Prof. Dr.

Ahmet İhsan KUTLAR

Prof. Dr. Nihat YILDIRIM
Res. Assit. Eren ÖZKUR
 3.2.2 Amplifiers Using Operational Amplifiers

 Practical signal amplifiers can be constructed using a common, low cost, integrated
circuit (IC) component called an operational amplifier, or simply an op-amp.

 An op-amp is represented schematically by a triangular symbol as shown.

 An operational amplifier is designed so that it performs some mathematical operations

(like amplification/multiplication, subtraction filtering etc) when external components,
such as resistors and capacitors are connected to its terminals. A commercially
available op-amp is identified by the number μA741C.

 The main and the most important parameter of an op-amp is the gain (symbols of G,
A, a etc are used to define the gain)
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You can find detailed information about op-amps at different sources like:

 Handbook of operatıonal amplıfıer applıcatıons

https://www.ti.com.cn/cn/lit/an/sboa092b/sboa092b.pdf?ts=1616900031981&ref_url=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.go
ogle.com%252F
 Op Amp Circuit
http://pioneer.netserv.chula.ac.th/~tarporn/487/HandOut/OpAmpFund.pdf

3
 *Symbols of G, A, a etc are used to define the gain

4
 *Symbols of G, A, a etc are used to define the gain 5
 V

In an ideal op-amp
Vo =Vd *Gain

Gain = Vo / Vd

where Vd (or Vi)= Vp - Vn

 *Symbols of G, A, a etc are used to define the gain 6

3.2.2 (Cont'd) Loading Effect- input loading & output loading

 The source device or sensor can be modeled

as a voltage generator Vs, in series with a resistor
Rs. (internal and/or lead resistor)

 Op-amp has an internal input resistance Ri

and output resistance Ro (with an input voltage of
Vi and output voltage generator Vo= G*Vi, in ideal
condition)
Sensor itself op-amp itself Recorder itself
 The electrical component after op-amp (e.g a (source) (Load)

recorder) ca be modelled as a voltage measuring

unit measuring VL with an input resistance of RL

 When the three components are connected

together all the resistances will effect both input
voltage and output voltage of the op-amp
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 3.2.2 (Cont'd) Loading Effect

Input loading and output loading are potential problems that can occur when
using an amplifier (and when using many other signal conditioning devices)
in connection with other electrical components.

The input voltage to an amplifier is generated by an input or source device

Only op-amp
such as a sensor or another signal conditioning device.

The output voltage of the source/sensor device is altered when it is

connected to the amplifier due to the relative value of Rs wrt value of Ri and
this condition is called “the input loading effect”.

A similar problem occurs when the output of the amplifier is connected to op-amp about to connect
with input source
another device in reference to the relative values of Ro and RL– the amplifier
output voltage will be changed and this condition is called “the output loading
effect”.

To analyze these loading problems, it is possible to use rather simple models

op-amp connected with input
of the devices and apply the Kirchoff Law of circıits on both input and output source and output load

side of the op-amp.

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 Vi=Ri*i VL=Ri*i
i=Vs/(Rs+Ri) i=(A*Vi) / (R0+RL)

The realGain is: Ideally expected Gain is:

9
 3.2.2 (Cont'd) Loading Effect

 Ideally it is expected that G= VL/Vs = Vo/Vi

 But when the amplifier is connected to the input source and the
output load, the actual gain will change

Analyzing this circuit set produce:

So actual gain gain is:

The ideal Gain (G) can be obtained only if RL >>Ro and Ri >>Rs hence VL= G*Vs
In such condition, there will be no loading effect from source and output

 Thus the ideal amplifier (or signal conditioner) has to have

 an infinite input resistance (Ri ) and

 a zero value of output resistance (Ro ).

 For sinusoidal input signals, this statement can be made general by requiring

“infinite input impedance” and a “zero output impedance”.

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11
 3.2.2 (Cont'd) Op-Amp Frequency Response

a gain of 1 is zero dB,

the frequency response of the a gain of 10 is 20 dB,
amplifier in the form of a Bode plot a gain of 100 is 40 dB, etc

 Figure above shows the frequency response of the amplifier in the form of a Bode plot.

 It indicates that the gain is essentially constant from low frequency up to a cutoff frequency, fc

 The range of frequencies between fo = 0 and fc is the bandwidth of this amplifier.

