Sensors

Lecture (14)
Operational Amplifier
 Operational Amplifier
➢ Operational Amplifier (Op-amp) is a high gain linear amplifier
packaged in IC form.
➢ Op-amps are essentially a core part of analog devices.
➢ An op-amp produces an output voltage that is typically hundreds of
thousands of times larger than the voltage difference between its
input terminals.
➢ The most important properties of the op amp is very high input
impedance and very low output impedance.
➢ V+: non-inverting input.
➢ V−: inverting input.
➢ Vout: output.
➢ VS+: positive power supply.
➢ VS−: negative power supply.
➢ The power supply pins (VS+ and VS−) are often left out of the diagram for
clarity.
➢ The output voltage of the op-amp Vout is given by the equation (A is the gain
of op-amp):
Vout = A (V+ − V−)
➢ This gain is very high so to reduce the gain, feedback from the output to the
input is usually done through a resistor.
 1- Inverting Amplifier
➢ The Non-inverting input is
connected to the ground.
Rf
➢ The voltage gain is ( + ).
Rin

➢ From the configuration:

Vout Rf
=
−Vin R in
Rf
∴ Vout =− Vin
R in
Example 1:
For inverting amplifier with R in =1200 Ω and R f =150 KΩ.
What is the gain and the O/P voltage for an I/P voltage of 3.5
mV ?
Solution:
Rf 150 ∗ 103
Gain = + = = 125
R in 1200

Rf
Vout =− Vin = −125 ∗ 3.5 ∗ 10−3 = −0.4375 V
R in
 2- Non-inverting Amplifier
➢ The Non-inverting input receives the signal
while the Inverting input is connected
between Rf and Rin.
➢ The output will be in phase with the input.
Rf
➢ The voltage gain is ( 1 + ).
Rin

➢ From the configuration:

Vout Rf Rf
=1+ ∴ Vout = 1+ Vin
Vin R in R in
Example 2:
For inverting and non-inverting amplifier with R in = 4.7 KΩ
and R f = 120 KΩ. If a voltage of 0.15 V is applied to the I/P of
each amplifier, What will be the O/P voltage?
Solution:
For inverting amplifier: For non-inverting amplifier:

Rf 120 Rf
Vout =− Vin = − ∗ 0.15 Vout = 1+ Vin
R in 4.7 R in
= −3.83 V 120
= 1+ ∗ 0.15 = 3.98 V
4.7
 3- Summing Amplifier
➢ A summing amplifier is an inverting
amplifier with more than one voltage at
the input terminal.

➢ From the configuration:

Rf Rf Rf
Vout =− Vin1 + Vin2 + Vin3
R in1 R in2 R in3
Example 3:
Find the O/P voltage for the
following summing amplifier?

Solution:
Rf Rf
Vout =− Vin1 + Vin2
R in1 R in2

10 10
=− ∗2+ ∗ 5 ∗ 10−3
1 2
= −45 mV
 4- Differential Amplifier
➢ A differential amplifier is an
amplifier that amplifies the
difference between two input
voltages.

➢ From the configuration:

Rf
Vout = V2 − V1
R1
Example 4:
For a differential amplifier, an input of 130 mV is applied to
the inverting terminal and -85 mV is applied to the non-
inverting terminal. What is the output voltage assuming R f =
120 KΩ and R1 = 4.7 KΩ?
Solution:

Rf 120
Vout = V2 − V1 = −85 ∗ 10−3 − 130 ∗ 10−3 = −5.5 V
R1 4.7
 5- Voltage Follower

➢ Also called a unity-gain amplifier or a buffer amplifier.

➢ It is a op-amp circuit which has a voltage gain of 1. This means that
the op amp does not provide any amplification to the signal.
➢ The reason it is called a voltage follower is because the output voltage
directly follows the input voltage, meaning the output voltage is the
same as the input voltage.

➢ An op amp circuit is a circuit with a very high input impedance (> many
MΩ).

➢ The op amp has low output impedance (< 20 Ω).

➢ There are two reasons for the use of buffer amplifier:

1. Voltage Followers draw very little current.
2. Voltage Followers are important in voltage divider circuits.
 Voltage Followers draw very little
current
➢ If a load has very low resistance, it draws huge amounts of current.
This causes huge amounts of power to be drawn from the power
source.

➢ When a circuit has a very high input impedance, very little current is
drawn from the circuit.

