascade. Since the output of one stage is the input to
the next stage, the overall gain of the cascade connection is the product of
the gains of the individual op amp circuits, or

A = A1 A2 A3
Although the cascade connection does not affect the op amp input
output relationships, care must be exercised in the design of an actual op
amp circuit to ensure that the load due to the next stage in the cascade
does not saturate the op amp.

Figure (14):- A Three- Stage Cascaded connection

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