12
 3.2.2 (Cont'd) Op-Amp Frequency Response

the frequency response of the amplifier in the form of a Bode plot

 Above cutoff frequency fc, the gain starts to decrease, or roll off, and this roll-off
occurs at a rate of 6 dB per octave.

 An octave is a doubling of the frequency, this means that each time the frequency
doubles in the range above fo the gain will decrease by 6 dB from the value

 Actually, the gain starts to decline at frequencies slightly below fc since fc is

defined as the frequency at which the gain has declined by 3 dB.

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3.2.2 (Cont'd) Gain Bandwidth Product GBP

 This roll off in gain at high frequencies is an inherent characteristic of op-amps.

 The cutoff frequency, fc, depends on the low-frequency gain of the amplifier
 The higher the gain, the lower is fc.
 This low-frequency gain & cutoff frequency relationship is described by a parameter
called the gain-bandwidth product (GBP).
 For most op amp based amplifiers, the product of the low-frequency gain (G) and the
bandwidth (fc) is a constant. (GBP= G * fc =constant)
 Since the lower frequency limit of the bandwidth is zero, the upper cutoff frequency
can be evaluated from

 A value of GBP is a characteristic of the op-amp itself and can be obtained from
device handbooks: A741C op-amp has a GBP of 1 MHz .
 Some more expensive op-amps have higher values of GBP.
14
 If it is required to have a high gain and a larger bandwidth, it is possible to cascade
two amplifiers; that is, the output of one amplifier is used as the input for the next.
 Each amplifier has a lower gain, but the overall gain for the two stages is the same,
and the bandwidth will be much higher
 For GBP=10MHz ;
a) a single opamp may provide G=100k with bandwith of fc=100HZ (100k*100Hz=1MHz)

b) Or a single opamp may provide G=10k with bandwith of fc=1kHZ (10k*1000Hz=1MHz)

c) Or a cascaded opamp set (each opamp with G=10k with fc=1kHz) may provide an overall gain of
10k*10k =100k with a bandwith of fc=1kHz (having the same overall gain but larger bandwith in
reference to option a)

15
 3.2.2 (Cont'd) GBP and Phase Angle

 Although the gain is constant over the bandwidth, the phase angle between the
input and the output, Φ, may show a strong variation with frequency f of the
input signal.
 However, the variation of Φ with f is very close to linear for f from 0Hz to fc/2 ,
and the variation of Φ with f is approximately linear for f=0Hz to f= fc
 Therefore, signals with frequency within the bandwith will be subject to only
modest phase distortion
 For the noninverting opamp given above the phase distortion, Φ, is given by

 At f = fc , Φ has a value of -0.785 rad (-45°).

 This means that the output trails the input by one-eighth of a cycle.
16
 3.2.3 Signal Attenuation
 In some cases a measurement will result in a voltage
output with amplitude higher than the input range of the
next component. The voltage must then be reduced to
a suitable level by the process known as attenuation.
The simplest method is to use a voltage-dividing
network:

 The resulting output voltage from this network is

Dividing networks of this type have potential loading problems (as explained in amplifiers subject). The use
of large values of resistance in voltage dividers presents another problem in addition to loading. At high
signal frequencies, the impedance due to small amounts of capacitance can be comparable to the divider
resistances and produce attenuation that is frequency dependent.

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3.2.4 Electrical noise in signal

18
 3.2.4 Electrical noise in signal

 The undesired but also usually

the uncontrolable noise may
effect both anolog and digital
signals
 Frequency of noise may be
specific (like 50Hz) or wide
band (including large range of
frequncies)

19
 3.2.4 Electrical noise in signal
The sources of noise may include:
 Main lines (220Volts and 360Volts)
 Switching Power supplies
 Electric motors
 Transport Vehicles and ignition circuits
 Electronic devices (like microvawe oven,
medical equipments, etc)
 Poor wiring and improper grounding
 Long wires picking up radio frequency
 etc
The remedies of noise/interference problems:
 Correct wiring and proper grounding of system
 If possible keep away from external noise sorces like
 Switching Power supplies
 Electric motors
 Transport Vehicles and ignition circuits
 Electronic devices (like microvawe oven, medical
equipments, etc)
 Use short and isolated wires if possible
 If not able to minimize/cancel noise by the methods above try
using filtering of the signal to remove unwanted noise
20
 3.2.5 General Aspects of Signal filtering

 In many measuring situations, the signal is a complicated time-

varying voltage which can be considered to be the sum of many sine
waves of different frequencies and amplitudes.