➢ Thus, Voltage Followers are used because they draw very little
current, not disturbing the original circuit, and give the same voltage
signal as output.
 Voltage Followers are important in
voltage divider circuits
➢ A voltage divider between the top
10KΩ resistor and the bottom
10KΩ and 100Ω resistors in
parallel.
➢ The voltage divider equation is
characterized by the following
equation:
10KΩ and 10KΩ||100Ω
➢ 10KΩ || 100Ω = (10KΩ)(100Ω)
/1.1KΩ = 99.01Ω ~ 99Ω.
➢ The voltage divider formula for the voltage across the top 10KΩ resistor
is:
V= 10V(10KΩ)/(10KΩ+99Ω)= 9.9V.

➢ The voltage divider formula for the voltage across the bottom 10KΩ
resistor and the 100Ω resistor is:
V= 10V(99Ω)/(10099Ω)= 0.098V or 98mV.

➢ Because the resistors 10KΩ and 100Ω are in parallel, they have the
same voltage across each other, which is 98mV.
➢ If the load needs about 5V to operate, there will not be sufficient
voltage at the output and this configuration will not work.
➢ The voltage divider is now
between the top 10KΩ resistor
and the 10KΩ resistor and op
amp at the bottom.
➢ Assume the impedance of the op
amp is 100MΩ.
➢ The voltage divider equation is
characterized by the following
equation:
10KΩ and 10KΩ || 100MΩ
➢ 10KΩ || 100MΩ =
(10KΩ)(100MΩ) /(10KΩ +
100MΩ)= 9999Ω ~ 10KΩ.
➢ The voltage divider formula for the voltage across the top 10KΩ resistor
is:
V= 10V(10KΩ)/(10KΩ+10KΩ)= 5V.

➢ The voltage divider formula for the voltage across the bottom 10KΩ
resistor and the 100Ω resistor is:
V= 10V(10KΩ)/(10KΩ+10KΩ)= 5V.

➢ Because the resistors 10KΩ and 100Ω are in parallel, they have the
same voltage across each other, which is 5V.

➢ So, the op amp could buffer the output of this circuit so that the load
receives the voltage it needs.
Example 5:

What is the O/P voltage of the

buffer amplifier? Assume the
I/P impedance of the buffer is
2MΩ and the O/P impedance is
15 Ω.
Solution:
2MΩ || 8KΩ
2 ∗ 106 ∗ 8 ∗ 103
R eq = 6 3
= 7.97 KΩ
2 ∗ 10 + 8 ∗ 10

Voltage at input buffer is

12 ∗ 7.97
= 7.99 V
4 + 7.97

2 ∗ 103
∴ 𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 3
∗ 7.99 = 7.93 V
15 + 2 ∗ 10
 6- Voltage to current converter
➢ These type of circuits is particularly useful in the industrial
application as well as in instrumentation.
➢ Assume measuring some parameter like temperature using the sensor,
and assume that the sensor is giving output in terms of the voltage.
➢ If the location where these sensors are measuring the particular
parameter and the location where the value of this sensor is getting
displayed is quite far away from each other, the voltage which is
generated by the sensor needs to be transported to the other end.
➢ The voltage measured at the other end is less than the original
transferred voltage.
➢ This is because during the transportation of this voltage, there will be a
voltage drop across the cable and the noise will get superimposed over
this voltage.
➢ So, this is the basic problem in industrial applications when dealing
with voltage.
➢ If this voltage is converted into current, then this current will remain
constant throughout the length of the cable and will be less prone to
the external noise.
➢ So, this is the basic advantage of converting the voltage into the current
in the industrial applications especially when the two locations are
quite far away from each other.
➢ The design of the voltage to current converter can be done by using the
op-amp.
➢ In order to design a voltage to
current converter, simply connect a
load resistor RL in series with this
voltage source:
Vin
I=
R
➢ In the voltage to current converter,
the value of the current should only
depend upon the input voltage and it
should be independent of the load
resistance.
➢ So, this problem can be avoided by
using the op-amp.
➢ From this configuration:
I1 + I2 = IL

VIN − V1 Vo − V1
+ = IL
R R
VIN − V1 + Vo − V1 = IL R
VIN + Vo − 2V1 = IL R

➢ For the non-inverting amplifier, the

output voltage is:

R
Vo = 1 + V1 = 2V1
R
 ∴ VIN + 2V1 − 2V1 = IL R

∴ VIN = IL R

VIN
IL =
R

From the previous equation, the

resulting current isn’t affected by the
value of the load current R L .
 7- Current to voltage converter
➢ The input current is connected at
the inverting terminal of this op-
amp.
➢ The feedback resistor R is
connected between the output
terminal and the inverting input
terminal.
➢ The non-inverting terminal is
connected to the ground.
➢ Because of the virtual ground concept,
node A will be also at zero voltage.

➢ By applying KVL at this node A:

Iin = IR

0 − Vo −Vo
Iin = =
R R

∴ Vo = −Iin R
 8- Current amplifier
➢ Consists of current to voltage converter and voltage to current
converter.