 It is often necessary to remove some of these unwanted frequencies

by a process called filtering.

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 3.2.5 (Cont'd) Filter Types

 A filter is a device by which a time-varying signal is modified intentionally, depending on its frequency.

 Filters are normally broken into four types: lowpass, highpass, bandpass, and band stop filters.

 The characteristics of these categories of electrical filters are as shown:

Categories of filters: (a) lowpass, (b) highpass, (c) bandpass, (d) bandstop
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 3.2.5 (Cont'd) Filter Class & Order

 Although a very large number of circuits function as filters, four classes are most widely used:
Butterworth, Chebyshev, Elliptic, and Bessel. Each filter class has unique characteristics that
make it most suitable for a particular application.

 Each of these filter classes can have another characteristic, called order. For a particular filter
class, the higher the order, the greater will be the attenuation of the signal in the stopband.

 To demonstrate some of the general characteristics of filter class and order, filters of the
lowpass type (a) Butterworth & (b) Chebyshev are shown:

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 3.2.5 (Cont'd) Filter Phase Characteristic

As with amplifiers, filters alter the phase of components of the signal as a function of frequency.
For example, the phase-angle shift for an eight-order Butterworth filter is 360º at the cut-off
frequency. For higher-order filters, this phase response can introduce serious phase distortion.

A class of filters called Bessel filters are often

used because they have a nearly linear
variation of the phase angle with frequency in
the passband than that of higher-order filters
of other classes. Comparison of the phase-
angle variation for a fourth-order lowpass
Bessel filter to a fourth-order Butterworth filter
is shown. As it can be seen, the Bessel filter
shows a very linear variation of phase angle
within the passband (ƒ/ƒc < 1).
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 3.2.5 Butterworth Filters Using Operational Amplifiers

 While passive filters can be constructed using simple circuits consisting of resistors,
capacitors, and inductors, for instrumentation applications, there are significant advantages of
active filters, the most common of which are based on op-amps.

 Op-amp filters can be constructed without the use of inductors, which are often bulky and are
the least ideal of electronic components. Furthermore, op-amp filters, being based on
amplifiers, do not cause the signal-amplitude losses associated with passive filters.

A simple op-amp circuit functioning as a

lowpass filter is shown here. This filter,
which produces a first-order Butterworth
response, is a modification of the inverting
amplifier (Figure 3.13) in which a capacitor
has been placed in parallel with R2.

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3.2.5 (Cont'd) Butterworth Filters Highpass & Bandpass

First-order Butterworth highpass filter using an op-amp.

Bandpass filter using an op-amp.

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 3.2.6 Circuits for Differentiation and Integration

 Op-amp circuits for differentiation.

 Op-amp circuits for integration

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 3.3 INDICATING AND RECORDING DEVICES

 In most cases the output of the signal conditioner is an analog

voltage. The user may wish to monitor, analyze and store the signal.

 Depending on the tools available or the preferences, all the signal

conditioning functions explained so far (and many others ) may be
carried out through the use of either analog circuits or by transferring
the anolog signal just after the transducer stage to the digital form and
process the signal digitally (digital signal processing).

 Some of the tools and devices which may be used for indicating and
recording purposes, are:
 Voltmeters and Multimeters

 Oscilloscopes

 Chart Recorders

 Data Acquisition Systems (for digital signal processing)

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 3.3 INDICATING AND RECORDING DEVICES
 Data acquisition (DAQ) is the process
of sampling signals that measure real
world physical conditions and
converting the resulting samples into
digital numeric values that can be
manipulated by a computer.

 DAQ typically measures an electrical

or physical phenomenon such as
voltage, current, temperature,
pressure, or sound and converts the
analog waveforms into digital values
for processing and analysis

 A Data Acquisition System is

comprised of three parts; an I/O sub-
system, a host computer and the
controlling software. Hence these
systems are often referred to as
embedded DAQ systems.

29
 3.4 ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION OF SIGNALS
BETWEEN THE COMPONENTS
 Although the three primary components ( sensor,
signal conditioner, and indicator/recorder) of a
measuring system are the most complex ones, the
interconnecting wires which transmit signals can have
a significant (in some cases dominant) effect on the
quality of the signals being transmitted .

 As a result, close attention has to be given to this wiring

of the electrical measuring systems.

 The primary methods of transmitting signals are:

 low-level analogue voltage,

 high-level analogue voltage,

 analogue current loop, and

 digital code.

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 3.4.1 Low-Level Analog Voltage Signal Transmission

 Low-level analogue signals (under 100 mV) are common in

measuring systems since there are a large number of
sensors that have maximum output voltages in this range.

 Maximum voltages of only 10 mV are rather frequent. It is

difficult to transmit such low voltages over long distances
because the wires tend to pick up electrical noise
(interference).

• Ambient electric and magnetic fields caused by power

conductors and other electrical equipment can induce external
voltages in the signal wires that distort the signal significantly.
• While electrical noise is sometimes added to the signal due to
direct electrical connections, it is more common for the noise to
appear in the signal lines due to capacitance or inductive
coupling between the signal lines and noise sources

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 3.4.1 (Cont'd) Ground Looping

 Another common cause of electrical interference is the ground loop.

 Due to all the electrical equipment around us, there exist significant current flows in the earth
itself. These currents cause voltage variations (normally time varying) in the earth, which
means that two separate connections to the earth ground are not, in general, at the same
voltage.

 Consequently, current is conducted by the doubly grounded conductor shown in the figure. It
is not even necessary for a conductor to be physically connected to the earth ground at more
than one point; a second “connection” can be formed from capacitance effects. In general,
these interference effects increase when the length of wiring increases.

Source of ground loop.

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 3.4.1 (Cont'd) Minimizing Noise Signals

 If the signal is quasi-steady, much of the noise can be eliminated by installing filter
networks at the receiving end, and wires that are 3 to 6 m long may be satisfactory. In
some cases, wires as short as 0.5 m may give unacceptable noise levels.

• Although minimization of noise signals is a significant subject in its own

right several guidelines should be followed to minimize the pickup of noise

 Use Shielded Wire

 Keep two signal wires close & twisted

 Use single ground for the entire setup

 Amplify Signals with high CMRR amplifier

 Use high-quality power supllies

 If possible avoid AC powered supplies.

Grounding and shielding of system components

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 3.4.2 High-Level Analog Voltage Signal Transmission

 Some transducer’s output voltages are higher than 100 mV, usually in the
range 0 to 10 V.

 These transducers are normally more expensive than low – level output
transducers, but the signals are much less susceptible to interference.

 The reason they are more expensive is that an instrumentation amplifier is

normally included directly in the transducer.

 These high – level signals can normally be transmitted for a distance of 10m to
30 m without any major problem.

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 3.4.3 Current-Loop Analog Signal Transmission

In current-loop systems the output of the sensor is converted to current at the location of the
sensor. Over the range of the transducer, this current will vary between 4 and 20 mA.

 Current – loop system has significant advantages and

widely used in process applications such as power
plants and refineries.

 At the transducer, a device called transmitter converts

the sensor output into current. This current is then
converted to a voltage at the receiving end.

 The current signals are much less susceptibleto

environmental noise than analogue voltage signals
since the power associated with current signals is very
large compared to most analogue voltage systems.

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 3.4.3 Current-Loop Analog Signal Transmission

Current – loop signals can be transmitted for up to 3

km without major degradation due to noise.

Long cable lengths will, however, constrain the

upper frequency limit of the signals.

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 3.4.4 Digital Signal Transmission

 Digital signal transmission is by far the most

reliable method but also the most difficult and
expensive to implement.

 In digital signal transmission, the information in

the transducer signal is converted to a series of
voltage pulses, called bits, which transmit the
information in digital code.

 If the voltage of the pulse exceeds a certain

level, the pulse is “on”;

 if the voltage is below another level, the pulse is

“off.”

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 3.4.4 Digital Signal Transmission

 There is a band between the two levels to avoid

ambiguity. When such systems are designed
properly, the signals are almost immune to
problems from environmental noise.

 Signals from satellites visiting planets millions of

kilometers away are transmitted successfully in
digitally coded radio waves.

 In these cases the background noise is very

strong relative to the radio signal, yet it is still
possible to extract high quality data.

 The subject of digital signal transmissions is

covered in detail in next chapter.

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